On a recent trip to the supermarket, my wife brought home a new detergent for the dishwashing machine. We both responded favorably to the “Eco” labeling on the soap, which indicated that it did not include phosphorous.

Increases in phosphorous in waterways can cause harmful algae blooms, so finding an opportunity to cut back can be a good thing. Unfortunately, the good feelings of reducing our impact on the water system faded with each new load of dishes. The soap left a lot of filmy residue, and more importantly failed to remove the food particles we wanted to wash off.

To get them clean, we had to run the dishes through a second cycle, which obviously brings us to the point of THIS SPACE: how to save electricity and keep a few more dollars in your bank account.

Images: Flickr/CreativeCommons

A typical Energy Star dishwasher like ours uses about 8 cents worth of electricity for each load. That low cost is achieved by letting the dishes air dry and buying power from my employer, Seattle City Light, which offers the lowest rates of any large utility in the nation.

Using the “eco-friendly” soap and two loads, doubles the amount of energy used, which increases the pressure on our local hydroelectric-based utilities to buy power on the open market, which might come from a gas or coal-fired power plant that creates greenhouse gas emissions. It also doubles the cost.
Over the course of a year, washing one load each day, that adds up to $29.20.

So the ONE THING you can do this week to save energy and a few bucks is to use an effective dish soap in your Energy Star dishwasher and let the dishes air dry.

If you want to go a step further to reduce your impact on local streams and waterways, the money you save could be used to install a rain garden. These low areas with native plants collect runoff and filter the water. A residential rain garden typically costs $3 to $4 per square foot, depending on soil conditions and the density and types of plants used, according to the Sierra Club.

I’m still looking for a soap that will allow me to avoid the phosphorous AND clean the dishes in one load. If you’ve found one, please let me know.