Washington State Bans Phosphorus in Dishwasher Detergent

old dishwasher ad photo When I used to design cottages, I would try to convince clients to wash their dishes by hand and not install dishwashers; the detergent is the last to contain phosphates, which leach into lakes. There are lots of low phosphate or now phosphate detergents on the market, but they used to cost more and did not work as well. Now the State of Washington has booted Cascade and Electrasol off the shelves, blaming them for feeding algae blooms, and when algae die, their decay uses up oxygen, choking lakes and streams, suffocating salmon and other aquatic life. As of July 1st, any dishwasher detergent for residential use must have no more than half a percent phosphorus. No word on why it is still allowed for commercial uses, that go through tons of the stuff. ::Bellingham Herald

Brands like Seventh Generation and Ecover are still on the shelves. We would be interested in hearing if readers have used low and zero phosphate dishwasher detergents and if they thought they worked as well.

It does add a twist to the question Dishwasher vs Handwashing: the Winner