Surfactants Contained in Household Cleaners are Destroying Our Waterways

Check the label of your multi surface cleaner

Surfactants are Destroying the Environment

Studies have shown that surfactant use is leading to the contamination of all surface water bodies such as lakes, rivers and the oceans.
Surfactants kill water-dwelling plants and animals, even in tiny concentrations.
When surfactants from household cleaners leach into the environment, it can destroy whole aquatic ecosystems.
Surfactants are capable of penetrating the cell membrane of animals and plants and thus cause toxicity to living organisms.
Accumulation of these compounds has been known to cause significant gill damage and loss of sight in fish.
Alteration of physiological and biochemical parameters of water from surfactant contamination decreases the amount of dissolved oxygen and thus affecting the entire ecosystem.

Our oceans, lakes and rivers are in grave danger. We need to stop using surfactants now, especially those found in household cleaners. Runoff from household cleaners leaking into drains and landfills are the primary contributors of aquatic destruction from surfactant use.

Surfactants are Putting Your Family’s Health In Jeopardy

Surfactants are endocrine disruptors that cause cancer, birth defects and other developmental disorders.
Reproductive harm is another concern associated with some surfactants (exposure can cause birth defects and miscarriage).
Surfactants have been reported to cause human skin burning or irritation and eye damage.
Use of surfactants around growing children is extremely dangerous and has been linked to developmental disorders such as autism, ADHD and chronic depression.

Most people are using surfactants, without even knowing it, because the FDA does not require that companies include any specific warnings about surfactant use on labels of common household cleaning products.

Almost every household cleaning product, including those that claim to be “green” and/or “non-toxic”, contain harmful surfactants. Surfactants have historically been a necessary evil in cleaning products because of their ability to lift dirt/grease from the surface area, allowing it to be wiped away more easily. Studies have proven, however, that surfactants destroy aquatic ecosystems and are an endocrine disruptor - which causes cancer, birth defects and other developmental disorders.

Protect Your Kids and Ditch the Surfactants

Which ingredients are surfactants?

Makers of household cleaners that use these dangerous surfactants try to hide them under the guise of complicated chemical names. Check your label for the below listed chemicals and ditch your cleaner if they contain any of them.

Decyl Glucoside
Lauryl Glucoside
Caprylyl Glucoside
Myristyl Glucoside
Laureth-6
Laureth-7
C10-C16 Alcohol Ethoxylate
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Sodium Coco-Sulfate
Sodium Laurylglucoside
Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine