Plastic Container or Cardboard Box

The move liquid detergent is a profit booster - same as the move to concentrated powder. With liquid there's less detergent per container than powder, but the price goes up slightly... Ergo, more profit. I despise the move but there is liitle one can do.

 

I've never understood the liquid thing. It's not like it's more convenient. I think it's based on the perception that it cleans better. I wonder if people's experience with liquid dishwasher soap plays a role.

 

i was reading the other day that the recycled paper industry is going through hard times, where it used to be worth $200 a ton, now its only worth $40, and there are storage sheds and literally ships full of recycled paper off the coast of china with no buyers.

this is why your newspapers have gone up, and maybe why some places are switching to plastic containers.

 

We have used liquid laundry detergent for years because we found that the powder did not fully disolve in cold water, even powder supposedly designed for cold water washes.

 

I wonder to what degree the local water's chemistry plays a role in that. We haven't had that problem, but on occasion we've had issues with dishwasher soap not dissolving properly.

 

Funny enough I tried liquid clothes washing detergent and I found I had undissolved grit in my clothes, but when using a powder I had no such problem. I came to the conclusion the liquid wasn't all getting into the wash cycle and it was still in the passage from the draw while the rinse water was travelling down. I hope I can always get powder.
I use dish washing tablets and they work perfect in my Bosch dish washer. Nothing worked in the Westinghouse dish washer.

Both come in cardboard although the tablets are wrapped in plastic.

 

We had the same experience.

I suspect this is mostly the case, with hard water being the issue. Also, old detergent can also be a problem. Once it ages and absorbs a little moisture, it can turn into a box of pebbles.

Tom

 

reasons why dishwashers do not dissolve all the detergent, in no particular order:

1) hard water
2) blocking the spray arms with dishes, try moving them around
3) the water is too cold. optimum performance is about 160 +
4) the spray arms are either blocked, clogged, or getting old.
5) a dirty filter. even self cleaning dishwashers need their filters replaced/cleaned out professionally
6) water inlet valve / pump causing low pressure situations, replacement or cleaning out
7) although a lot of dishwashers have internal filters and diposers. they might not be able to handle little bits of paper and plastic off of labels (some people run plastic bottles/steel cans/glass bottles before curbside pick up of recyclables
8) general low water pressure issues, sometimes getting all the detergent out is done more by the top spray arm vs the bottom spray arm, and most top spray arms are driven by water pressure and not an electrical motor
9) try a different brand of detergent
10) short cycle times

spray arms can be ordered via internet websites. there are two plastic rings that are under the spray arm, make sure you put them together in different directions before installing a new spray arm

dishwashers require periodic maintenance just like a car. consider having someone come over once in a while, or whenever you feel like it, and cleaning out the internals

consider running an empty load with the hottest water your heater can supply and vinegar to clear out some of the hard water deposits or maybe some C.L.R. (calcium lime rust)

if the filters are accessible you could try scrubbing them out or soaking them in vinegar or C.L.R. (to get rid of detergent residues and or hard water deposits)

 

slightly off topic, but

watch out for dryer sheets or fabric softeners they can build up in your washer or dryer with fabric softener residues, and lowering its efficiency. if you use a lot of fabric softener maybe you should consider buying a centralized water softening system.

over time dryer sheets can coat the lint screen with residues. use vinegar or c.l.r. and a scrub brush on the lint screen once in awhile to remove residues, and your dryer will run better

 

We get our kitty litter from PetCo, where we take back the store brand plastic bucket, and refill it from bulk. It saves us $2 per 5 gallon container, and it cuts down on packaging.

For washing clothes, I no longer use detergents. I use Soap Nuts. They grow on trees, are sustainable, get clothes clean, are biodegradable, seem to be hypo-allergenic (we have one son that is hyper allergic to cleaners), and are compostable when done. I bought my first batch here, and got my second batch here... either way, it's bulk packaging.

 

You can recycle cardboard. Plastic is more limited.

The Tidy cat containers can be reused. I use mine in the garden as buckets and for storage.

I don't know that detergent jugs can be recycled. They're not in my city. So I'd go with cardboard box of detergent.

BTW my dog food went to a resealable plastic bag. I contacted the company twice about this. Then I switched to a competitor with a paper bag I can recycle.

 

Have you thought of trying to grow your own soapberry tree, then harvesting your own "soap"?

 

Really? I hadn't heard that. We generally use power in a box, but occassionaly we end up with a plastic bottle. I wash them out thoroughly before I throw them in the bin.

 

So how long does a pound of these soap nuts last? I'm really curious about this one, Rae. I'm certainly willing to give it a punt given that you seems to think that they do a job. Any drawbacks in your experience?

 

Thanks for the link to the soap nuts... I'd never heard of it until now. I'm going to check with my co-op to see if they carry it (I would be surprised) and/or suggest to them that they should. In any event, I'm going to check it out myself.

 

I tried soap nuts, but I found the shells hard to crack and I didn't like the flavor.

Tom

 

Interesting...
We have a front loading high energy washer. We have been using POWDER detergent from Sears (He) from the beginning (2 years). NO problems and we use one 25# plastic tub a year. Cost is about $20.00 on sale.