Doyle and Dirty Dishes

The quality of life in Wisconsin is taking a big hit.

Gov. Jim Doyle has signed a law that will likely leave Wisconsin dishes "encrusted with food, smeared with grease and too gross to use without rewashing them by hand."

How unappetizing!

It also sounds like a public health risk.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Starting in July, consumers will find automatic-dishwasher detergents in stores with lower levels of phosphorus - and likely less cleaning power - as detergent makers respond to state bans on the substance.

A law that limits phosphorus content to no more than 0.5% in automatic-dishwasher soap sold in Wisconsin was signed by Gov. Jim Doyle on Thursday. The law will take effect July 1 to give retailers time to sell their current inventory of soap and switch to phosphorus-free detergent.

More than a dozen states have passed similar laws at the urging of environmentalists, and the July date has become the national benchmark for the switch to essentially phosphorus-free dishwasher detergent for home use. Commercial and industrial detergents are not included in the bans.

Washington was the first state to enact a ban, which took effect in the Spokane area in July 2008. After consumers there found that their dishes weren't getting as clean as they were in the past, many started crossing into areas without the ban to buy products with phosphates, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

A test of dishwasher detergents this year by Consumer Reports magazine found that products without phosphates tended to perform worst of all. Phosphates boost cleaning power by helping tie up water-hardness minerals so the minerals won't interfere with cleaning or leave deposits on surfaces, according to a report on the Web site of the Soap and Detergent Association, a manufacturers' trade group.

...Gloria Smith, a shopper at Pick 'n Save who had a bottle of Cascade in her cart, said she was unaware of the phosphate legislation.

"Right now, I'm happy with the way it works. I won't buy anything but Cascade," she said.

I'm like Gloria.

I only buy Cascade.

I WANT CLEAN DISHES.

If I have to, I will become a dishwasher detergent smuggler, like the ones in Spokane, Washington.

SPOKANE, Wash. -- The quest for squeaky-clean dishes has turned some law-abiding people in Spokane into dishwater-detergent smugglers. They are bringing Cascade or Electrasol in from out of state because the eco-friendly varieties required under Washington state law don't work as well. Spokane County became the launch pad last July for the nation's strictest ban on dishwasher detergent made with phosphates, a measure aimed at reducing water pollution. The ban will be expanded statewide in July 2010, the same time similar laws take effect in several other states.

But it's not easy to get sparkling dishes when you go green.

Many people were shocked to find that products like Seventh Generation, Ecover and Trader Joe's left their dishes encrusted with food, smeared with grease and too gross to use without rewashing them by hand. The culprit was hard water, which is mineral-rich and resistant to soap.

No.

No way.

If going green means having dishes "encrusted with food, smeared with grease and too gross to use without rewashing them by hand," I don't want to be green.

I want to keep my family healthy. I want them to have clean dishes.

I will gladly use green detergents if they work as well as the ones with phosphates.

If not, I'll give the government my Cascade when it takes it from my cold, clean hands.

Under Doyle's legislation, TMJ 4's Courtny Gerrish will have a field day. The entire state will be a "Dirty Dining" hot spot.

Wisconsin will need a new tourism slogan.

"Visit Wisconsin. Our dishes are dirty."