Friday, March 9, 2007

Dishwashing - Ecover vs. Seventh Generation

So ever since we went green, we immediately changed all our cleaning products. I put pretty much all my products up on craigslist for free, and they got snatched up instantly. I figured this was a better alternative than throwing them out (and down the drain which is a NO NO!) and adding to landfills - plus the people who would use them would probably end up getting new bottles of the actual stuff, so I'm reducing demand, yes? There are other options of disposing your household cleaners through your city's toxic waste removal program. Isn't that scary? To get rid of household cleaners, we need to get rid of them through a TOXIC WASTE program?? That alone tells you that the products used in cleaners are not safe!!

So use safer cleaners.. Seventh Generation and Ecover are the two most popular out there.

Anyway, one thing that I needed was dishwashing soap - for handwashing and the dishwasher. Did you know dishwashers are actually better than handwashing a whole load if dishes? Of course, if your dishwasher is full, and is energy efficient.

So initially, I purchased Seventh Generation's automatic dishwasher soap, and found that it basically SUCKED. I ended up having to do more work before the washing than the actual dishwasher (this is coming from a person who used Cascade Complete beforehand and basked in the barely-rinsing before putting the dishes in). It turned out to be a hassle! So I looked online for more answers, and found Ecover's dishwasher tablets!



I read good reviews, so I bought a box, and just tried it on a load, and I must say, I'm impressed! I did rinse and got major food off beforehand though, and I got into the habit of rinsing dishes when putting them in the sink (now, I just need to train my boyfriend to do the same!). But there wasn't residue and a non-plesant smell like there was with the Seventh Gen. Two thumbs up!



I also read an article in a magazine about the Ecover Aloe Vera dishwashing soap for handwashing - apparently they soften hands the best! I use gloves anyway cause I'm a touching-old-food-phobe. And it keeps my hands nice and clean. I hate wrinkly hands from water. Luckily I already had a bottle of this though! Lemon-scented too - I love the smell!

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10 comments:

Anonymous said...

i have the ecover toilet bowl cleaner. it works okay.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I use Seventh Generation.. I actually bought it because it was on sale and cheaper than the other cleaners. I haven't really noticed a problem, other than the fact that our dishwasher in the apartment itself sucks. I would blame it on the soap, but we have issues despite scrubbing/rinsing before loading the dishwasher and using other cleaners as well.

Anonymous said...

update!

Hau said...

Have you used Trader Joe's dishwashing soap/detergent? They have made some that are eco-friendly ... I saw it the other day. Just another suggestion :) AND YES, please UPDATE! I'm so glad you're keeping a blog like this :)

susan yee said...

I haven't tried the Trader Joe's version - so I can't say how well it does. But I did see that :) And yes! I finally updated!!

Alvin said...

With the known and measured devastating effects of nitrates in the bodies of water, this may just be the solution to prevent further algal bloom and floral decay! I am going to get some of these and I sure hope they come at market-friendly price!

Brazilian Butt Lift Jeans said...

I hope this is widely available in the market at affordable prices.

HealthLiving4You said...

Just read your post about green cleaning products. Have you ever heard of Shaklee? Not only are their products green, but they rival competing brands and they're concentrated so you save money and packaging costs are vastly reduced. For example, their Basic H bottle ($10) is mixed with water to make a window/glass cleaner, all purpose cleaner and a degreaser. In fact, if you just used it to make window cleaner, you'd make over 5700 bottles! Now that's helping reduce packaging waste! See my website at www.healthyliving4you.myshaklee.com for more info or email me at healthyliving4you@mail.com.

ruksana said...

l iked this content/ article. I would certainly recommend the same to others as well.

Anonymous said...

I have recently become familiar with Melaleuca products. What does anyone know about their ecofriendliness in comparison to seventh generation and ecover?