Green Product Review: Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwasher Gel

Peggy posted a review a bit ago about Seventh Generation dishwasher detergent. She tried the Seventh Generation’s Free & Clear Automatic Dishwasher Powder. She liked it overall but noted that she likes gels better – she gets powder all over.

I’ve always used powder. Actually, I’ve mostly lived sans dishwasher in my life, so technically, I’ve mostly used my good old hands and some dish soap. However, for the last year I have had one, and I’ve used powder the whole time – usually whichever eco-brand that’s on sale. I’ve never had issues and my dishes are always clean. Why powder? No clue. Growing up my mom did, so maybe it’s habit. In any case, the other day I decided to go nuts and buy some gel, see what all the fuss is about.

I bought the Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwashing Gel in Green Apple, it also comes in lemon, but I like apple scents. Following are the eco-benefits noted at the Seventh Generation website:

• “Non-toxic
• No chlorine bleach or phosphates
• No dyes
• No NTA or EDTA
• Safe for septic & greywater systems
• Not tested on animals
• Kosher certified”

While Peggy’s powder came in a box made from 100% recycled paper (minimum 40% post-consumer), mine of course came in a bottle. I’m thinking that this may be a good reason to favor powder – the packaging is more eco-friendly.

My bottle notes that it’s 25% post consumer recycled plastic – which is not as good as Peggy’s box. Although, they do have a recycling reminder on the bottle, I’m betting that the lid, like most lids, is not recyclable.

Also like Peggy’s powder, this product discloses all ingredients, the big point of which is that there is no chlorine bleach or phosphates – take that lazy “eco” gel Palmolive.

How the green apple gel did:
I should point out how I ran my dishwashing experiment.

• I had some pretty dirty dishes and I didn’t rinse any of them. Normally I would, but, I figured if I’m running a review, let’s run a review. I had a blender covered in raspberries, a dish with mashed potatoes still stuck to it (for two days), and to really give it a go, I ran my stove top covers as well. One of my stove trays I had to pry off the stove (I know, I hadn’t cleaned the stove in a while). In any case, that’s a lot of grease and gunk.
• Ran a full load on regular.
• I followed the directions on the back of the bottle, “Fill dispenser 1/2 full.” It said use more for soiled dishes but I didn’t.
• No rinse aid. The bottle recommends a rinse aid for hard water, which I don’t have.

And the results…

CON: I thought it might smell more like green apple, like fill my kitchen with a lovely scent – it didn’t. It also didn’t smell bad though. I’m betting that they make the scent light, because they don’t have a free & clear gel, also, it takes preservatives to add fragrances. I would have liked more scent though.

PRO: It cleaned everything well except the mashed potato bowl; which frankly, should have been rinsed, also keep in mind that I didn’t use as much as they said. It got my stove top cover nice and clean and grease free. Considering it was so yucky that I had to pry it off, that’s not bad.

PRO: I had a few spots on two white coffee cups on the top rack. All the white plates, on the bottom rack were streak-free. Streaks and spots don’t bother me too much, unless they’re excessive, and I’ve found that’s due to water, not cleaner.

CON: It was super easy. I really like gel vs. powder. Although, I won’t be buying gel again because of the packaging. Seventh Generation notes, “Currently, we have 25% post-consumer content in all our laundry, dish and spray-cleaning bottles. We are working at significantly increasing this in 2008.” That’s good news, but until then, the powder is better container-wise for the planet.

My final score: Overall, I can’t recommend the gel when a perfectly good powder, in a more recyclable container is available. That said, if you really cannot live without gel detergent, then I do recommend this product. The green apple gel worked well, smelled ok, and eco-wise is way better for the planet compared to traditional conventional gels like Palmolive or Dawn. It was well priced too, at just $4 for 45 oz. Since you use very little it’ll go a long way.

Have you used this product? Let me know what you think in the comments.

[photo via Amazon]