Interesting story, well, maybe not, but it proves a bit of a point so bear with me. When building our home my husband and I were picking out new appliances and saw a dishwasher that was self-dispensing. What? We just dumped in the detergent and pushed a button every time we needed the dishwasher to run and didn't have to think about filling it up for months. Sounded quite perfect for two busy professionals. Then something happened.
The Governor of Wisconsin at the time signed a new law limiting the amount of phosphates permissible in dishwashing detergent. This isn't a bad thing. The issue was that the store shelves now had a mix of phosphate and phosphate-free products on the shelves. And so our purchases followed suit. The "bad thing" was that we were not aware that mixing phosphate and phosphate-free detergents caused them to solidify a bit. Yeah, not so great for an automatic dispenser. Sadly, it took a while for us to notice but we eventually did and try as I might, I just didn't want to take the entire dishwasher apart to fix this issue since I could still add detergent the old fashioned way.
I had been making cleaner and greener choices for the rest of our cleaning products but the dishwasher was last on the list. Why? I just never found good reviews on eco-friendly products! Well, I decided it was time to give something new a try, and we tried a few products that weren't so great and finally settled on something so-so for a time being. You want to know the most interesting part of this?? I bet you do! A short time later our dishwasher dispenser was clogged no more! These environmentally friendly cleaners had done their job, and then some. Our dishwasher had detoxed! And that my friends is very interesting to me. Doesn't that say something about the power of green cleaning?
Well, I bet you are wondering what we liked, didn't like, and now like. Our first step was the Seventh Generation Dishwashing Pods. They get a positive rating from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) as an "A" on a scale of A to F. However, we did not like them. Our dishes were not clean and a bit streaky.
Next we ventured over to The Honest Co. and tried out the Auto Dishwasher Gel which is also an "A" product according to the EWG. Same problem. Next up, The Honest Co. dishwasher pods which get a "B" rating. They work pretty well and we used them for quite a bit of time. We did have to be diligent in rinsing our dishes, but it seemed to at least be working out ok.
Several months ago we tired two new things. First, Branch Basics cleaner concentrate, a 100% plant and mineral based cleaner. This product is not listed in the EWG database. All that is required is 1-2 tsp of the concentrate per wash. You can also mix up the all-purpose blend (which I use for my counters anyway) and spray the dishes that may be tougher to clean before putting them in. Works like a charm! It does take some experimenting to get the right amount so you do not get streaks, but that is simple enough and soon you are just squirting in the right amount. The second item we tried was Ava Home Dishwasher Detergent by Ava Anderson Non-Toxic. These pods are also not listed in the EWG database. We found these too work great! Cleaned well and dishes came out streak-free.
I currently have both in my home. Although I most often reach for the Branch Basics because I am able to wash my dishes for about 20 cents less than with the Ava Home pods, but it is also not a huge price to pay for the conviences of a great non-toxic, eco-friendly cleaner!
If you want to review your products, you can check out the EWG Guide to Healthy Cleaning.
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