What’s in your dishwasher detergent?
The other day I had to go out and buy more dishwasher soap. I stood there in the aisle at the grocery store reading all kinds of labels, but forgot to do the research about what I was looking for before I went. I used to use Cascade Gel and it seemed to work, but never really branched out into other cleaners. With reading the labels and no clue what it was that I was really reading, I bought a product from Palmolive. Palmolive Eco+ is a Phosphate free product, which is supposed to be better for lakes and streams. Living so close to Lake Erie, I thought this was pretty important.
I got home and started doing research. Most websites I found say you should try to stay away from two things when it comes to dishwasher detergent, phosphates and bleach. I experienced one of those “duh” moments. Of course, bleach is such a harsh chemical. So I looked at my new bottle of Palmolive Eco+ and guess what. It contains bleach, so much for the “eco” part of Palmolive. It certainly is a step in the right direction though.
Next time I need to buy more dishwasher detergent, I’m going to read the labels for bleach as well. Seventh Generation and Mrs. Meyers brands are pretty well known, and talked about a lot, in the green community. Maybe I’ll give one of those a try.
Union of Concerned Scientists and Nature Moms have some decent background information on the chemicals and why you should avoid them.
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:59 am
Hi there,
Thought you might be interested to read my review of Palmolive eco+ gel. I didn’t have quite the negative reaction that you did (I believe that some steps toward product greenness are better than none at all), but I certainly agree with some of your concerns.
Here’s the link if you’re interested - http://1greenproduct.com/2008/07/kitchen-palmolive-eco-gel-dishwasher.html
Hope you and your readers find it useful!
- Aaron Dalton, 1GreenProduct.com