Spokane, WA residents smuggling in non-green Dish Detergent

[RamboLiberal]

SPOKANE, Wash. - The quest for squeaky-clean dishes has turned some law-abiding people in Spokane into dishwater-detergent smugglers.

They are bringing Cascade or Electrasol in from out of state because the eco-friendly varieties required under Washington state law don't work as well.

Spokane County became the launch pad last July for the nation's strictest ban on dishwasher detergent made with phosphates, a measure aimed at reducing water pollution. The ban will be expanded statewide in July 2010, the same time similar laws take effect in several other states.

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Many people were shocked to find that products like Seventh Generation, Ecover and Trader Joe's left their dishes encrusted with food, smeared with grease and too gross to use without rewashing them by hand. The culprit was hard water, which is mineral-rich and resistant to soap.

As a result, there has been a quiet rush of Spokane-area shoppers heading east on Interstate 90 into Idaho in search of old-school suds.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29918496/

[XemaSab]

1. .

:popcorn:

[MonteLukast]

20. I've tried Seventh Generation powder and Kroger green liquid.

The powder worked much better than the liquid. Physical friction action, maybe?

But yes, overall I think green dish detergents need work. Green laundry detergents work so well; why is it so much more difficult when it comes to dishes?

[SoCalDem]

2. May I suggest?

[EFerrari]

8. Using a dishwasher is like doing the wash up twice. n/t

[csziggy]

23. Nope - not going there. My mother and I are allergic to dish detergents

I can wash one or two things by hand but not sinks full on a regular basis. The skin on my hands gets raw, splits and bleeds. Mom was the first on our block to get a dishwasher when I was a toddler. A dishwasher was the first appliance my husband and I bought when we got married.

At least Mom can get household gloves to use when she has to. I have big hands and the "one size fits all" do not. A men's size large or extra large is wide enough for my palm but the fingers are far too long, making it hard to handle glass and china. I tried using disposable gloves, but found out I have a mild allergy to either latex or to the powder they put in those things.

Recently my dear husband bought Greenworks dish detergent - not the dishwasher kind - for me to try. My hands got as raw in a week as they would usually take a month or more of hand washing dishes. After a month of NOT using that crap the skin on the backs of my hands is almost healed.

[provis99]

3. If we outlaw good detergents, only outlaws will have good detergents!

[janx]

4. Hard water--

"Many people were shocked to find that products like Seventh Generation, Ecover and Trader Joe's left their dishes encrusted with food, smeared with grease and too gross to use without rewashing them by hand"

C'mon...I live in New Mexico, where the water is so hard and saturated with minerals that it actually corrodes metal. I use regular dishwasher detergent but always rinse and wipe the dishes before loading them. It's not that tough, really. ;-) Since I do this, I might switch to Trader Joe's.

Are these Washingtonians throwing dishes with garbage on them into the dishwasher?

[Liberal Veteran]

5. They must be. I live in Spokane and this is the first I've heard of this.

I just wash my dishes by hand with some stuff I buy at Costco.

And Trader Joes? I'm not sure what that is about. The nearest one is 300 miles away.

[janx]

7. I like a dishwasher. When I bought my dive, there wasn't one

in it, and I bought one. But I have always scraped and rinsed dishes of garbage. Some dishwashers (mine included) claim to have some kind of garbage disposal mechanism, but I've never trusted that. Who on earth would put dishes in a dishwasher with a bunch of garbage? That's disgusting!

Trader Joe's is a sort of chi-chi place to buy food and hip household supplies. There's one where I live in Albuquerque, but I haven't been there. Some friends of mine frequent it and talk about it. Maybe it's nice; I don't know, but right now it seems out of my price range. For instance: I'm going to a book club get-together on Sunday. Inevitably, Trader Joe's food will be there.

Like you, I shop at Costco when it counts.

I've never been to Spokane, but I've heard a lot about it. My small press publisher is in Sandpoint, Idaho.

[Generator]

19. FYI Trader Joe's is actually cheap

Much better prices on lots of food than a regular Safeway or such. And unlike COSTCO-which I despise-and am I always in the minority of the I love COSTCO crowd on DU-you don't have to pay a membership fee-you can shop before 10am-you can find a place to park and you don't have to buy forty pound bags of whatever you want. You can buy small. And you can actually walk through the aisles whiteout getting hit by ten huge shopping cart and zillions of other people blocking your way. AND I think their employees are the nicest I've ever met. Oh and they don't check your receipt on the way out and did I mention no membership fee? Oh and they take credit cards too! I always wonder who can afford to shop the hundreds of dollars in CASH that is required by a COSTCO trip. YES it's a deal when you buy a years worth of vitamins but it costs more right now.

[unapatriciated]

22. thank you...

from a TJ employee. Most people think we are expensive when the truth is we are usually cheaper than other grocery stores, when it comes to your basics such as milk, butter, eggs, cheese etc. Another bonus is if it has our label, it is free of artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and growth hormones.
Not to mention even part time employees such as myself have health care benefits (after about 3 months) and a retirement package (after a year that is fully funded by TJ).

[MichaelHarris]

15. my water

70 miles south in Pullman is bad also, it leaves that white calcium-like residue. When I develop film I have to use distilled water.

[ContinentalOp]

24. My skin always feels weird when I visit the inlaws in Pullman.

That must be why.

[jmowreader]

6. The problem's not the water, kids

The problem's the phosphate-free detergent. When phosphate-free laundry detergent first hit the market in the 1970s they couldn't give it away. Now that they know how to make it, it works well.

I found this: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/washington-state-bans-dishwashing-liquid.php where some people claim "Wave" and "Seventh Generation Gel" work well. Take that detergent to St. Maries (which gets its water from a creek, hence is extremely soft) and watch it not work.

[hugo_from_TN]

10. My wife bought some phosphate free liquid and it is crap

We're trying to work our way through it, but about 1 out of 4 plates or flatware is still dirty. And yes, we do scrape and rinse.

[MichaelHarris]

9. They can have my Cascade

when they pry it from my cold dead hands.

[FreeState]

11. I agree - I have tried all the "Earth Friendly" alternatives and none of them worked as well

I wasted maybe $100 trying different detergents and every single one of them left residue after a couple of washes. I tried every bit of advice I could find (hotter water, adding vinegar etc). I now use Costco's fake Cascade brand and it works great - it even works great to clean my Jacuzzi tubs pipes!

That being said every single detergent and cleaning method outside of the Dishwasher is now 100% green in my house.

[janx]

12. It amazes me that vinegar and water is still in the running,

since I am 51 years old and my mother (or someone she hired) used it for various cleaning techniques. I buy the stuff by the jug!

[FreeState]

13. Its great for a lot of things...

my partner drinks it when he starts to get a cold and it help him. However it did not help with the dishes... although it makes a great replacement for Jet Dry in the dishwasher too:)

Here is a whole list of what it can be used for:

http://www.vinegarbook.net/vinegar_tips_for_health.shtml

[janx]

16. I love the stuff, still.

I didn't know it could be used for Jet Dry, and I'm glad you mentioned it! Thank you! I still use it on windows and in small amounts with water on wood floors. The crap peddled for wood floors never works for mine, but vinegar and water always does. (Thanks, Mom. Can you tell I miss my mom?)

Maybe a tea and chardonnay regimen, along with another vit C juice would be beneficial to someone with a virus.

Thanks for the list!

[bevoette]

14. yep...i just bought my first container of Cascade in months...it took me a while to figure out...

the 'green' stuff SUCKED

nothing like taking dishes out of the dw...and then having to wash them again :eyes:

i'm more than willing to pay extra for an eco-friendly product. the shit just better do the job.

[zorahopkins]

17. So, People Are Wasting Electricity and Polluting The Water

Let me get this straight.

People in Spokane are getting detergent FOR THEIR DISHWASHING MACHINES that will pollute the water?

Why in the hell do they think they need dishwashing machines?!

Dishwashing machines use electricity and are TOTALLY Unnecessary.

Wash your dishes BY HAND, and use non-polluting things to do so!

Save the Planet!! Think before you buy or use that appliance!

[tammywammy]

21. Actually a dishwasher uses less water than it does to wash by hand

I don't have a dishwasher, but it's on my "to buy" list for the house.

[stevedeshazer]

18. I empathize with the Spokanians

The water is hard. The Spokane River also has elevated levels of toxic chemicals from mining activity upstream in Idaho.

It's actually a very nice place.

[ContinentalOp]

25. I can't sympathize.

We have to use these crappy green detergents because we're on septic. Suck it up Spokane. :P