Product reviews:
Recently I decided we needed to change our dishwasher detergent, since Kirkland Signature brand (though it gets the dishes really clean) contains somewhere around 6% phosphates. (Note: this just might change as Spokane County is going forward with a phosphate ban this year.)
So I decided to try Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwasher Gel. Well, I was disappointed right away and wondered if all "natural" dishwasher detergents worked so poorly. (And this particular product of theirs is actually not as natural as other natural brands!) The glasses usually looked streaked, and often the plates and other dishes had residue on them, especially grease. Also, it didn't take out coffee/tea stains. This product retails for about 6.49, and I'm not sure how many loads it does, but it's 45 oz. and the instructions are to fill the dispenser cups in your dishwasher completely. I'm guessing, then, it does at best 45 loads. That's 14 cents a load. At best. Oh, and I always had to add Borax or baking soda to increase effectiveness.
Okay, so I did a little research online before buying another product I wouldn't like. Biokleen had good reviews--better than Seventh Generation. At Super Supplements, they have this for 6.79 right now. I got Biokleen's Automatic Dish Powder, and it does 64 loads. That figures to 11 cents a load. I only use 1 tablespoon for a load, and am very happy with it. No greasy residue, hardly any streak on the glasses (and those that are, I'm suspicious are just leftover from before). I recommend this product if you're wanting to switch to something more natural for the lakes and rivers, and for your own health (chlorine is toxic).
4 comments:
Oh, sounds good! I got some phosphate-free Palmolive dishwasher detergent and it does a decent job, but I do notice more streaking on the glasses.
I was just at a meeting tonight at which the participants stated that different phosphorus-free products are better depending on the kind of water you have (varying pH, hard/soft water, etc.). For example, Seventh Generation might work well in Liberty Lake, but not so well on Spokane's south hill.
Hopefully the experiences of the first adopters (like my family) will help guide our neighbors in choosing the product which works best for their area.
Thanks for trying it out!
You should have seen the stuff we used at Denny's. Three different highly concentrated chemicals, all of which are extremely corrosive, but they sure did the job. We also used hot 160F water though, and our dishwasher was like a giant enclosed blasting cabinet with 4 spinning pressure washers. I want one of those for my own home some day. :-P But yeah...anyway, uh... go Earth! ...Yay environment?
Sometimes I wonder if just using really hot water would be enough to get the dishes clean...maybe we don't really need soap on every load???
-Mommy
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