The Green Mama Daily Decisions: Dish Detergent

I looked into repairing our 7 year old dishwasher, but soon learned that buying a new one will be more cost-effective for us. Between the service call and the repairs it could be 2x more expensive than buying a new machine! We will be buying a energy star (super efficient) version when we do, and looking for a way to responsibly dispose of this one. But for now we are washing our plates, glasses, pots and pans in the sink.

I often hear dissatisfaction from people about their eco-friendly dishwasher detergent. Most commonly "the green options don't work as well" or "my husband cannot stand when the glasses have spots". After trying a few brands we found one that worked well for us, and we save $ and detergent by using white distilled vinegar as a rinse aid. 

But without our machine, we felt we were starting at square one. We've been using Dr. Bronners peppermint castile liquid (diluted in half). Its great at quick washes and gentle on our skin. But after weeks of washing with it alone, I noticed some build-up on our glasses and pots. Maybe we didn't use enough elbow grease, or hot enough water, but we decided to step it up a notch and borrowed some dish soap from our neighbors. After one use of the "leading brand" of yellow, antibacterial, lemony smelling suds I knew we had gone too far. That was 3 days ago and my hands are still dried out. This product was laced with synthetic fragrances, harmful dyes, harsh detergents and triclosan, but it got our dishes clean. I could see the allure. 

The Green Mama's bottom-line: sometimes we are faced with a bunch of not great choices. We do our best, one decision at a time, working to find the best option for us and our families. And we read the labels!! We have scaled back and are currently using a fragrance and dye free version made by Seventh Generation, after the Trader Joe's brand turned out to have small amount of dye in it and a safey warning about not getting it into your eyes. Who are they kidding? How can you soap up a whole sinkful of dishes without getting a little in your eyes during the inevitable soap fight?