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Creating Criminals out of Housewives


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Spokane residents smuggle suds over green brands

SPOKANE, Wash. ? The quest for squeaky-clean dishes has turned some law-abiding people in Spokane into dishwater-detergent smugglers. They are bringing Cascade or Electrasol 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.

Real estate agent Patti Marcotte of Spokane stocks up on detergent at a Costco in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and doesn't care who knows it.

"Yes, I am a smuggler," she said. "I'm taking my chances because dirty dishes I cannot live with."

(In truth, the ban applies to the sale of phosphate detergent ? not its use or possession ? so Marcotte is not in any legal trouble.)

Marcotte said she tried every green brand in her dishwasher and found none would remove grease and pieces of food. Everybody she knows buys dishwasher detergent in Idaho, she said.

Supporters of the ban acknowledge it is not very popular.

"I'm not hearing a lot of positive feedback," conceded Shannon Brattebo of the Washington Lake Protection Association, a prime mover of the ban. "I think people are driving to Idaho."

Steve Marcy, manager of the Costco in Coeur d'Alene, about 10 miles east of the Washington state line, estimated that sales of dishwasher detergent in his store have increased 10 percent. He knows where the customers are coming from.

"I'll joke with them and ask if they are from Spokane," Marcy said. "They say, `Oh yeah.'"

Shoppers can still buy phosphate detergents in Washington state by venturing outside Spokane County, but Idaho is more convenient to many Spokane residents.

Phosphates ? the main cleaning agent in many detergents and household cleaners ? break down grease and remove stains. However, the chemicals are difficult to remove in wastewater treatment plants and often wind up in rivers and lakes, where they promote the growth of algae. And algae gobble up oxygen in the water that fish need to survive.

While traditional detergents are up to 9 percent phosphate, those sold in Spokane County can contain no more than 0.5 percent.

The Washington Lake Protection Association has launched a campaign to encourage people to give the environmentally friendly brands a fair chance. The group suggests consumers experiment with different brands or install water softeners to help the green detergents work better.

"Clean lakes and clean dishes do not have to be mutually exclusive," said association president-elect Jacob McCann.

Phosphates have been banned in laundry detergent nationally since 1993. Washington was the first state where the Legislature passed a similar ban against dishwasher detergents, in 2006. The ban is being phased in, starting with Spokane County.

"It's nice to be on the cutting edge," Spokane resident Ken Beck, an opponent of the ban, said sarcastically.

Among other states that have banned or are banning phosphates in dishwasher detergent are Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Michigan, Vermont, Minnesota, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York. A bill on Capitol Hill would impose a nationwide ban.

The Soap and Detergent Association, which represents manufacturers, initially fought the bans. But as the movement gained strength across the country, the association asked legislatures to delay bans until July 2010 to allow for a uniform rollout of products.

The industry has been working to develop better low-phosphate detergents, said Dennis Griesing, vice president of the manufacturers group.

"This is an irrevocable, nationwide commitment on the industry's part," he said.

For his part, Beck has taken to washing his dishes on his machine's pots-and-pans cycle, which takes longer and uses five gallons more water. Beck wonders if that isn't as tough on the environment as phosphates.

"How much is this really costing us?" Beck said. "Aren't we transferring the environmental consequences to something else?"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090327/ap_ ... _detergent

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On the Net:

Washingtion Lake Protection Association: http://www.walpa.org

Soap and Detergent Association: http://www.cleaning101.com

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And some people still think we live in a country where we are free! They regulate the amount of water a toilet will flush' date=' the kind of soap we wash our dishes with...[/quote']
Indeed. As the poem goes:

"First they came first for the dishwasher tablets,
And I didn?t speak up because I wasn't a dishwasher tablet;
And then they came for the..."

Can't remember the rest.
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I've used a dishwasher several times without soap. Most dishwashing machines in my experience are nothing more than dish sterilizers (because of how hot they can get the water) and actual dish washers. If your dishes are still coming out dirty, then you'r not rinsing them off properly before putting them in.

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Boy, is this a roll-your-eyes piece of legislation!!! Just the answer to WA's finances - make a law that drives people over the border. :loco But it's really no surprise. WA is pretty liberal, due to King County and other places - like Spokane. Although, my mom hasn't been affected by this. She's all the way on the west coast, so perhaps they still have phosphates there. :eek

Man, when we were growing up, we would once in a while ask our dad for a dishwasher...he'd always say he had two already! :lol: I'd love a dishwasher now, but we just do things the semi-old fashioned way: by hand. I say semi, because we don't have to draw or pump the water! :lol:

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To give the other side of the argument: in the UK, reducing phosphate and nitrate levels in rivers has brought many back to life. Rivers that were 'dead zones' with no fish, birds or otters are now home to these creatures for the first time in 20 years.

But what is the value of fish in rivers? I would argue that fishing and hunting in rivers is a part of our culture (in the UK at least) and has value. For some it is a living and others a recreation--but even the recreation is valuable. Of course, the argument could be made that a wife saving on elbow grease is more important a child or father being able to fish for food or recreation. Who can say...

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You could use a water softener if you have hard water. We found that after we installed ours, all the pipes and tanks did not scale up. An additional bonus is that I used to get rashes on my shins and other parts of my body, which went after we installed the water softener.

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