This. This is what you need.
Posted on 01/25/2011 6:41:58 AM PST by Kaslin
I began noticing the white coating, dull film, and simply unclean dishes a few weeks ago. Naturally, I suspected that other members of my clan were failing to place dishes on the racks of the dishwasher properly. "If the water can't reach it, it won't get clean," I lectured (not, ahem, for the first time), ostentatiously removing a small bowl that had been slipped under a larger one, no doubt by a person who clings to the discredited idea that dishwashers should be loaded to the gills. And those little separators in the utensil caddy -- they are there for a reason, gentlemen!
But the crisis persisted. And, as the days passed, it became clear that the matter was beyond poor placement. Bits of spaghetti, stiff and stubborn, stuck like stalactites to bowls. The walls and doors of the machine emerged waxy and coated from each wash, in contrast to the gleaming surfaces of the past. Between the tines of forks, ugly bits of hardened remains resembled something you'd see on "NCIS" -- if not quite repellent, then certainly unwelcome from what should have been a disinfected, pristine dishwasher!
I switched brands of dishwashing liquid. No change. Topped off the rinse aid reservoir. No change. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that the thought of buying a new machine flitted through my consciousness. Sparkling, squeaky-clean dishes are a necessary part of our quality of life! But our dishwasher is only three years old.
And then I learned that I don't have a personal problem. I have a political problem. Jonathan V. Last of The Weekly Standard explains that, all across the nation, innocent Americans are grappling with the identical scourge. Our dishwashers are fine. The reason our dishes are dirty is that the environmentalists have succeeded in banning phosphates from dishwashing soap.
Until recently, dishwashing soap contained about 8 percent elemental phosphorus. That's the magic element that "strips food and grease off dirty dishes and breaks down calcium-based stains." It also prevents food from reattaching to the dishes.
Or used to. As of July 2010, the nation's detergent manufacturers, bowing to laws regulating phosphorus in 17 states, reconfigured the formula for all dishwashing soap to contain less than 0.5 percent phosphorus. It's taken till now for most of us to notice, as we used up the old (the wonderful old) soap and unwittingly made the switch.
Environmentalists argue that phosphorus winds up in our lakes and streams, causing algae blooms, which in turn reduce the oxygen available for other life. They admit that the amount of phosphorus coming from dishwasher soap is small, but, according to Jani Gilbert, a spokeswoman for the Department of Ecology in Washington State, "Anything we can do is good."
Well, hang on. According to a 2003 Minnesota study, only 1.9 percent of the phosphorus in that state came from dishwashing detergent. And even The New York Times acknowledges that fertilizer and manure are the big culprits, with dishwashing soap contributing only "a fraction" of phosphates in the water.
Besides, removing phosphorus has other environmental consequences. People may run their dishwashers twice (guilty), causing more greenhouse gases to be created, or they may hand-wash their dishes using more hot water than machines do (there are studies that show that hand-washers tend to run the hot water too long -- really).
This stealth attack on our dishes happened with little public debate. If there really is a serious problem with phosphates in our rivers and streams (and from my quick inquiries, it seems to vary considerably around the nation), then voters should be offered alternatives. We can reduce our use of lawn fertilizers, for example. I'd prefer a yellow lawn to grimy dishes if it came to that.
But I need to be convinced. Remember those compact fluorescent light bulbs that were supposed to save billions of kilowatts of energy? California was an early adopter and is spending $548 million over seven years to subsidize the sale of the bulbs (the rest of us will see incandescent bulbs disappear from shelves by 2014). But now it seems the CFL bulbs don't last 9.4 years -- more like 6.3. They don't work well when they're cold. They're very expensive. They cast a garish light. And if they break, you have to don a Hazmat suit to dispose of them. Meanwhile, LED lights are coming on fast, making the whole CFL thing seem as fresh as pet rocks.
In other words, environmentalists may not know what they're talking about. In any case, something as intimate and critical as the cleanliness of our dishes ought not to be decided through stealth or back-room deals. Arise! A cascade of complaints -- to the companies and to governments -- is our best hope
You can still get the real stuff at Lowes or HD, last I checked.
