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Ökotest warns: Popular cleaning agents are often harmful to the environment - a clear recommendation follows

2021-04-02T12:59:07.889Z


Spring cleaning is just around the corner. However, as Ökotest has shown, consumers should be careful when handling a cleaning agent, as it can be environmentally harmful.


Spring cleaning is just around the corner.

However, as Ökotest has shown, consumers should be careful when handling a cleaning agent, as it can be environmentally harmful.

Munich - The last snow has melted and the first plants are blooming.

For many Germans that also means: time for spring cleaning.

In order to let as much sunlight as possible shine through windows, they have to be polished to a high gloss.

But popular glass cleaners not only leave windows clean, but often also traces of plastic, as Ökotest has found out.

Ökotest: Many glass cleaners contain liquid plastic compounds

The independent consumer magazine Ökotest took a closer look at 20 glass cleaners.

The result: At least six of the products tested received the top rating (

all results behind the payment barrier

).

However, the testers also found that half of the glass cleaners tested contain synthetic polymers, i.e. liquid plastics.

These settle on the glass and slow down the renewed soiling of the surface.

A particular problem with these substances is that they get into the environment via rain or sewage, where they are difficult to break down.

In addition, the testers could not find any recyclate content in a third of the packaging.

That means: The glass cleaners are not made of recycled plastic, but of fresh plastics.

It was also criticized that when shopping, it is often not possible to determine whether the product contains synthetic polymers.

The substances of concern are not on the list of contents on the product, but only on a data sheet on the manufacturer's website.

Ökotest: Polymers contained in glass cleaner pollute the environment

But why do many glass cleaners contain polymers at all?

Many manufacturers argue that these form an extra dirt protection on the surface.

The dirt would then stick less to the surfaces.

This would keep the window, mirror or glass cleaner for longer.

One manufacturer told Ökotest, for example, that the polymers used ensure that fewer water droplets remained on the panes.

This would result in fewer limescale marks and more frequent dry polishing could be dispensed with in shower cubicles.

Ökotest, on the other hand, believes it can refute this assumption.

On the one hand, polymers are an environmental problem and much more unnecessary, according to the testers.

Because the self-test has shown: “The glass cleaners in the test, whose recipes contain no plastic compounds, do just as well when cleaning, in some cases even better.

Glass cleaner put to the test: Not all products are good for the environment - a clear recommendation follows

In previous product tests, the glass cleaners from Ecover, Sonett and Sodasan in particular have proven themselves, reports the sustainability

platform Utopia.de

.

The brands' products clean reliably and are ecologically harmless, they say.

The current Ökotest also shows that surfaces could be cleaned with almost no streaks with all glass cleaning agents.

Finally, the testers recommend using the cleaning agent as sparingly as possible and keeping the packaging and using it as a refill container.

Special care is required only with computer screens.

Some cleaning agents could damage the surface of the monitors.

(

phf

)

Toothpaste and spaghetti: other products in the current Ökotest

Ökotest is currently also comparing toothpaste: 13 products fail by crashing - including some well-known brands.

Öko-Test also recently compared 20 different types of spaghetti.

Health concerns arose with some products.

Source: merkur

All life articles on 2021-04-02

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