Think of this as a Public Service Announcement...or...permission to stop hating your dishwasher. Because if you're dishwasher is like mine, then you've probably wondered why it wasn't cleaning as well as it should...that maybe it was time for a new dishwasher? That's what I thought. But my dishwasher was working just fine...it was the detergent that wasn't. Last year, 17 states adopted a Phosphate Free policy for dishwasher detergents...because some tree-hugging-spotted-owl-loving-Berkinstock-wearing-chai-soy-latte-sippping environmentalist said phosphates make algae grow in ponds, and apparently that's worse than clean dishes. You can read more about this, on many sites, like NPR or Appliance.net or USA Today
Phosphates can easily be put back into your dishwasher detergent - just pick up a box of TSP at Lowe's or Home Depot, it's in the paint department and a 4-lb. box will set you back about $10.00. I was told the ratio, for powdered detergent, is two parts detergent to one part TSP. So I mixed my detergent and TSP together in a separate container, now I just scoop out the amount I need for each wash. If you use a liquid detergent or those new little balls, just toss in a teaspoon of TSP when you put in your detergent.
Thanks to the Fashionista and her soil-scientist-father-in-law who told me about this...my dishwasher is no longer the recipient of my wrath.
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Update: My new BFF Eric left me a comment on this post, he called me "Freaken lazy...narrow minded and short sided..." I took exception with being called lazy...the other names I'll freely admit to! He said I wanted to destroy the environment to keep from having a few spots on my glasses...rather extreme I thought! Eric encouraged me to read about phosphates, what they are and what they do...and I am going to do just that. I will fill my vacuous head, (as Eric said, the ornament on top of my shoulders) with all the information I can find about phosphates and then I will probably continue to use phosphates in my detergent because clean dishes matter to me. But Eric raised a good point...we should educate ourselves about the chemicals in our lives...and then, with whatever brain power we have, make our OWN decisions. Thank you Eric, for your comments and for prompting me to "see the bigger picture." I'll try to do that, but it will be so much easier to see it through clear glass.
