Posted on 08/22/2010 10:34:20 PM PDT by smokingfrog
Baltimore - A ban that's designed to protect the Chesapeake Bay from a dangerous pollutant went into effect more than a month ago and you may not even noticed. That ban impacts the detergent we all use in our dishwashers. ABC2 News Investigator Joce Sterman explains what's been cut out of the cleaning product and where we found banned items out for sale.
She's got kids, a career and still has to make time to do those households chores. It's obvious Lutherville’s Jenny Atwater is a busy mom with plenty on her plate. She says, “I hate unloading the dishwasher and I really hate unloading the dishwasher and seeing the dishes seem not very clean."
But Atwater has noticed that’s been happening a lot lately. She tells us, "I do notice there tends to be more stuff left with this detergent, just stuff that normally would have been washed away probably."
The dish detergent she's talking about is phosphate free. Jenny made the switch a few months, and chances are so did you, although you probably didn’t even notice. Jenn Aiosa with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation says, "The average consumer doesn't know."
Marylanders may not be aware that automatic dishwasher detergents with phosphorus are now banned in this state and more than a dozen others. The ban is thanks to a law put in place to help get rid of one of the biggest pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay. Aiosa explains, "It's really something that's relatively easy in the grand scheme of things for consumers to do but can have an impact."
The impact is something you should already be seeing on store shelves, but it took awhile to put this plan in place. Dennis Griesing with the American Cleaning Institute says, "It was a significant undertaking."
(Excerpt) Read more at abc2news.com ...
” but steer clear of one of those HE washing machines. They are a major pain. “
My Kenmore Elite HE is excellent.
I just looked up HE washing machines and dishwashers. Apparently both need extra cleaning or unwelcome odors occur. We’ve never had to clean the inside of our old dishwasher. Using the hot cycle probably has something to do with it. So much for saving the environment when one has to use water just to clean an empty dishwasher, not to mention re-washing dishes.
Go to The Dollar Tree and get the old ones for $1 a box. Name brands like Sylvania :>}
I live on Long Island. About thirty-odd years ago the Suffolk County Legislature passed a similar ban. It eventually went away when it was found that the phosphates didn’t show up in our waterways or our water supply.
More politicians with a lot more time on their hands than common sense in their heads!
Stay away from anything Maytag. I need a new one too, but haven’t started looking yet. I need one that lasts more than three years.
Oh no! I had my eye on a Maytag Jetclean.
My current, broken-down one is a Jenn-Air that’s already been repaired once, leaked and ruined my new floor, and the racks are rusting-out.
Unknown secret.
Electrolux.
Now this is a crisis.
I am the dishwasher. What I can’t handle the dogs usually can.
We've had a Samsung for over a year. It does a great job. Just leave the door open after washing to let it dry out. No problem with smell. Never wiped the gasket or used any cleaners.
The Chesapeake Bay is already on it’s last legs, thanks to Chicken Poop used to fertilise fields, No till grass killers used in farming. Sewage from over flowing treatment plants, too many houses built on the water, Waste from cats and dogs being discharged into storm sewers which aren’t treated, from Baltimore, Washington DC, Richmond.
The crabs are dying out , the oysters are already dead or dying.
In my youth if I got a bad cut. my mother would take me down to the river and let me swim for a while, and the sore would heal. Now if you have an open sore and you get close to the river you couls lose your arm.
I live on the Potomac and am afraid to let my Grandchildren get in the river. Watermen here have lost their infected fingers and some have been hospitalise from getting a cut from the crab pots. I had to go on antibiotics myself from a cut while fishing my pots.
I have a very basic Bosch dishwasher, purchased new 5 years ago when we built the house. It freaked me out for a week because it was so quiet, I was constantly checking to make sure it was working!
Until recently it washed dishes beautifully. No gunk, leftover bits or film. But because I read the post here on FR about phosphates being removed from detergent I noticed when Cascade phased it out of the box I buy at Sam’s. Since then I’ve noticed a film on the dishes and more food particles left over.
I’ve yet to try the vinegar trick. It’s hard to catch the Bosh between cycles.
My folks bought a Maytag clothes washer. Thing was a lemon, and couldn’t get service from the company. Had to replace it in a year.
Most dishwashers have an "Extra cleaner" cup on the door. When the door closes, it dumps in the extra detergent, then when it is appropriate in the cycle, the regular detergent door releases.
Go to the hardware store and buy a box of TSP, Trisodium phoshpate. Put that in the "extra Detergent" cup, and reconsitute the missing ingredient that way, or blend it with the New Earth Soap, and use as usual.
What you’d need is a truck, a box on a chassis that is weather tight. It should be nondescript and not draw attention, you know, like an RV.
You could set up a flea market stall and sell out by noon. Or, stay home and ell from Ebay and ship every single day via USPO or UPS
Tips:
Always use the HE detergent. Regular detergent creates too much suds and will cause premature machine failure.
If you have regular strength HE detergent, use 2 tablespoons.
If you have 2X, only use 1 tablespoon.
The odor you are getting is from using too much detergent. The detergent is enzyme based. If it does not get completely rinsed out, it will grow in your washer. The odor is "soap mold", much like forms in a shower.
You can buy a product from Menards, Lowes, etc. called "Affresh", it will clean the mold out.
I would avoid vinegar and ammonia as these could lead to premature failures in gaskets and seals.
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