Dishwashing detergents are a nuisance for the environment.Every year in France, 10,000 tonnes of dishwasher detergents are used.In February 2012, the European Union adopted a regulation aimed at restricting the use of phosphates in household detergents for dishwashers.The threshold not to be exceeded was set at 0.3 grams of phosphorus per dose.But this measure will only apply on January 1, 2017 to “give producers (…) sufficient time to allow them to reformulate their phosphate-based detergents by using more ecological solutions” pleads the Council of the European Union !In the meantime, dishwasher products and especially tablets clean, of course, but are not very "clean" for the environment...Most dishwasher tablets or tablets are multifunctional: they are used for washing, of course, but also contain rinsing liquid and regenerating salt.If manufacturers are gradually removing phosphates from the composition of their detergents, there are still many formulations that contain them.However, phosphates are a real calamity for the environment because they are not entirely treatable by treatment plants.They are responsible for the eutrophication of waterways and are the cause of the proliferation of algae such as cyanobacteria which truly asphyxiate aquatic fauna.Microalgae can produce toxins and pollute drinking water.They are involved in the elimination of fat.Phosphates are used as a sequestrant in dishwasher detergents, in other words for their anti-scaling properties.They have been banned in detergents since 2007. It will be necessary to wait until 2017 for them to be banned from dishwashing detergents.The intensive use of phosphates represents one of the major causes of water pollution, in particular their eutrophication which destroys biodiversity.Natural waters (rivers, lakes, seas) are saturated with phosphorus.It is necessary to completely remove phosphates from all our cleaning products.They are mainly used as agents for dispersing and antiredeposition of dirt on dishes.These substances of petrochemical origin are not very toxic for aquatic life, but they are only slightly degradable...It acts as a thinner and anti-caking agent, ie it allows the tablet to disintegrate.It has no impact on the environment or on health.Bleaching agents, such as sodium percarbonate, can bring back the shine and whiteness of dishes.Sodium percarbonate is not harmful.They can be allergenicThey are compounds which participate in the eutrophication of aquatic environments and which are poorly biodegradable.It is a limescale remover.They are detergents with the ability to lower water tension.They allow the water to mix with the fatty substances and to better evacuate them with the rinsing water.Synthetic detergents can feminize animals and are suspected of decreasing spermatogenesis in humans.> next: dishwashing products, make the right choice!Thanks for the recipe which I am going to try now.We can live much better by respecting ourselves and nature, and for much less.For my part, I wash the dishes by hand, it's better washed, it makes less noise, it doesn't use electricity, it's faster, it doesn't damage the dishes, it pollutes less and since the invention of the mixer, it hardly consumes more water….Who says better !Hello, I am looking to make the product for my dishwasher.It says 250 ml of baking soda.I have it in powder, is it equivalent to 250 mg?Thanks for your help !Thank you for this advice;from now on I would only put half a dishwasher tablet with my percarbonate of soda.When I'm down, I'll try with the soap nuts I have left. Go and see the site: "Compagnie du Bicarbonate", you can stock up on all these products that are only found in small quantities in the trade.You will make very pleasant savings by buying by weight.I use white vinegar in the rinsing compartment in addition it is good for the machine and the pipes…but not for grammar 😀Passing by chance on this site here is an experience and reflection:moving from an old Siemens to a new Miele machine, the quality of cleaning has been significantly degraded, need for manual pre-washing, impossible to have dishes remaining for a few hours in the machine, leftover chocolate, for example, unwashable... Machines use less and less water at lower and lower temperatures.Residues such as chocolate or heavy fatty substances do not enter the softening zone and are not eliminated (even after several successive washes!) To compensate!the products are more and more aggressive, more and more oxidizing, in particular by attacking aluminum, copper, iron and even certain stainless steels very well!The glasses do not resist better or we quickly see the traces of the injection molding either to wash by hand or to change every 3 months.Height of idiocy and triumph of marketing the anti-attack glass pads!The few liters "saved" are more than compensated by the mandatory pre-washing and the few "saved" watts are quickly taken away by the accelerated replacement of utensils, not to mention the additional filth in our sewers.Long live progress in the spirit of the times!Personally, I only use the recipe for the dishwasher paste presented in this article and I am more than satisfied with it.It works just as well as the tablets, but for a cost (economic and environmental) much lower than the tablets and other commercial powders.I make the preparation in large quantities (at least 2 times the quantities indicated in this article) and keep my paste in a glass jar.The preparation of this dough takes me less than 5 minutes and I do enough to last 1 month.We, too, opted for the dishwashing paste recipe from this article.However, we only use a "heaped" teaspoon instead of the tablespoon because otherwise the foam will overflow from the machine. But no problem with the end result.I will try to flavor the dough with a few drops of mint EO or lemongrass leaves from the garden to follow…try washing without a tablet.hot water cleans very well.just once in a while to clean the dishwasher.several simple rules: – Do not use a multifunction tablet.They are sized to meet the extreme case of very dirty dishes, very hard water, etc., which is rarely a daily occurrence.Moreover, the tablets are technically an aberration: The regeneration salt has nothing to do in the washing zone, it is intended to regenerate the softener;so that the rinse aid is not dispersed too early, it is encapsulated in a plastic that melts only at high temperatures, which prohibits short cycles;the tablets are made for old dishwashers, those that heat up too much, consume a lot of water and electricity.– Use each product for what it is and in the right place, detergent for washing, anti-limescale product for softening (in the tank provided), rinsing product for… rinsing in the tank provided).It is thus possible to adjust the dosage of each product according to the actual needs.– divide by 2 or 3 the prescribed doses of detergent, this will generally be very sufficient.I would nevertheless like to point out that in large surfaces (even if I do not give them real confidence and grant them ultra-commercial objectives) there are store brand detergents with an identical composition to the green tree for a much lower cost and equally effective. Green Tree Peak should be moderate where they charge competitive rates!!what are eggshells?half an egg in the machine?It's used for?and do organic products wash as well?because it's the above that I have doubts, especially when the dishes are very dirty...these are soapnut shells.Afterwards, I doubt that it's more effective than with percarbonate and bicarbonate alone (+ a little black soap perhaps) and vinegar in rinsing.What are shells for, and what are eggshells?half an egg that you put in a washing machine?A repairman had told my mother, at least ten years ago, that a teaspoon of powder (so less than half a tablet) was more than enough to clean well.So I imagine that now that dishwashers use less water, it's even less necessary to put all that!Not to mention being better for the environment, it's also better for the wallet!This is where we see the influence of detergent manufacturers and ads to make us consume.I cut each tablet in half, my dishes are as clean as with a whole tabletWhere are we with ultrasonic and ultraviolet dishwashers?I bought over 20 years ago a "lavasonic" ultrasonic sink that was supposed to wash dishes.I can testify: it's bullshit!It washes very badly, it makes a lot of noise and there is always the chore of rinsing and drying.Conclusion: I ended up buying a dishwasher, a real one, and I'm very happy with it.There are very good dishwasher tablets, as well as the associated rinsing at Body nature.Very economical (divisible), without overwrapping, they are very effective.100% biodegradable.Beware of the label (ecolabel has less strict specifications than ecocert) Thank you for these always very meaningful topics, if that could encourage people to switch to ecological products...The content of our newsletter is 100% responsible!You can unsubscribe at any time from each newsletter.