Eco-friendly rinse aid: Does it work? Does it matter?

Hi there, Jenn fans...Melissa here for the first time in ages. I tried something new, and Jenn asked me to review it, so here it is, for your blog-reading pleasure. Thanks.

In my quest to find a greener automatic dishwasher detergent, I have run into one consistent pitfall: dishes that emerge spotty or, worse, scummy with film. Some detergents seem a little better than others, but in the end, I was spending a good amount of time re-rinsing or rubbing scuzz off my glasses and plastic. Yuck.

It dawned on me that the problem might be that I had stopped using a rinse aid. To be honest, I only stopped using Jet-Dry because of a vague sense that, if my old detergent was bad, my old rinse aid probably was, too. And I guess on some level, I was thinking rinse aid was like fabric softener: no big deal to go without. But unlike slightly staticky clothes, scummy dishes are tough to ignore, especially when your husband says, “Ewwwww!” every time he takes a glass from the dishwasher.

At some point, I tried using some of the old rinse agent with the new detergent and got shinier dishes. So, clearly “sheeting action” was what I needed (this is how companies describe what rinse agents do...technically, they decrease the surface tension of water so it rinses off your dishes more easily, along with all those fun mineral deposits).

Recently, after many fruitless searches for a Jet-Dry alternative, I found and tried Seventh Generation's offering, which is simply called “Rinse Aid” and described as “Free & Clear.” Did I see any improvement in my dishes? Yes. There's definitely less scum on the glasses and plastic containers than when I was using greener detergents alone. Is it as effective as Jet-Dry? Honestly, not quite – there is still a slight film at least sometimes. But I was feeling good about it, because the dishes were less icky, and after all, the product had to be less environmentally threatening, right?

Well, maybe. I have no real doubt that Seventh Generation is making a product that should have minimal impact on the water it's discharged into, but still have a few other questions. And does it follow that Jet-Dry necessarily a baddie, just because its maker isn't touting it as a “green” product?

My conclusion, after much poking around online, is that I can't draw a definite conclusion. An online glance at Reckitt & Benckiser's Jet-Dry material safety data sheet says its active ingredients are “nonionic surfactants.” According to one definition, examples include alcohol ethoxylates, nonylphenoxy polyethylenoxy alcohols, and ethylene oxide/propylene oxide block copolymers. Stop! Eyes...glazing...over! I have no idea whether these are good, bad or indifferent, but we shouldn't all have to be chemists to feel safe using cleaning products, right?

Since Seventh Generation prides itself on full disclosure of its ingredients, you might assume they'd be more forthcoming. Maybe, if you're satisfied with “plant-containing cleaning agents” and “cornstarch-derived water softener” as a full reveal, but to me, those terms aren't superprecise, either. What plants? How are they being raised and managed? And saying something is derived from a plant shouldn't be a free pass.

Further, the Seventh Generation label refers to “trace materials.” That gives me pause – anytime someone throws a catchall term into their ingredient list, it makes me go “hmmm.”

Another tidbit contributing to my mental muddle on this subject is the fact that Jet-Dry reportedly contains no phosphates (found this online; Jet-Dry doesn't boast this on its product). Again, I'm no chemist here, but it's quite possible that phosphates would simply not typically be an ingredient in rinse aids. I'm glad they're not in there, but not sure anyone gets any extra points for that.

And by the way, even the ever-vigilant Environmental Working Group and Treehugger make no mention on their sites about Jet-Dry, or rinse aids in general. That, of course, doesn't necessarily mean they're “green,” but it definitely makes me feel a little better.

On the subject of toxicity, Seventh Generation's label recommends keeping it away from children and, you know, not swallowing it, but the company maintains the rinse aid is “not poisonous” (though the label still suggests contacting a physician if swallowed). Jet-Dry's label warns that it may cause eye and skin irritation and recommends avoiding contact. It doesn't say what happens or what to do if someone swallows it. Most likely, a phone call to a doctor or poison control wouldn't go amiss.

One alternative, as no doubt many of you Jenn-philes have been screaming for the past several paragraphs, is white vinegar. And yes, I have tried it. I have to admit I wasn't scrutinizing the results at the time, but had the impression that it reduced the spots and scum by a lot but still didn't leave the dishes as dazzlingly shiny and clean to the touch as ye olde Jet-Dry. Nevertheless, I'm thinking I should revisit vinegar as a rinse aid and see what happens.

In the meantime,

to Seventh Generation for its continued efforts to make more environmentally friendly products available to those of us who've been clamoring for them.

There Are A Few Things I Simply Can Not Give Up

Green design, green products, green living, green this and green that -- the word Green has overtaken the general media! With the advent of so many fine things there will always be some things that just do not make the cut where safety, convenience, comfort, price, or a combination of all of the above, is concerned. As a self proclaimed Greenie I tend to give everything a try and if it works for me, fits into my lifestyle, then it will be here to stay. If not then I must revert to my old choices with no guilt and know there are so many other ways I can make a difference instead.

This past Thursday night was the latest Bennetts Brook Green Group (BBGG) meeting. It was small, only seven of us, but once again we touched on many fantastic topics and I was the lucky recipient of two lovely items that evening! One of the members picked up reusable shopping bags for everyone at Walgreens (I love this store) and at the end of the night I also won a door prize. I had the option of choosing between a bar of soap and a box of tissues. I eyed both but decided to go with the tissues because I had never used any of this company’s products before and was rightfully curious.

The brand is Seventh Generation, a well known name just about everywhere these days. The box is eye catching with little green leaves on a white background and on one side details of the product are given. These hypo-allergenic tissues are made from 100% recycled paper, have no dyes or bleach and are two ply. The bottom of the box indicates that if all households using tissues were to purchase a recycled product we would keep 17,000 pounds of chlorinated pollution from water ways and save:

☼ 283,000 trees
☼ 730,000 cubic feet of landfill space
☼ 102 million gallons of water

Yes this is wonderful and yes I am excited to feel good about making a difference. But am I literally looking down my nose at this gift? Well, sort of. No, they are not soft and no I do not believe I could use them if I had a cold as my nose would be raw after just one day. I am certainly happy to have the opportunity to try them out but I am a firm believer that anything we use has got to be the right thing for each of us personally or it will end up in a landfill before its intended life cycle is complete.

I will leave these tissues in the holder on the back of the toilet because we do not get sick often in this household and may only ever use one tissue a day. For that purpose they will be just fine and it will make me feel good knowing I am doing something more environmentally friendly but when this box runs out I will not replace it with another. Instead I will donate to plant a tree and use that as the trade off for the box of Puffs Plus with lotion that will make its way into my cart.

Spreading It Around With Three Green Leaves

Since starting this blog I have had so much encouragement for the effort and so many suggestions of topics to discuss that I was overwhelmed and excited all at the same time! It was wonderful to see that so many people were committed to living more eco-friendly lives and I was thrilled to share information with them.

One of the topics raised with my sister in law was that of household cleaning products. She was already doing some research on various products so I asked if she would be interested in completing a write up on her findings so I could share it with everyone. She was definitely excited to dig into the topic even deeper and she emailed me her final piece just the other day.

When I got to the end of the editorial I noticed she was unsure how many leaves to give to each company so the ratings posted below are my interpretation of each strictly based on her findings; I intend to do some research into this topic myself as I am currently using one of the products she mentions. I love the way it works and was pleased at its lack of environmental impact but now I also feel it requires more investigating as Melissa has indicated.

So without further ado, here is her first GLR piece!

The Jury Is Still Out

A big ol' can of worms

OK, for me, the whole issue of what constitutes a "green" laundry detergent just got murkier.

I have been using Seventh Generation laundry detergent almost exclusively for about six months, and feeling pretty good about that, though I knew in my head I didn't really deserve to feel pretty good about it, since I simply picked it up because it was in the "green" section of my grocery store. It's the same kind of shortcut as voting the party line because you were too lazy to read up on the candidates (not that I've ever been guilty of that! not me!).

Cut to last weekend, when I ventured to a different grocery store. I was walking up the detergent aisle and two labels leapt off the shelf at me: One was for Purex Natural Elements, and the other was for Arm & Hammer Essentials. I'd never seen either of these products before, so I picked up both bottles and noticed that they shared "coconut-based surfactant" as a key ingredient.

OK, so a little less call for petroleum...a good thing, right? And my mind started turning over what it means (if anything) for some of the more traditional suppliers of detergents to begin offering greener alternatives.

A case of consumer demand making inroads into the manufacturers' consciousness? One would hope. Or a sop to shush up those consumers while these mega-manufacturers continue to rely on the same old (none-too-eco-friendly) brands as their flagship products? ("Hey, we're trying...yawn.") I am not a person who inherently distrusts all corporations as evil empires, but my healthy skepticism was activated.

Foggier and foggier

Well, lo and behold, turning my Seventh Generation bottle around at home revealed that its key ingredient, likewise, was derived from coconut. Now I was more confused...did this validate the new, big-brand offerings, or lessen the shine on my Seventh Gen stuff? Hmmm.

So off I went to Treehugger to see what they had to say. My search didn't reveal anything much about Purex's offering, but they definitely weren't thrilled about Arm & Hammer's product. Here is an excerpt from Arm and Hammer Essentials (not so fast!):

"Since they think 'Treehuggers' are their target market I think we should let them know that the product has some merits, but using palm kernel oil and coconut oil isn't one of them.

Reduced packaging is great. Reduced energy for transportation is great. Saving money is great. Using an ingredient that promotes the severe deforestation of Southeast and Pacific Asia, not so much... "

Uh, yikes! I knew there had to be a catch!

Coconut: Savior of the planet or...?

While trying to learn more about the coconut connection, I found another Treehugger reference to a "green" cleaner in another category -- Clorox's Green Works cleaners -- not being all it's cracked up to be, due to the coconut issue. Here are two excerpts from Introducing Clorox’s Green Works Cleaners:

"They say their alkyl polyglucoside comes from coconut oil and their ethanol and glycerine from corn oil; while that's better than using petroleum-derived alternatives, there are still major issues with rainforest habitat destruction relating to harvesting coconut oil ..."

"Treehugger's final take on that: "Green Works is better than a conventional alternative, but not perfect."

Anyway, I started to wonder why the coconut-based surfactant is bad for Arm & Hammer but OK for Seventh Generation -- at least from Treehugger’s perspective. Maybe there's some subtle difference that would only be known to chemists. I didn't find an answer so far, but I'm still looking.

So for those keeping score at home:

Purex, Arm & Hammer, Clorox and even (sniff) Seventh Generation will all receive an honorable Three Green Leaves due to their commitment to attempt to be more Earth friendly and the strides they are taking to get there ahead of the pack.

The jury is out, it would seem. Anyone have anything illuminating to say on this topic? I hope so! The takeaway here seems to be that we all need to do the legwork before assuming anything is really as good as it sounds. Sigh. I won't be pouring my Seventh Generation detergent down the drain (other than in the usual clothes-washing sense), but my feel-good vibe is not quite what it was, at least until proven otherwise.

Note: For a fairly detailed explanation of what to consider, in looking for laundry detergents, you can check out The Green Guide report and jump to its product comparison...however, there are not a lot of reviews in to date.