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When we first started chasing this down, we headed in the direction of phosphates, those eco-enemies that pollute waterways by fertilizing the algae already living there, causing massive blooms that choke out other plants and animals in the ecosystem. Phosphates are so wicked, in fact, that in 2010, 16 states banned the sale of high-phosphate detergents.
Phosphates do clean beautifully. The salt of phosphoric acid acts "like a little fatty acid that gets around food particles and makes them slippery, so they can't stick to each other, or the pan," says Daryl Thompson, a food scientist for Florida's Global Research and Discovery Group. That's how the crud on your dishes washes away easily with water. With phosphates effectively banned in automatic dishwashing detergent, manufacturers of detergents are getting besieged with complaints from consumers who say the reformulated products don't work as well.
But dishwashing liquids (soaps you squirt out of a plastic bottle to do dishes by hand, as opposed to those for the automatic dishwasher) haven't had phosphates in them for a long time—like, decades. If you did dishes in the '70s or '80s, you may have run across liquid dish soap with phosphates, and if you did, you probably noticed how effective it was.
Since phosphates have already been ruled out, what's the difference between ecofriendly and regular dish soaps? Mainly, ecofriendly soaps don't contain cleansing agents sourced from petroleum. Instead of using substances like dipropylene glycol n-butyl ether, a fine product from Dow found in the ingredient list for Dawn Power Dissolver, ecosoaps use plant-derived ingredients like lauramine oxide, derived from coconut oil and found in dish liquids from both Method and Seventh Generation.
Does the plant-based stuff work? As of yet, there have been no definitive studies comparing plant- and petroleum-based cleansers. (Interestingly, Dawn is the preferred cleanser for cleaning up birds after oil spills, which is ironic, since Dawn contains ingredients derived from the very same oil.)
Representatives from Colgate (maker of Ajax and Palmolive dish soaps) and Procter & Gamble (Dawn, Joy) also point out that some formulations are "concentrated" or "ultra-concentrated," i.e., contain higher proportions of active ingredients relative to water. You'll need less of a concentrated brand to do a sinkful of dishes, so be aware of what you're buying.
At home, Global Research and Discovery Group's Thompson doesn't even bother with store-bought dish soap—he uses a nonpolluting mix of equal parts baking soda, borax, and citric acid (use a packet of powdered lemonade mix if you can't find citric acid). Borax and baking soda are gentle abrasives, and the mixture of citric acid with water and baking soda softens the water, allowing dirt and grease to dissolve more easily. Plus, the reaction of borax with water, particularly hot water, creates hydrogen peroxide, a weak bleach.
I appreciate the home mix recipe. I'm going to try it. Would it work in my telemetric dishwasher? Or just the hand wash?
I really miss my phosphates!
agree with most of the commenter. im looking for substance, not suds, and this article is all froth, doesn't clean up the question at all. The least Ms. Slaton could have done was have a spaghetti dinner for 50-100 of her closest friends, used real china and glass and wash half the dishes in dawn or palmolive and half in new generation or method and find out which worked best for her. Oh, and...+READ
agree with most of the commenter. im looking for substance, not suds, and this article is all froth, doesn't clean up the question at all. The least Ms. Slaton could have done was have a spaghetti dinner for 50-100 of her closest friends, used real china and glass and wash half the dishes in dawn or palmolive and half in new generation or method and find out which worked best for her. Oh, and don't wash the dishes till the next morning.-COLLAPSE
Terrible article. Get your act together, give us raw data, conclusions, reasoning - I would even settle for 1 of 3 at this point. Oh yeah, and get an editor. How did this drivel make it to your website?
I have tried Seventh Generation and it didn't clean as well as Dawn which I think works the best...Especially Dawn Direct Foam!
This article sucks. It starts with a completely bullshit thesis, is poorly organized, and i second rockfish42's comment. COOK'S ILLUSTRATED ALREADY DID A TEST. Now granted it's not the be all end all of tests, but I trust them with consumer quasi-science. Also, my Method soap cleans just as good as the Palmolive my roommates use, and the Method smells so good it makes me WANT to clean my dishes.
"Regular" soap doesn't clean better, and it stinks to high heaven. Who wants a mouthful of Dawn or Lemon Whatits with their glass of wine?
You didn't even bother to tell us how you got to the conclusion that "regular" soap works better. Was there a study? A poll? I agree with Monopod: This article is lazy.
I'm with the others that the premise of this article is flawed. Ecofriendly soap works just as well for me, if not better. And the article seems pretty lazy - it doesn't reach any conclusions, or interview anyone in the eco soap industry. Why bother writing it?
That's funny, Cook's Illustrated seems to think that the eco-friendly ones work better.
I use Ecover too; I prefer it over Seventh Generation (doesn't clean as well) and Method (overly-scented). I haven't used regular dish detergent in years though, so while I can't compare how well it cleans to Dawn, Palmolive, etc., my dishes come out clean every time.
Here's their website: http://www.ecover.com/us/en/Products/
I agree with JudiaAU---it doesn't. We also use and love Method. And I found a "green" diswasher detergent that works better than ANY I have ever used---Ecover. It's far and away the best product out there. Think your dishwasher sucks? It's probably your dishwasher detergent.
Whole Foods carries Ecover. I get the powder. Even the packaging is green.
I use 7th generation and find that I need, on very greasy pans, to use a little Bon Ami or I can end up with a greasy film - and I put a lot of elbow grease into cleaning and maintaining my pans.
seventh generation dishwashing soap is also quite decent.
It doesn't. We Method unscented and it works equally well without the pollution, dyes, and stink of traditional brands.
Dawn is the "bird cleaner" brand of choice because they donate it for publicity.