How well is your dishwasher working?

Fishing Clubs Midlands Striper Club
1

In case you didn’t know, in 2010 seventeen (17) states passed laws banning phosphates in dishwashing detergents. Phosphates have long been considered the main reason for increased eutrophication of our nations water bodies and Lake Murray is no exception. When the algae blooms die off, sink to the bottom and decompose, it zaps the water of oxygen and often resulting in fish kills. The more phosphorous we can remove from our water, the more healthy our lake will be.

As a result, the major detergent manufacturers reformulated to remove phosphates from these products the same year. South Carolina has enacted the same ban which takes place July 1 of this year but you won’t notice anything different now because the real changes took place almost 2 years ago. So if you’ve noticed your dishes don’t look quite as clean as they use to be, well now you know not to blame the dishwasher…

I hope the gains we see in cleaner water offset the energy consumption and water usage from having to wash the dishes twice. If you have problems with “hard water” then the elimination of phosphates from detergents will be particularly hard for you. I have seen suggestions to add 1/2 to 2/3 cup of vinegar to your dishwasher to improve results.

Here are some links to the new law and a little history on the phosphate detergent conflict that has been going on since the late 1960’s, and some tips to boost dishwasher performance…

http://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess119_2011-2012/bills/3470.htm

http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/full_text_search/AllCRCDocs/94-54.htm

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120126005979/en/Consumers-Cloudy-Phosphate-Ban

I’ve spent about 85% of my life’s wages on fishing, the rest I just wasted…

2

Great post, Woody.

Cascade’s entire line of dishwashing products is now phosphate free. Because of environmental concerns and a phosphate ban effective in 16 states, the entire line of Cascade dishwasher products became phosphate-free as of July 1, 2010.

I use Cascade Complete gel…and never see water spots and only marginally pre-rinse dishes, however Cascade Complete All-in-1 ActionPacs are top-rated by more experts and users than any other dishwasher detergent. This detergent aces comparison testing and is a favorite of reviewers, who say it removes grease and dried-on foods, leaves no spots or residue and removes streaks from glassware without having to pre-rinse.

3

I haven’t seen a change, however I use a Miele dishwasher. I also only use Cascade Complete powder. Gel suck for washing dishes as do the action pacs. Stick with powder and you will be fine.

4

My dishwasher works fine, but man does she b1tch about it :smiley::smiley:

Fishb8 (Fish Bait)

23 Sea Hunt “My Last Boat V”

If you can’t stand behind our soldiers, try standing in front of them.

5

Mine too…and I HATE hearin’ m’self *****

6

Wish you had posted this a day earlier. Several of my guests in one of my rental cottages said “the dishwasher does not get the dishes clean”. So at my wife’s urging, I bought a new dishwasher yesterday!! Oh well, we will see if the new one does better.

Rick

7

Hey Jim you sound like you are VERY familiar with the dishwasher. No wonder we rarely see fishing reports from you anymore!

8

Yup…VERY familiar! :smiley: