Dishes may sparkle less with Virginia phosphate ban (Mama bear is NOT happy!)

Times Dispatch ^ | July 10, 2010 | JULIE YOUNG

[narses]

Don't blame your dishwasher if your eating utensils seem a little less squeaky-clean these days. On July 1, a law banning phosphates in dishwasher detergents went into effect in Virginia as part of a Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan.

[narses]

I want my dishes clean, my clothes white, my toilet to flush and this green nazi garbage to STOP!

[stormer]

Good. The less crap we pour down the drain, the better.

[driftdiver]

Do you know where they get phosphates? Right here in Florida there are HUGE phosphate mines. Great big holes in the ground.

[Darnright]

Vinegar and baking soda makes a dandy cleaner.

[hsmomx3]

I think I have tried all of the dishwasher soaps out there and Cascade seems to be the best. Of course we have very hard water, too.

[pnh102]

Phosphorus, a primary cleaning agent in detergents, causes excessive algae growth in bays and lakes, choking off sunlight and oxygen that organisms need to survive.

Is it just me or does this sound more like a problem with sewage systems that drain into the Bay moreso than a detergent problem?

[edcoil]

I know you pour vinegar in the dishwasher every couple of months to clean it out, what/how much baking soda?

[trisham]

I hear you.

[azishot]

I want my dishes clean, my clothes white, my toilet to flush and this green nazi garbage to STOP!

sigh...me, too. I tried beating my dishes on a rock down by the creek but that didn't work out too well.

[bboop]

A few grains of TSP in the dishwasher is all you need.

[KarlInOhio]

When are Virginia police going to start busting people for smuggling 20 kilos of uncut Kentucky Cascade?

[Clara Lou]

I can do without phosphates if it stems algae and algae blooms. Think of the millions and millions of dishwashers putting out phosphates every day. I can do a work-around.

[patton]

LOL!

[BAW]

I want my dishes clean, my clothes white, my toilet to flush and this green nazi garbage to STOP!

Stock up on visits to neighboring states.

[poindexter]

The number of dishes that come out of our dishwasher still dirty has skyrocketed since the ban went into effect here in Washington State.

[El Gato]

I can do without phosphates if it stems algae and algae blooms

Big IF, and what are they going to ban next that you can't so easily do without?

I think we should figure out how to harvest the algae. Lots of protein in algae. Could at least use it for animal feed, but if there's enough sugar in it we could probably use it to make methanol.

Government's first instinct is to ban and control, rather than seeing a new resource.

[stansblugrassgrl]

Too funny, Karl. I was just thinking about the money making opportunities presenting themselves due to the ban when I saw your post. Great minds.......

[El Gato]

A few grains of TSP in the dishwasher is all you need.

TSP == Tri-Sodium-PHOSPHATE.

Banned in Virginia?

[Hank Kerchief]

“Government’s first instinct is to ban and control, rather than seeing a new resource.”

Yes. Because they are idiots. From the article—

“Phosphorus, a primary cleaning agent in detergents, causes excessive algae growth in bays and lakes, choking off sunlight and oxygen that organisms need to survive.”

...ah, algae IS and organism. Duh!