Green Blog: Didn't You Know Clean Is All In The Phosphates?

Welcome readers.  I'm John Konior and I believe that we make choices every day and many impact our community, whether we know it or not.

Sustainability or "Green" is a choice too.  However, many times we hear the word "green" and think it’s some far-flung idea or "I could never do that."  In reality most of us make "green" or sustainable choices every day.  We choose to recycle a soda can or buy recycled paper products. 

One example you probably don’t even know of is your dishwasher detergent.  State and federal changes to address water quality passed in 2010, regarding phosphates, prompted manufacturers to make only one type of detergent, low-phosphate.  This change has been coming for decades and manufactures used to make both high-phosphate (0.5% or higher) and low-phosphate (0.5% or less).

Phosphates are a great way to break up and remove grease and other stuck on food matter.  However, they are very expensive to remove from wastewater (most places do not) and are very toxic to the environment (algae blooms).

The trouble is that hard water (8-grain or higher), which we in Urbandale have (8.4 or higher), requires high-phosphate levels in detergent to work effectively. 

You will be hard pressed to buy high-phosphate detergent any longer so don’t waste your time. 

You could always pre-soak or pre-rinse your dishes, or purchase a water softener system.  Both may not be high on your list.  Easier and less costly is to use a citric acid supplement, found where you buy your dishwasher detergent now.  The citric acid acts like the high phosphate and helps remove those stuck on items. 

Have you had success with any particular citric acid products that you recommend?