Some people claim you can buy the phosphates and add them back in—I haven’t tried that yet. However, there IS a product you can add that will make the dishes come out as clean as they used to in the good old days. Lemi-Shine is a powder that someone suggested on one of the blogs discussing this. Put regular detergent in one side of the little detergent dispenser, and this Lemi Shine powder in the other. Works like a dream.
Point sources include those sources that have known and permitted phosphate discharges. These include industrial sources and waste water treatment plants. Urban area water is generally sourced to water treatment plants, thus nearly all dishwasher phosphates would be a point source (not a non-point source).
Non-point sources are from runoff. Non-point sources include agriculture, erosion, wildlife poo, etc.
(see http://www.water-research.net/phosphate.htm)
Otoh my annoyance with her could stem from her being one of the most shrill, anti-Palin snobs in so-called conservative circles.
Well at least she admits that phosphates entering the groundwater can be a problem in promoting algae bloom. This is certainly true in my area, where our lakes and streams are fairly shallow and placid. We used to enjoy swimming in our beautiful ponds; now it is disgusting to even try to wade in them. And the algae kills off our fish.
I am as right-wing as you can get (and unlike Charen, I love Sarah Palin). But there is a role for government in protecting our waters.
Obviously it is preferable to conservatives, like me, that regulations be passed legislatively, and after plenty of opportunity for public input and debate -- not by faceless and unaccountable bureaucrats who think they know best.
But Charen doesn't say how these state laws were passed, as far as I could see in this article.
Finish makes lots of products - including the ‘packs’ you used. I used to use those packs as well, but without phosphates they are junk.
Check out the link, make the concoction and your dishes and glasses will shine!
It's illegal to sell.
Do I just toss it in the soap dispenser with the soap? The first one or the second? Or does it matter?
Read the fine print on your package.
self ping for TSP & dishwasher
"We have used Cascade dishwashing powders for over 25 years in fact it is basically the only detergent we have ever used. Proctor and Gamble changed their tried and true formula to "phosphate free" and it is now USELESS and destructive to use!
The last two boxes we purchased are WORTHLESS and now CASCADE POWDER is the WORST PRODUCT WE HAVE EVER USED. It has RUINED SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WERE IN OUR DISHWASHER and coated ALL of our dishes, glasses, cups, silverware, aluminum cookware and non stick pans with a dingy, grimy white film! OUR DISHES NOW COME OUT DIRTIER THAN IF WE HAD NOT USED CASCADE AT ALL! In all of the years we have been using CASCADE we have NEVER had problems until now. My rinse aid is full. At first we thought our dishwasher was broken. I cannot continue to buy this product as it has ruined my dishes.
Proctor and Gamble's excuse for changing the formula was that they are required to be phosphate free by "state and local" laws. Be that as it may they should have created a product that WORKS before releasing it to the public!
I called to complain and P&G admitted that NOW their CASCADE powder DOES NOT WORK if you do not have perfect soft water! In order to clean my dishes I was told that I need to use their Cascade gell or their Cascade Complete! Consumers should not have to pay THREE TIMES AS MUCH JUST TO GET CLEAN DISHES!
CASCADE DISHWASHING powder is supposed to CLEAN dishes, not make them dirty!
If Proctor and Gamble is no longer capable of creating a CASCADE POWDER product/formula that CLEANS dishes instead of making them dirty and destroys them then P&G should stop selling CASCADE dishWASHING products all together and get out of the market!
Come on P&G stop blaming the consumer and reformulate the product. FIX the PROBLEM OR STOP SELLING CASCADE dishDIRTYING powder to unsuspecting consumers."
Again, AVOID ALL CASCADE Powders LIKE THE PLAGUE; they do not work and to top it off, they ruin your dishes, flatware, and pots and pans! The stuff is WORTHLESS.
Probably not a good idea considering the seal is made of wax.
I read a thread on this a month or so ago, and being as California’s also (surprisingly) off the list, just went and bought another brand that doesn’t tout itself as ‘phosphate free’.....got a bit of improvement.
Thanx for sharing......seriosly, though, regarding poor drainage - go to Walmart and buy their version of Alka Selter tabs - plop, plop, fizz and you're de-funked.
Is that powdered? Our plumber told us not to use powdered, due to the fact that it often doesn’t dissolve enough and can clog your sink trap.
We used to get our sink trap plugged, and it turns out the powder wasn't fully dissolving, hence the clogs.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.