Green Automatic Dishwasher detergents – FAIL

Posted on by Jenny Posted in environment, green living, product review

Much like my search for a green kitty litter, my search for a green automatic dishwasher detergent has not gone well. I have tried 2 so far, Earth Friendly Products Wave Auto Dishwasher Gel and Seventh Generation Dishwasher Gel. Since we rent our home, we don’t have control over the type of dishwashing machine that we have, and ours isn’t the newest. However, with regular (non-“green”) dishwasher gels, we have never had any trouble getting the dishes clean. With both of these green products, we had to actually completely scrub everything we put into the dishwasher before running the washer. Not pre-rinse, but actually pre-wash completely. And even then, somehow both these products managed to deposit more detrius back onto the dishes and glasses than they went in with. When using them, I had to wash the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher and then again afterward. What was the point of wasting all that time and money in the dishwasher at all?

Here is an example: I made fried okra last night and I used a stainless steel slotted spoon to scoop the finished okra out of the pan. That is all I did with it. There was nothing encrusted on it, it was just greasy. I wiped it with a soapy sponge before putting it into the dishwasher and then I ran the dishwasher. When I took the spoon out, it was still completely covered in grease. I had to get a non-green cleaner and scrub it, because my green hand-dishwashing liquid didn’t work either.  Argh!

So, I had to go to the store today and buy non-green automatic dishwashing pellets so I can go back to having clean dishes. Very sad. I want to be green with the dishes, really I do…but it doesn’t make sense to wash everything 3 times!
On a related note…I have 2 barely-used bottles of green automatic dishwashing gel…anyone want them?

UPDATE: I continue the search with 3 more green automatic dishwasher detergents here.