A few readers made similar comments about product issues, but others seemed to have no problems at all with this detergent. It was puzzling, so I decided to email Seventh Generation to ask what’s up with the tea stains, powder residue and sometimes food bits on dishes.

Here’s the answer I received:

“Thank you so very much for your patronage to date and taking the time to e-mail us with your question. I also thank you for your patience awaiting a reply. As you may have read from one of our FAQ’s, the primary component in conventional auto dish products, phosphates, allows these products to work very well in all types of water conditions. The natural ingredients in our product presents challenges for us and we have found that the powder does not work as well in all types of water conditions. Possibly reducing the amount you put in the compartment(s) by a 1/3rd may help with this. If you are seeing food particles remaining or white film after use than this is usually indicative of our product not working well in a water chemistry that is on the hard side. Natural rinse aids can be used to help aid with water softening (however it sounds like you are doing this). Ecover produces a natural rinse aid. Something to consider. Also using about 1/4 cup of vinegar at the start of the wash (splash in the bottom) can increase performance. This could help with tea stains as well.

I am always disappointed to hear when this product is not working well for consumers. Where I live in Colchester, VT the water chemistry is ideal and the product works as well as any mainstream product. If you head about 45 mins. north you will start seeing the water chemistry change to harder water and the results could be dramatically different. We are looking to increase the product’s versatility but we are not there yet.”

I appreciated the thorough and honest answer I received. The water hardness issue would seem to explain why some users have better results with this detergent than others. By the way, they also offered a refund, but I declined since I used the whole box and wasn’t entirely dissatisfied.

I did try adding the vinegar like suggested, and I saw an improvement in the tea stains, though it didn’t completely take care of the problem. However, I think the vinegar did prevent any powdery or filmy residue from forming on the dishes. I also haven’t noticed any food bits with the vinegar addition.

It may seem odd that I’m saying this, but I do think that the detergent cleans well. My main problem with it is that one or two mugs per load may have tea stains, but these wipe off easily with a dish towel.

If you’re searching for a natural detergent, I think this one is worth a try. Also, you may want to check out Jennifer’s review on the Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwasher Gel.

In a week or two I’ll post a review on Ecover Automatic Dishwasher Tablets.

Image via flickr.

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I loaded my dishes as normal, put the phosphate and chlorine-free detergent in the regular wash cycle compartment, and left the pre-rinse compartment empty. According to Seventh Generation, using too much detergent for the hardness of your water may cause a harmless film on clean dishes.

After waiting an impatient hour or so for the cycle to finish, I opened my dishwasher to a load full of very clean and fresh dishes. No film, no food left on dishes. No complaints.

Well, I have to find something to complain about, don’t I?

It’s great that this detergent is chlorine and phosphate free. And the packaging is made from 100% recycled paper (minimum 40% post-consumer). Plus, the product isn’t tested on animals. And my favorite — they disclose ALL ingredients. However, it isn’t completely biodegradable.

Why not? Here’s the explanation from Seventh Generation’s FAQs:

Why have you taken the words Natural and Biodegradable off the Automatic Dish Powder package?

There were two ingredients in our Auto Dish Powder that we discovered were not natural. One was a petroleum-based surfactant; and the other a non-toxic polymer. After we printed new packaging stating that this product was natural and biodegradable, we learned that the non-toxic polymer had not been replaced by a natural ingredient. We also learned that this non-toxic polymer is not readily biodegradable. Therefore, we choose to remove these claims, since they were not authentic to our product.

Once we have replaced the polymer in question with totally natural, biodegradable qualities that meet our performance standards, as well as our health and environmental standards, we will readjust our claims on the packaging.

We apologize for the confusion.

Well, at least they’re honest about it. And they’re trying to fix it.

I must add that I love the free and clear (of perfumes and dyes) option. I enjoyed having no scent wafting out of the dishwasher when I opened it up. There are just too many scented products out there: shampoo, shaving lotion, hand soap, deodorant, lotion — pretty much anything! My nose can’t take it all.

What would I change about this product? Besides making it completely biodegradable, not much. Frankly though, I’m not a fan of powders. Next time I will try the gel. I tend to spill powder too easily, but the packaging does have a handy metal spout on the side. Overall, I am very happy with this product and will use it again. But I do hope to find the gel next time. You can go here to see Where To Buy.

If you’d like to try this product, go to Seventh Generation to download a coupon. If you’ve already tried it, please tell us what you thought.

UPDATE: Please visit my updated post on this product. I’m addressing a few issues I ran into after using this product several more times.

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