I have an old dishwasher that doesn’t clean very well so I have to pre-wash my dishes.  My husband and I have finally come to a point where, based on our tight budget, a new dishwasher was close to becoming a reality.

 

However, after reading the article linked below, I believe that spending the money to upgrade my dishwasher would be a waste since the new dishwashers really depend on the detergent to work properly and the detergent makers have decided, based on the requirements of one part of the US - Washington State, to make and sell only the almost phosphorous free formula as of July 2010.  The article explains the reasoning and folly behind this.

 

When Procter & Gamble customer reps tell their customers who complain about how its detergent no longer works to consider hand washing the dishes instead, why waste your hard earned money on buying a new dishwasher?????  They will make money as you will still be buying dishwashing soap from them - the hand washing kind.   

 

Dishwasher manufacturers will most assuredly see a drop in sales as the word spreads, for who needs a dishwasher that because of detergent that doesn’t work - doesn’t work.

 

I, for one, will continue to pre-wash my dishes and use my old dishwasher to sanitize and dry them instead of buying a new dishwasher and still have to hand wash the dishes. 

 

The article is a bit lengthy, but well worth reading in my opinion, as it is quite informative and shows how common sense is non-existent when it comes to our governing bodies even in the face of contraindicating scientific evidence.  

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/weeklystandard/20110124/cm_weeklystandard/anothertriumphforthegreens