Q&A: A Green automatic dishwashing detergent that works

Your eco-questions answered:

Question: Love all of the "green" clean products, especially Ed's Best but can't find a dishwasher soap that actually cleans the dishes!!! I've tried them all. Suggestions anyone? Carey Okrand

Answer: The difficulty of finding a dishwashing detergent that does its job seems to be a common conundrum for environmentalists. I can name one product I definitely DON'T recommend: Trader Joe's automatic dishwashing powder. That stuff should be called a dish streaking agent. The product almost single-handedly derailed my quest to get consensus from my roommates, back when I had them, to green the apartment.

But now, I have neither roommates nor a dishwasher -- and so can't give you much in terms of personal recommendations. Still, I've looked and asked around -- and had my friend Summer try out a new detergent for me too. My findings:

Recommended:

• Ecover Dishwasher Tablets. BigGUM says, "You still need to do a bit more pre-scrubbing for really bad pots and pans, but overall, this brand works very well and I'm quite happy with it. You can buy cases really cheaply through Amazon." Jason and eloomanator also like the tablets.
• Planet Automatic Dishwasher Detergent. This is the stuff Summer generally uses and likes. Find it at Whole Foods and other green grocery stores.
• Shaklee's Get Clean Dish Wash Automatic Concentrate. Summer especially liked the fact that just two teaspoons of this concentrated detergent cleans an entire load of dishes! Downside: You can't get it in local stores.

Not recommended:

• Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwashing Gel. Kelly Leahy of Green Daily says this stuff only worked moderately well. BigGum and Paul concur.
• Trader Joe's automatic dishwashing powder. I already noted how poorly this stuff worked.
• Whole Foods' 365 brand powder detergent. Kelly says she had an "unsuccessful affair" with this stuff.

Tried these -- or other cleaners -- yourself? Add your two cents in the comments, and I'll update the list accordingly!

Photo by Betsy via Flickr

Comments

[Robert 'Groby' Blum]

Ixnay on the "Planet" stuff. Tried it out, and it *never* cleaned our dishes. Things are streaky/dirty all the time. (Might be our dishwasher, too)

We were so disappointed that we rolled back to our non-green cleaner :(

Well, I'll give the other two a try and see what happens...

[tarbubble]

it's not fantastic, but i use Seventh Generation powder. i do soak the really nasty dishes in shallow hot water first. Method used to make cubes that were GREAT, but sadly they discontinued them. maybe we should lobby them to try again.

[DaisyG]

I love Mrs. Meyer's automatic dishwashing detergent in the powdered form.

The first time I used it, I was disappointed because I closed the detergent drawer in the dishwasher, and the dishes came out half-clean.

The second time I used it, I added a little more detergent than instructed and left the detergent drawer open. The dishes came out super clean. It works even better than Cascade.

RIP, Method Cubes, though!

[Tammi]

Citra Solv is the best I've found. Ecover stunk big time! Trader's Joes wasn't too bad but if I remember where I found my Citra-Solv I'm going back. See my review here: http://www.sustainlane.com/reviews/citra-dish-automatic-dishwasher-detergent/88JQC4CXIPK8YO4YR8SS71IJPB3N

[Siel]

Groby -- Summer says that her dishwasher isn't the watersaver type. Maybe that's the reason for the difference?

I wonder why they discontinued the Method cubes if everyone liked them so much! I'm wondering what the ingredients were --

Tammi -- I haven't seen Citra Solv around LA, but will keep an eye out -- Their "Find our products" page is under construction, so I'll have to check back --

[Ellen]

Eco-friendly automatic dishwashing detergents are all a work in progress, because they don't contain phosphates, and it is really difficult to create an auto dish formula without them. Phosphates soften water and prevent minerals in hard water from depositing on your dishes, which is why Cascade and the others were able to keep using phosphates after they were banned in other detergents. But phosphates are terrible for the environment. If you search the web, you'll see opposite reviews of the same auto dish eco- products. This is because how well these detergents work depends on not only if you have hard water but what the exact mineral mix is on any given day (rainfall affects how hard your water is!) So we'd all be better off not trashing these companies while they tinker with their formulas. Rather, if one brand doesn't work for you, try another. It isn't the company or the brand, its your water. Also, the problem is only with auto dishwasher detergent, not other products.

BTW, soaking dishes in liquid dish detergent & vinegar for 30 minutes will remove any deposits.

[Nancy Gross]

I'm using my first box of Planet dishwasher detergent. There are at least 4 or 5 dirty plates and numerous pieces of dirty silverware in every load, which we never experienced with "phosphate" detergents.

[Siel]

Nancy -- Try the other green detergents before going back to the phosphates. From the comments and emails regarding this post, it seems to me that different dishwashers "prefer" certain green cleaners to others. Usually after a couple trial and errors, you'll be able to find a green dishwashing detergent that works --