Posted on 12/23/2010 9:45:22 AM PST by lacrew
Is your dishwasher not working the way it used to? Earlier this year, with little fanfare, detergent makers reworked their formulas.
This was supposed to be good for waterways. But it turned a simple chore into a frustrating mystery for many people across the country.
A couple of months ago, Sandra Young from Vernon, Fla., started to notice that something was seriously amiss with her dishes.
"The pots and pans were gray, the aluminum was starting to turn black, the glasses had fingerprints and lip prints still on them, and they were starting to get this powdery look to them," Vernon says. "I'm like, oh, my goodness, my dishwasher must be dying; I better get a new dishwasher."
Young's not alone. Many people across the country are tearing out their hair over stained flatware, filmy glasses and ruined dishes.
Sue Wright from Austin, Texas, says for months her cups and glasses have been coming out of her year-old dishwasher covered with black specks. She called three repairmen to her kitchen, but her dishes were still dirty.
"I looked at a plumber's rear end for about two months this summer sticking out from under my sink," Wright says. "I was just totally frustrated. I couldn't figure out what was going wrong."
Finally, after months of aggravation and expense, Wright found out the real reason for her speckled cups: This summer, detergent makers took phosphates out of their detergents.
Seventeen states banned phosphates from dishwasher detergents because the chemical compounds also pollute lakes, bays and streams. They create algae blooms and starve fish of oxygen.
But dirty and damaged dishes are turning many people into skeptics, including Wright.
"I'm angry at the people who decided that phosphate was growing algae. I'm not sure that I believe that," Wright adds.
Sandra Young was so mad that she called Procter & Gamble, which makes Cascade, to complain. But when she did, a company representative told her to be more careful about which pans she puts into her dishwasher.
"He said, 'Well, if you're really having that hard of a problem, maybe you should wash your dishes by hand.' Which I thought was kind of strange for an automatic dishwashing company."
Susan Baba from Procter & Gamble says the company had no choice. It just wasn't feasible to make detergent with phosphates for some states and without them for others.
"You know, this isn't really a huge environmental win," she says.
That's because phosphates are wonder ingredients. They not only strip food and grease from dishes but also prevent crud from getting reattached during the wash. So she says without phosphates, people have to wash or rinse their dishes before they put them in the dishwasher, which wastes water. Or they run their dishwasher twice, which wastes electricity.
Dennis Griesing of the American Cleaning Institute, a trade group, says it could take time, but phosphate-free detergents will improve. That's what happened with laundry detergents after phosphates were removed from them years ago. He says these inconveniences are part of a bigger trend.
"We're going though a very significant readjustment in our lives to accommodate our ecological needs," Griesing says.
But not everyone is willing to adjust. Sandra Young figured out a way to undo the phosphate ban — at least in her own kitchen.
She bought some trisodium phosphate at a hardware store and started mixing her own formula.
"It seems to be working pretty good," Young says.
Other people have given up on their machines altogether and are washing dishes by hand. But some are switching to other brands and making peace with phosphate-free detergents.
Some of the comments at the link humor me. So many people rely on the knowledge of the all-knowing 'they'; and, they are horrified that people would be selfish enough to want soap to actually clean.
Phosphorus causes algae blooms. Fine. So they pick an incredibly small source of it for banning? Ever wonder what the middle number on a bag of fertilizer means...its phosphorous content. Just a hunch, but I bet the biggest source of phosphorus in lakes and streams is from farming...but they'll probably ban that next.
Hmm, the dishwasher simply will not remove stuff from dishes and pots, in fact they then get baked on. So I have to either rinse before or after.
Anybody have details on how much tsp to add to your dishwasher detergent? Very interesting information.
How do you add TSP and how much?
I have been noticing that the dishes are not getting clean lately. I thought I needed a new dishwasher.
TREE HUGGERS!!
BTT
Been having the same problem with our dishwasher too.
Heading back to the health conditions of the middle ages.
Add me to the list of those who want to know how much tsp to put in the dishwasher! Help!
We bought a Maytag about 15 years ago and it never did do a good job on the dishes. Was always having to redo them. It died about 10 years ago so I’ve been washing the dishes by hand since them.
BTTT.
Mothe&@!*()&@!#)&!@#)&!@#)(@#_!
I guess I owe my super an apology, I have been complaining that my dishwasher sucXXXXXX
Did my thesis on my degree in Biology on the Chemistry of TriClorol Phosphates in soaps.
The environmentalist seemed to not know how much we depend on Phosphates to produce blooms in our sewer system. Not only does it clean our systems if managed properly but the fact is that most of our vitamins comes from blooms created with phosphates. The additional growth of algae produces healthy feed source for cattle and other animals.
This is incredible! I’ve had the repairman out twice and he tinkered around with the damn machine and NOTHING changed. Now I know the answer!
Please help us with this tsp thing. I’m going crazy with these awful-looking dishes.
LOL, it takes me about 5-10 minutes to wash the night dishes for the four of us, of course the dog does the prewash on them so that helps, I have never owned a dishwasher too much time and noise, they run for an hour.
ping for later
Octagon was my favorite handwashing dish detergent. Did a great job. It was discontinued and when I contacted the manufacturer they hemmed and hawwed about the reason. Now we have all these shiny clear detergents that look like LED christmas lights. Yuck. They do not do a good job either. Lots of money for soap manufacterers because people use more for less return.
I am looking for a homemade hand dishwashing soap recipe.
I installed a dishwashing sink recently. It is a two bowl sink with cast iron drainers on each side. Nice and one can actually do dishes and other projects without getting the counters soaked.
Ironically I am using the old dishwasher’s bottom rack as a dishrack on the sink drainer.
I’ve been saying it for years: the environmentalist idiots won’t be happy until we’re all dying of cholera.
Click the link in post #7. It leads to an FR thread with your answer. 1/2 tsp TSP.
Is it really safe to add your own tsp to a dishwasher? It is toxic if swalloed, and is sold as a paint cleaner. I realize the dishwasher rinses but still.
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