La Jolla Water resources

La Jolla ocean quality

Keeping our oceans clean:

Other pages:

These are my two boys
and the reason I'm so
passionate about water quality ...

You can help future generations!

You can do your part by disposing of toxic materials properly, not littering, using non-toxic cleaning
products and more ...

The following is a compiled list of ways that all San Diego residents can help contain the runoff of toxins to our bays, oceans, waterways, and ocean habitat!

There are some simple methods you can adopt and change the way you run your household to decrease the toxicity of the water pouring down your drain and polluting the environment.

First, you can change the types of products you use to clean your house. Here are some safe, non-toxic alternatives:

Don’t put anything down the drain that
you wouldn’t want to swim in!

	Don’t pour toxins down the drain!
	Pick up after your pets!
	Use non-toxic household products
	Send dirty water down the toilet
	Dispose of all used paints and other hazardous waste at specified waste collection programs
	Kitty litter serves well to absorb paint or motor oil leaks and should be removed with hazardous waste materials
	Keep out of the storm drains: Leaves, lawn clippings, wood chips, trash, and polluted runoff
	Don’t pour used cooking oil down the drain
	Remember, only water should enter storm drains!
	Grass clippings can carry bacteria and therefore should be moved to trash cans and not to a watershed.
	Wash your car at the car wash, where they have proper disposal drains. If you clean your car at home, conserve water by using a nozzle on the hose and wash the car over a lawn or surface that will not rinse runoff onto pavement which will end up in a storm drain. Dispose of used water in a toilet.
	Garden with caution: don’t over-use insecticides, use mulch to conserve water and reduce the need for herbicides, be careful of using fertilizer when rain is expected, grow native plants that can thrive on natural water sources, foreign plants will require more water and create more green waste; place all green waste in a trash can or compost dump

	Household cleaners! Select non-toxic and/or environmentally safe products. Vinegar and baking soda are safe alternative cleaners to harsh chemicals. Use anti-bacterial soaps and avoid products that contain phosphates that can harm aquatic life.
	Use latex and water-based paints
	Clean your oven with baking soda and steel wool.
	Clean your kitchen and bathroom surfaces with baking sod, vinegar, and salt mixed with water or low-phosphate cleaners (A simple disinfectant recipe: ¼ to ½ cup borax in 1 gallon of hot water.
	To clean rugs, sprinkle with baking soda, allow to absorb, and remove with a vacuum.
	To polish floors and furniture, use a combination of one part lemon juice and two parts cooking oil.
	To clean clothes, mix ½ cup white vinegar, and baking soda, or borax.
	Instead of mothballs, use cedar chips, newspapers, or lavender flowers.
	For polishing brass and copper, use lemon and salt or lemon and baking soda. For polishing chrome, use apple-cider vinegar. For polishing silver, use a paste of calcium carbonate (a powder at the drug store) and olive oil. Allow it to dry before polishing with a soft, dry, white cloth.
	For clogged metal showerheads, combine ½ cup white vinegar and 1 quart of water. Submerge and boil the showerhead for 15 minutes. For plastic showerheads, combine 1 pint of white vinegar and 1 pint hot water. Submerge and soak for 1 hour.

	Clean your oven with baking soda and steel wool. Clean your kitchen and bathroom surfaces with baking sod, vinegar, and salt mixed with water or low-phosphate cleaners (A simple disinfectant recipe: ¼ to ½ cup borax in 1 gallon of hot water.
	To clean rugs, sprinkle with baking soda, allow to absorb, and remove with a vacuum.
	To polish floors and furniture, use a combination of one part lemon juice and two parts cooking oil.
	To clean clothes, mix ½ cup white vinegar, and baking soda, or borax.
	Instead of mothballs, use cedar chips, newspapers, or lavender flowers.
	For polishing brass and copper, use lemon and salt or lemon and baking soda. For polishing chrome, use apple-cider vinegar. For polishing silver, use a paste of calcium carbonate (a powder at the drug store) and olive oil. Allow it to dry before polishing with a soft, dry, white cloth.
	For clogged metal showerheads, combine ½ cup white vinegar and 1 quart of water. Submerge and boil the showerhead for 15 minutes. For plastic showerheads, combine 1 pint of white vinegar and 1 pint hot water. Submerge and soak for 1 hour.

Dispose of hazardous waste properly through
your City's hazardous waste collection days.
Call Environmental Services
at (858) 694-7000) for information.

Information provided by:

Runoff is Ugly

- it’s the excess water that carries pollutants directly into storm drains which carry water out to sea. Runoff can contain such pollutants as motor oil, gasoline, soap from car washes, trash, cigarette butts, leaves and plants. Runoff also contains copper & zinc from car brake linings, pesticides, & fertilizers.

Don’t pour toxins down the drain!

Pick up after your pets!

Use non-toxic household products

Send dirty water down the toilet

Dispose of all used paints and other hazardous waste at specified waste collection programs

Kitty litter serves well to absorb paint or motor oil leaks and should be removed with hazardous waste materials

Keep out of the storm drains: Leaves, lawn clippings, wood chips, trash, and polluted runoff

Don’t pour used cooking oil down the drain

Remember, only water should enter storm drains!

Grass clippings can carry bacteria and therefore should be moved to trash cans and not to a watershed.

Wash your car at the car wash, where they have proper disposal drains. If you clean your car at home, conserve water by using a nozzle on the hose and wash the car over a lawn or surface that will not rinse runoff onto pavement which will end up in a storm drain. Dispose of used water in a toilet.

Household cleaners! Select non-toxic and/or environmentally safe products. Vinegar and baking soda are safe alternative cleaners to harsh chemicals. Use anti-bacterial soaps and avoid products that contain phosphates that can harm aquatic life.

Use latex and water-based paints

Clean your oven with baking soda and steel wool.

Clean your kitchen and bathroom surfaces with baking sod, vinegar, and salt mixed with water or low-phosphate cleaners (A simple disinfectant recipe: ¼ to ½ cup borax in 1 gallon of hot water.

To clean rugs, sprinkle with baking soda, allow to absorb, and remove with a vacuum.

To polish floors and furniture, use a combination of one part lemon juice and two parts cooking oil.

To clean clothes, mix ½ cup white vinegar, and baking soda, or borax.

Instead of mothballs, use cedar chips, newspapers, or lavender flowers.

For polishing brass and copper, use lemon and salt or lemon and baking soda. For polishing chrome, use apple-cider vinegar. For polishing silver, use a paste of calcium carbonate (a powder at the drug store) and olive oil. Allow it to dry before polishing with a soft, dry, white cloth.