Thursday, January 27, 2011

Doing the Dishes

A few years ago I saw a TV show about people in the Pacific Northwest who have become smugglers because phosphates have been outlawed in their area.  Phosphates are found in just about every commercial automatic dishwasher detergent but are very harmful to the environment.  In the areas where phosphates were outlawed, only phosphate-free detergents could be sold / purchased.  The program interviewed several people who were making long trips "across the border" to other areas where they could buy traditional detergents.  They would bring them back in, sometimes in large quantities to sell to friends and neighbors, creating a black market for Cascade.  They claimed the phosphate-free varieties just didn't get their dishes clean enough and they were forced into a life of crime.  Oh, how I scoffed at these people.  How bad could it be?  Didn't they have anything better to do with their time?  So maybe the dishes didn't sparkle exactly the same, aren't the fishies worth a little less shine?

At the time, I couldn't find any phosphate-free options in our area, so I didn't have to prove it to myself.  I did check regularly, though, wondering why even at Whole Foods I couldn't find a greener automatic dishwasher detergent.  All kinds of other green cleaners were available, even at my regular grocery, including liquid dish soaps, but no detergent for the dishwasher.  When I finally found one, I snatched it up immediately, ready to prove to myself that these people were just nuts to waste their time and risk fines and other penalties for a little Electrasol.

It didn't quite work out that way.  No problems with the first couple of loads, but then the glasses started getting cloudy.  I could live with that, but then some things just didn't get clean and had to be run again or hand washed.  I stuck with it, though, until I started to get a black mold or mildew in my dishwasher.  That, I could not live with.  So I went back to the bad stuff until I found another phosphate-free brand.  That one ended just the same, though.  I tried 6 or 8 brands over the course of a few months - every single one I've been able to find around here - and they all had the same end result.  Some were better than others, but none worked for me long term.  I began to see how one might be motivated to setup a smuggling operation.

I started researching alternatives and found a few make-your-own recipes.  The first batch I made was tossed out after the first load.  I had to hand wash everything because it left a really nasty film on every dish.  The second recipe was better.  It handled the glass and earthenware just fine, but still left a similar film on plastic.  About 6 weeks ago I found a recipe that I am cautiously optimistic about.  Enough so that I am going to share it here.  It seems to work better than any of the other options I have tried, though not quite as well as my favorite bad stuff.  Here's the recipe:

1 cup Washing Soda (NOT baking soda, though Arm and Hammer makes the most common washing soda as well)
1 cup Borax
1/2 cup Kosher Salt
1/2 cup Citric Acid

Just mix everything together in and airtight container.  Use about 1 Tbsp per load, a little more for heavily soiled or extra large loads. 

If you've tried my laundry detergent recipe, you have Washing Soda and Borax already.  Kosher salt is cheap and easy to find at the grocery store.  Citric Acid may be harder to find, but my local grocery sells it in the same area as other supplies for canning fruits and vegetables.  The site where I found this recipe noted that you can use Fruit Fresh instead, but that did not work as well for me and it isn't pure citric acid.  Others have said that unsweetened lemonade powder works as a substitute (no sugar or artificial sweetner), but I have not tried that.

I came across a couple other tips to improve the effectiveness of this or other phosphate-free detergents.  First, put white vinegar in the rinse agent dispenser to help the soap rinse cleaner.  This works if you stick with the bad stuff, too, and is cheaper and greener than other rinse agents.  Also, make sure your hot water is really hot.  I have mixed feelings about suggesting that you turn up your water heater because of the energy consumption, but it will help make sure your dishes are clean.  I am hoping that any energy impact is more than offset by the eliminated chemicals.

Now, I have to admit that I still have a box of the bad stuff and use it occasionally - maybe once or twice a month.  I'm working on giving it up completely, but I'm still afraid that at some point I'll start seeing the cloudy buildup or mold/mildew again.  Some sites I've read suggest that mixing 1/2 cup or so of the bad stuff into a batch of homemade detergent will give you a bit of both worlds - a greener way to clean with that extra sparkle.  That's my next plan if this one starts to go bad.

So how does this balance for me?
Heart/Body/Mind:  I definitely feel better in my heart about having fewer chemicals on my dishes, and I would not be surprised to learn that the chemicals in most detergents are bad for your body.
Time:  It takes a few minutes to make, but I can skip the detergent aisle when I'm shopping.
My Wallet: The homemade detergent is much cheaper than the bad stuff and white vinegar is cheaper than rinse aid as well.  Even using a little of the bad stuff from time to time, I'll be saving money.
The Earth:  Fewer chemicals and less packaging is a good thing!

