You may have heard the term phosphates before, especially in relation to your laundry detergent (which is hopefully phosphate-free). Phosphates used to be very common in laundry detergents, until the word got out that they were messing up our lakes and ponds through a little thing called eutrophication.Water bodies are typically extremely nutrient-limited and phosphates (from phosphorous) are nutrients. So, when you suddenly dump a bunch of nutrients into a nutrient-limited system, you are going to stimulate a bunch of growth. On land, this is oftentimes a good thing, but in water... not so much. In short, these nutrients cause big blooms of algae, which shades out plants at the bottom who need light to photosynthesize. Then, as some of the algae starts to die, decomposers break it down. Decomposers are our friends, but when they break down organic matter in water systems, they can use up all of the available oxygen in the process. This dissolved oxygen is vital to fish and other aquatic organisms, and without it, they die. So, in short, these nutrients result in dead zones where nothing can grow. This happens from nitrogen inputs as well, which has created a ginormous dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Yuck-o.
So anyways, most laundry detergent no longer contains phosphates but it is still lurking in many dishwasher detergents. So look for brands labeled as phosphate-free (trader joe's brand is inexpensive and does not contain phosphate or chlorine). Or try making your own. In Green Housekeeping, Sandbeck gives a recipe for equal parts borax and washing soda that can be a substitute for store bought detergent. However do not wash aluminum or teflon with this detergent.
Also, you may be pleased to know that according to Ellen Sandbeck (Green Housekeeping) dishwashers are actually more efficient and use less water than washing dishes by hand (as long as your dishwasher is relatively new and you only run it when it is full).
Do you find that the TJ brand cleans well? I love TJ's but I stopped buying their dishwasher soap because I found it just did not clean my dishes that well- There is the whole 'to rinse or not to rinse' issue which my husband and I are at odds- I use Cascade action packs- the little tablets clean really well and for sure not good for the environment-BUT I did not waste water to pre-rinse...
ReplyDeleteso much to think about.
The TJ's brand works fine for us, but we also have the same non-agreement at our house.... I am for not rinsing (which uses less water) and my hubby insists on rinsing before putting in the dishwasher. So far, he has won, and maybe that's why the TJ's brand has been OK for us. I want to try to make my own and see how that works out... if I do, I will let you know.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for rinsing before the dishwasher, I actually read that it is better for your dishes NOT to rinse -- because of the way the detergent is designed, it actually needs food particles to hit or else it can damage your dishes. And it uses less water. However, the few times I havent rinsed and a really nasty dish has come back out, have made rinsing a 'must' at our house!