Detergent Smugglers Emerge

Bristol Herald Courier
Bristol, VA.
Saturday, March 28, 2009


Detergent smugglers emerge
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SPOKANE< Wash. – The quest for squeaky clean dishes has
turned some law-abiding people in Spokane into dishwasher-detergent
smugglers.
They are bringing Cascade or Electra-sol in from out of state
because the eco-friendly varieties required under Washington state
law don’t work as well.
Spokane County became the launch pad last July for the
nation’s strictest ban on dishwasher detergent made with phosphates,
a measure aimed at reducing water pollution. The ban will be
expanded statewide in July 2010, the


same time similar laws take effect in several other states.
But it’s not easy to get sparkling dishes when you go green.
Many people were shocked to find that products like Seventh
Generation, Ecover and Trader Joe’s left their dishes encrusted with
food, smeared with grease and too gross to use without rewashing them
by hand. The culprit was hard water, which is mineral-rich and
resistant to soap.
As a result, there has been a quiet rush of Spokane –area
shoppers heading east on Interstate 90 into Idaho in search of old-
school suds.

*****Note from Gina: OK- we have used several different brands in the past 3 years, "green",or "safe" detergents. Like it says above, didn't work too well. We tried mail-order as well as ones we picked up in the store. We just found a GEM. Costco is now carring a detergent with just 4 ingredients!! It's awesome and REALLY cleanse the dishes well. And amazingly inexpensive. A HUGE box was in the $5 range. The only down fall is that it is powder. No biggie, I just placed it in a container for easier handling then the cardboard box.