Friday, January 21, 2011

A Post-Holiday Challenge for the New Year

I'm back!  Things got a little hectic there with the holidays and then a few bumps in the road at work.  I think things are settled and I should be able to blog again. 

During these past few weeks, as many, many gifts were exchanged, I was really mortified by the piles and piles of trash generated just in my house from all of the gift wrap and packaging.  I really LOVE the act of opening presents - not just because I'm getting something new, but the actual tearing the paper to find out what's inside is one my favorite parts of receiving gifts.  The way a pile of wrapped gifts looks under the tree makes me smile and I'm always a little sad when they've all been opened and the tree is empty again.  However, the scales in my mind have tipped and I just can't convince myself that it's OK to keep creating so much waste.  This year I used up most of what I had stocked on holiday wrapping paper and I've made a promise to myself that I will really try not to buy more.  I've challenged myself to try some reusable or recycled alternatives I've seen or read about with the smaller holidays this year - birthdays, Valentine's Day, anniversary, etc. - so I will be ready to go at least mostly paper-free for the next winter gift-giving season.

So here's my list of 10 things to consider or try:

1.  I already reuse standard gift bags and boxes, and will use more of these rather than paper.

2.  I have occasionally given gifts in reuseable shopping bags rather than the standard gift bag.  I really love this idea and promise myself that I will find more cute ones to use this year.  The bag then becomes part of the gift and will hopefully encourage the recipient to take it with them when they shop.

3.  Other uncommon reuseable bags would make great gift bags as well, and may be something that others don't already have by the dozens - produce bags, snack bags, sandwich bags and stuff sacks would all work well and be multi-purpose.

4.  There are several pre-made fabric reusable gift bag options on the market as well.  Wrapsacks are cute and colorful and may even make the tree look just as pretty as paper.  Rewrap Gift Bags have multiple To: and From: labels on the front so as it gets reused you follow the bag's travels.  Looks like a fun way to reuse!

5.  I am "this close" to buying another sewing machine.  My last one was a victim of Katrina and a was never replaced.  It would be a very simple thing to make my own fabric bags from scraps and remnants.  I could use old clothes that are too damaged / worn to donate to charities and raid bargain bins at fabric stores.

6.  I will start looking at the packaging my other products come in throughout the year for reusability.  I could kick myself because I just threw out a fabric zippered bag a sheet set came in because I was in a cleaning fit and couldn't figure out where to keep it or what to use it for.  It would have been a great gift bag! 

7.  I will also learn to wrap with fabric.  There are reusable wrapping fabrics on the market like the Bobo scarf, Wrapagain or these fabric wraps.  If I invest in that sewing machine, though, I think I can make these quite easiliy as well.  With the right type of fabric, I wouldn't even need a sewing machine, just pinking shears to make nice edges and prevent fraying.

8.  Since I just may not be able to completely get off the paper, I will look for opportunities to recycle other papers into gift wrap.  My son's art, the comics or other pages from the newspaper, large maps or colorful brochures, takeout menus or paper placemats, old calendar pages, old posters, magazine pages and picture book pages are all possibilities.   Some of these things I have around the house, and some I could get super cheap on clearance or at thrift stores.

9.  If I absolutely MUST buy another roll of paper, I commit to choosing one made from recycled paper and I will use it sparingly!

10.  My husband tells me that in his family gifts often were not wrapped at all.  The unwrapped gifts were just put out under the tree after the kids went to bed to be found in the morning.  I'm skeptical about this as every gift I've exchanged with his family was wrapped in some way.  I think he just hates wrapping.  It is an option to consider, but I think I would really miss the suspense of opening the gifts one by one.  Maybe stocking gifts could skip the wrap this year.

Who's with me?  Anyone up to the challenge?

So, how does this balance for me?
Heart/Body/Mind: Not much impact here, except to make me feel better about my impact on the earth.
Time: I don't think there will be a significant change either way, unless I decide to make my own bags or wraps.  Since I'll only do it if I think I will enjoy it, I won't count it as a negative impact for me.
My Wallet: The fabric wraps or reusable bags will be more expensive initially though recycling some things would be really cheap or free.  We'll see how it works out.
The Earth:  Love saving the trees and landfill space!