What are the two chores in a household that are never really finished? Dishes and laundry. Throw in a couple of kids and suddenly a dishwasher becomes very, very important. (Or is it just me?) Families in the Washington counties of Whatcom and Spokane might find themselves having to choose a new brand of dishwasher detergent next week, however. The state is banning any brand that contains more than 0.5 percent phosphorus. Phosphates are naturally occurring, but are also used in many kinds of detergents. They're linked to algae blooms, which upset the delicate balance of a healthy waterway. By banning these kinds of consumer products, Washington state officials hope to protect their state's environment. By 2010, the ban will include the whole state, though for now it only affects these two counties.
Fortunately for consumers, there are several brands out there that are phosphate-free and also do a good job cleaning dishes. Consumer Reports recently recommended the following brands: Ecover (tablet and powder), Citra-Dish, 365 Everyday Value, and Seventh Generation, and as this issue gains awareness, I'm sure many more brands will be hitting the shelves.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bart Mihailovich 6-23-2008 @ 3:26PM
Thanks for bringing awareness to phosphate free dish detergents and our cities efforts to clean up our water. However, it's not Oregon counties; Spokane and Whatcom counties are in Washington state.
For more information about the phosphate ban you should read a post from the local Spokane environmental issues blog "Down To Earth"
http://dte.spokesmanreview.com/index.php?paged=2
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Bethany Sanders 6-23-2008 @ 10:38PM
Thanks! I have no idea why I wrote Oregon... it's been fixed!
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Tracie 6-25-2008 @ 10:18AM
What business is it of ANYONES what brand of detergent we use in our private homes? When they start dictating what brands we are supposed to use, we are headed down a long, dark road to socialism.
Phosphorus is naturally in water. What do you think makes the water turn that pretty blue-green ? Do some research. You'll find out. It's the same thing as banning CO2, what are we supposed to stop breathing? We breathe out Co2, trees take it in, then the trees let out oxygen that WE need to live. DUH!!!!
Global warming is a hoax. Al Gore is the biggest hypocrite, he uses enough energy in his home in one month to provide energy to over 200 average homes for a year. Global warming is ALL about money.
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Lee 6-25-2008 @ 10:49AM
You are wrong. When I was young, I lived in Buffalo, and Lake Erie had more than once been declared dead. I was actively involved in a group that exhorted our lawmakers to vote for the ban on phosphates in laundry detergents. We were metaphorically patted on our little housewives' heads, but each legislator promised to vote for the bill, probably figuring there was no way it would pass. They were shocked the morning it passed. Five years later, there were fish swimming in Lake Erie again where fishermen hadn't seen fish in many years. So yes, what you use in your dishwasher affects far more than the insular little world of you, you, you. Wake up!
richard dutton 6-25-2008 @ 12:29PM
when it starts affecting everyone then it becomes everybodies business. if i'm using a spray in my yard and it's causing you to grow another head, i would be concerned if i were you.
Den 6-25-2008 @ 10:35AM
It looks like this is going to be the next push by our government to spur economic growth. Most all other sectors have slowed down. This is just a way of stimulating the economy in another sector.
Think about it. Housing is down, stock market is down. Next area for investment and growth is 'green energy'. Our government, by the guise of environmentalism, is pushing us there.
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Den 6-25-2008 @ 10:36AM
use liquid cascade it only contains 4.5%.
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comhunt00 6-25-2008 @ 1:10PM
The Leftists want to put all businesses out of business.
they also want disease to spread to the point of plague.
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Justpicky 6-25-2008 @ 1:19PM
That's the problem , you've to many companies telling YOU what to do . Why doesn't the companies control there smog , or no smog at all . Or companies stop putting poison in lakes, streams , oceans . Before you tell the indivdual what to do , start telling the companies. Once that's done ( ALL COMPANIES ) then maybe
we will have a better world .
I know a Company called US STEEL in Illinois , everyday over 60 yrs , blowing out gases , smoke , and white flakes , into the city .
The citizens who lives there , end up getting CANCER from it .
