Wednesday, March 18, 2009

natural dishwasher detergent update

Hello, sun! This is the fifth consecutive day of sun. Maybe more. Fifth consecutive day of hanging clothes on the line, at least. I am one happy gal. I think it's time to take down the Wintry pine cone wreath and replace it with something a bit more Springy.
We have company for a few days, which translates into more dishes than usual, hence the prompt follow-up to yesterday's dishwasher post. I popped an Ecover tablet in the dishwasher this morning, ran the load through, and it looks good. The tablets have a few more ingredients in them than the borax / baking soda solution (equal parts), including "plant-based fragrance", which I'm assuming can only be essential oils. I'm not sure why it's listed like that. Regardless, the fragrance isn't strong at all when the dishwasher is running, which I like - the regular grocery store stuff smells pretty vile (in my opinion) when it's going through. Of course, no scent from the baking soda / borax mix, ether. I did notice a few water spots on a glass washed in the baking soda load yesterday, but I think I was looking for them. And that's waaaay down on my list of things to be concerned about!

5 comments:

Madame Melville said...

I avoid the "detergent" section of the grocery store at all cost. I'm not an allergic sort of person, but I get a headache just walking by the stuff.

I'm intrigued by the Borax. It's on this week's grocery list so I'll volunteer to do some unscientific experimenting and let you know how I make out! I guess that means I'll have to make a trip down that isle. I'll just plug my nose and run for it!

madelyn said...

I am enjoying these posts... good stuff - I am going to try out the soda/borax detergent (thanks!)

Madame Melville said...

So I tried the borax/baking soda detergent and the results looked good. I put some vinegar in the "Jet Dry" spot and I didn't have any problems with spots or residue.

Some things I read (and you never know what you are reading on the net) say not to use borax on dishes because of its toxicity. I might call the manufacturer for fun today to see what they have to say. I'd be happy to save some $ with this solution.

I'm going to try a recipe for laundry detergent next!

Thanks for the inspiration!

Eco Yogini said...

I was always such a fan of ecover- their products worked really well! But then I checked out their actual internet site- it reveals a lot more "natural" based ingredients. Their tablets have things like substisilin- which can be a skin irritant. And then a bunch of other chemical names I have no idea what they are.
If you have any resources on searching chemical names or you know what they are that would be fantastic! I would love to be ok with Ecover again :)

ps- i am jealous that you have a dishwasher!! lol.

Sherrie said...

Wool Fairy - I think there's borax in the Ecover tablets, too - I haven't read that about the possible toxicity. Let me know what you find out!

Eco Yogini - Thanks for the info! The list of ingredients for the dishwasher tablets is here. I don't know what some of them are, either. I just googled TAED, and it's an activator for the oxygen bleach in the tablets. I don't have time right now, but I think that googling each ingredient should give the information you need. :) I might do a follow-up post on this soon! Take care!