Dirty dishes drive Washington residents in search of phosphate-free detergents

Back in the mid-19th century, the message was, Go west, young man. Since last summer in the Spokane, Washington, area, however, people have been heading eastward to Idaho. They're not in search of land or riches or potatoes; rather, it's dishwasher detergents they're after, according to this recent Associated Press story.

After the ban on the sale of dishwasher detergents with more than 0.5 percent phosphate (some detergents have up to 9 percent) went into effect in the Spokane area last summer, many consumers in the city became unhappy with how well some eco-friendly phosphate-free products cleaned their dishes. So they've been making the quick trip east on Interstate 90 into Idaho, where they can stock up on the dishwasher detergents of their choice.

The ban will go into effect throughout Washington on July 1, 2010. Fourteen other states currently have passed similar legislation or are considering banning detergents with phosphate, and a bill calling for a nationwide ban was introduced in the U.S. Senate on March 24.

Phosphates boost the cleaning power of detergents, but they also encourage algae growth in freshwater, which robs the water of oxygen for fish and plants. But that hasn't deterred consumers. "Yes, I am a smuggler," one shopper at an Idaho store told the AP. She stressed that she had tried green dishwasher detergents but her plates were left with grime and bits of food after being washed.

Our past test of dishwasher detergents showed that some phosphate-free products did a good to excellent job cleaning. However, manufacturers have reformulated their products, and the early indications in our ongoing tests are not encouraging for many phosphate-free dishwasher detergents.

Stay tuned for more results as they become available.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter

Essential information: Find out how proper loading can improve the performance of your dishwasher, and if you're in the market for a new dishwasher, load up on our expert buying advice.

Comments

[Marie Elks]

Who'd have ever thought dish soap would become a black market commodity?

This is the result of lunatics running the asylum, and it's too ironic that the residents of the northwest--home of some of the most rabid anti-humans around--are the victims of this scam.

[Kat]

Has the public not heard of Melaleuca?? I love there dish detergent - phosphate FREE!

[Dr. Karl G. Leutschaft]

We (AlmaWin) formulated a green Automatic Dishwasher Powder especially for hard water.
It is: PHOSPHATE FREE , has NO Chorine and NO GMO in it and it WORKS. All claims are backed by independant certification.
The complaints of the big brands (conventional and green alike) are bogus. It is possible to have both: no phosphates and clean dishes. But we are too small to appear on the radar of the consumers or even this blog. Check us out, online at www.almawin-usa.com and help us - the little underdog, to prevail despite the howling of the big guys.

[Anonymous]

Very upset at this month's (August)issue. Dishwasher detergents were again rated but you skipped two of the higher perfomers from last time (Ecover and BioKleen). The two mainstream phosphate-free brands were bleachfests with no Enzymes (Palmolive Eco+ and Cascade Gel). There was no discussion that the Cascade product did poorly last time, when it had phosphates in it. No change there. It is a no-brainer these would not do well as they had no enzymes, now CU is backing away from it's original statement a few years back that you don't need phosphates. Also, focusing on the failure of Wave detergent (an uber-green product- not just phophate free) makes CU look like it is working for the big soap manufacturers and their propaganda machines. Seventh Generation packets get shorted but how does that jive with the last review of Seventh Generation Powder, that did excellent on Dishes? Just like Cascade, it matters which product in the line you use. It looks like CU chose the worst performers in phosphate free land versus the best in phosphate laden land. With that tactic you know what you are going to get. Thanks for giving big soap another weapon in their fight against cleaner rivers and lakes!