Not only that every time its cloudy , the company is blowing out there gases and smoke , it's worse , plus it smells like rotten EGGS .
ALL homes there are black stuff outside of there home , including the sills of windows. This is no joke I used to live very close to it , for years , until 7 months ago , I finally made a move to another CLEAN CITY and no manufacture in this small town .
Not everyone in that town can afford to move , nor will many will . This is all they know , where to live . Moving to another town will cost you $$$$$$$$$$ . Nothing is cheap. I figure, if I want something bad enough , I'm willing to work my butt off for it .
My point is nothing is being done to Companies, they're polluting this Nation , and everyone should do something , than nothing.
There's a book out , which I will not buy , why because I'm not making the AUTHOR rich . The Worse Cities In USA .
P.S ... Wash the dishes by hand , save water , and you know it's clean .
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How are you going to keep up with the economy ???? 6-25-2008 @ 1:33PM
#3 ....you're exactly right , it's all about $$$$$$$$$$$.
To make companies richer . and make you poor .
This is all common sense .
All companies are raising there prices , while your paycheck
is staying the same , it's not rising along companies.
other words , if companies rise there prices , your pay should
go up right along . It's called Cost of Living , keeping up with
the economy .
You will be lucky if you get a 3% each year , no one is
telling you ......the cost of living at 5 - 7 % each year.
You will Never keep up with the economy no possible way .
Then you will need a second or third job , you might .
Even 2 family paycheck soon will not be able to keep up .
What will you do ???????????????
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Bobcheesedoodle 6-25-2008 @ 2:06PM
Tracie, I assume you are being facetious. Dishwasher detergent leading to socialism? Phosphates turning the water a pretty blue-green? Banning CO2 equals banning breathing? At first I thought you were being serious. Then I realized you must be parodying an ill-informed, self-serving, right-winger. It's funny, yet, not funny. Some of them really are that stupid.
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Richard6218 6-26-2008 @ 3:51PM
Tracie's comment (supra) is right on the mark. These leftist regulators are chipping away at our rights on the false pretense of ":protecting society". The more we acquiesce to this kind of ham-handed dictatorship the less we will be able to call ourselves a free nation. We are rapidly losing it. It's time people woke up to this and other scams like global warming and started to throw out the liberal politicians who want to run our lives.
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Bobcheesedoodle 6-26-2008 @ 4:51PM
Richard6218, How amusing your comment is. You state that Tracie's comments are right on the mark. Tracie's remarks are all over the place. She links phosphates in dishwashing detergent to socialism. Then she says if we're going to try to put limits on CO2 emissions we won't be able to breathe anymore. She says phosphates make the water a pretty blue-green. Then she goes off on a tangent pertaining to global warming. Why blame the liberals? George Bush is our leader. If I were you, I'd write George a letter so he can get right on this phosphate issue.
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Richard6218 6-28-2008 @ 7:27PM
You think my comment is amusing? hahahaha
I wasn't talking about Tracie's entire post, just the part about government running our lives. It was the liberals in the Washington state legislature that passed the bill and the liberal governor who signed it into law. You liberals like to think government is there to solve all the world's problems. Wrong. All they are interested in is their own power and to control our lives. They pass laws like the dishwasher soap law in the name of saving the world but all they are doing is chip away at our personal freedoms. By definition, that is socialism. If we keep looking the other way while they do this kind of stuff we will wake up one day and find we have no freedoms.
Amusing? This scares hell out of me.
Ann Oyd 7-17-2008 @ 11:55PM
All I can say is after washing the same load of dishes THREE stinkin' times with an eco-friendly detergent, I'm still going to have to wash most of them by hand to get them clean. How does using that much water to wash one load of dishes help the environment. I'm going out of state to buy what I need to get the job done!
By the way....I'm a tree-hugging environmentalist, but I also don't have the time to waste on these useless products. I suppose the ones that cost 2-3 times what Cascade costs might work, but I also don't have that kind of money. Hey! Paper plates! Let's kill a few more trees why don't we?
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