Pondering the Pantry --- Cleansers and Ecology

How do you wash floors or launder dirty clothes with cleansers that do not harm the environment? How do you remove grease from your hands after repairing your car with a green-friendly substance? Meir [Rosen]Tal has a passion. Since 2004 Rotal Innovative Products, Ltd., of which Meir Tal is CEO, has been committed to bringing ecologically friendly but yet effective cleaning supplies into the market. The primary target customers are industry, but there are wholesale suppliers who have ordered retail-size packages for sales under their own private label.

All “Green Line” products are safe even if a child “samples” one. They are not exactly delicious, but there is no need to rush the curious child to hospital to have his stomach pumped. Seeing is believing. During an interview Meir Tal sipped a mouthful of cleanser without hesitation. For Tal the key is to limit contamination, both today and in the world we leave to future generations.

In Israel pre-Passover is the most frequent time children, usually but not only three-to-five year olds, ingest cleaning supplies. The common substances “tasted” are bleach and washing machine / dishwasher detergents. One medical center reports cases necessitating prolonged hospitalization. The problem is not significantly different in the UK. Liquid detergent capsules are most commonly involved, followed by bleaches, air fresheners, multipurpose cleaners, dishwasher products, and limescale removers (descalers). 

Tal is no stranger to business. In 1825 his sixth generation ancestor, Lippmann Rosenthal, inherited a general store from his father-in-law in Mauswinkel, a sub-division of Birstein (Hesse), Germany. That enterprise remained in family hands until 1934, when Tal’s grandfather was able to escape from Nazi Germany to Palestine.

One of the commonly used Green Line products is a limescale remover. Limescale is the white stone-like residue at home most noticeably found in kettles. The residue effects the taste of water commonly boiled for tea or coffee and is often removed with vinegar. Meir Tal explains that the problem is much more complicated. The residue acts as a “sponge” for bacteria. Vinegar removes the stone-like residue but not the bacteria that accumulate. The addition of a soap n the descaler is necessary.

Limestone collects in other places --- the washing machine, dishwasher, toilet tank, shower head, bath tub drain, faucets… There is not only a health issue. Removing limescale will also prolong the life of an appliance.

Use of the remover is quite simple. With a regular descaler it is recommended to boil water in a kettle two or three times after using the liquid or granules. After all, the substance is poisonous. With an ecology product heat (not boil) the water with the descaler. Let it sit for a couple of hours, then a basic rinse is sufficient. For a dish or clothes washer, run a short cycle with the descaler.

Grease remover is a commonly sold Green Line product. There is a wide range of grease. For example, think of the difference between olive oil and motor oil. For the general public there is usually an “all purpose” cleanser to remove grease from a surface. Sometimes it works. Sometimes you can keep scrubbing, but a greasy film still remains. For that reason Green Line has a range of bio-degradable grease removers designed for the span from restaurants to heavy industry. For home use the best advice is to keep on hand a heavy duty cleanser for occasions that proper cleaning requires it.

How can a heavy duty cleanser be both effective and green? That is a company secret.

Would you use a shampoo or laundry detergent with a petroleum product? The question might seem odd, but the answer is even stranger. Unless you are using a “green” product, that is exactly what you are doing! The substance is SLS. The story gets worse. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies one of the SLS components (1,4-dioxane) as a probable human carcinogen, so its quantity is limited.

This author is basically dubious and skeptical. How can a cap (tablespoon) of cleanser be effective on 7 kilo (15.4 pounds) of dirty laundry? (Add to it a similar quantity of fabric softener as an option.) So, two tests were undertaken. First, various towels and floor rags were put into the washing machine. Clean! But, what about whites? So, another load of laundry with a variety of white clothes was put through a standard washing cycle. Again, the results prove the effectiveness of the cleaning liquid.

For this author, goodbye to carrying 8 kilo bags of laundry detergent from the car to the house. A liter of Green Line cleanser does the same job (and costs less). And good riddance to toxic formulae. The time came to rethink products bought purely out of habit.

A word of advice.  If you are still old-fashioned and use toxic cleaning materials, keep then far from the reach of inquisitive children!

The Rotal products are available in many countries under various names.