A growing number of consumers are reporting that their dishes are not getting clean in their dishwashers.
Recent state laws have limited the amount of phosphates that dishwasher soap manufactures can have in their soap. After 16 states adopted such laws, manufactures changed the formulas that they sell nationwide.
I used melaleuca and it did a terrible job. i was shown a test between melaleuca and cascade with foil. The Cascade ate up the foil and the melaleuca did nothing.
Wow, I am one of those people who bought new glasses!!!! After being here for 6 years we got the white film on them we bought new (they were cheap) so that we would have nicer looking glasses for the holidays and they already have the film on them.
I was thinking something had changed with our well water.
Consumer Reports tested phosphate and non-phosphate containing detergents back in August 2009, if you want the ratings of the specific detergents tested, go to the link below - it's paid access only unfortunately. They mention that Method Smarty detergent packs are very good, and I concur - it's what I use. However, I scrape/lightly pre-rinse my dishes and we don't wash our pots and pans in the dishwasher (hubby has to have professional grade cookware that can't go in, lucky me handwashing all the heavy stuff!) so Method does a fine job on our not heavily soiled dishes.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/maga ... ent-ov.htm Which detergents cut the mustard?
Last reviewed: August 2009
Proposed federal legislation to ban dishwasher detergents containing all but trace amounts of phosphates is designed to help the environment. But many of the eco-friendly products in the latest batch we tested are not great at cleaning dishes.
Five other detergents were very good, including phosphate-free Method Smarty Dish tablets, proving that detergents don't have to contain phosphates to work well. Method's success might be due to the amount and type of its enzymes, which help break up food for easier removal. Tips for dazzling dishes
Any detergent is apt to clean better if you scrape off heavy soil before loading dishes. (You'll save energy and water if you don't prerinse.) Then take these steps:
* Load large items at the sides and back so they don't block water and detergent.
* Face the dirtier side of dishes toward the center of the machine.
* Don't let dishes or utensils nest.
* Rest glasses upside down on prongs so that they don't fill with water.
* Hand-wash silver and fine glassware. Judging by tests that mimicked long-time machine-washing, some products could be harsh on silver (Cascade with Extra Bleach Action powder, Great Value, Sun & Earth, and Target) or could etch fine glassware (Cascade with Extra Bleach Action powder, Finish Quantum, Method, Seventh Generation, and Simplicity).
If you'd prefer a detergent without phosphates, choose Method or Simplicity.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
As of 2010, over 14,000 water bodies across the country were listed as impaired for nutrients, organic enrichment, algal growth, and/or ammonia. While phosphorus and nitrogen compounds have only been found to be the direct cause of about 4,000 of these impairments, they likely play a major role in most of the other unspecified nutrient and nutrient loading-related impairments (Hypoxia, algae blooms, fish kills).
Reduction of phosphorous in products is a good start. New regulations being forced on Wastewater treatment facilities will prolly affect the rates of their customers.
Edit to add: Look for new regulations out of the counties for monitoring dischrges from privately owned septic systems. They are already monitoring nutrient levels in watersheds that are heavily populated with individual septic disposal systems.
