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I love Seventh Generation products. This product is horrible though. It leaves a film on silicone items, e.g. my colander and muffin pans, and sometimes silverware. I have tried everything to no avail. I will not buy this product again. I hope I find a green product that works. I don't want to go back to Cascade.
ON SECOND THOUGHT....
I want to revise my rating. I browsed Seventh Generation's FAQ section, and they recommended using less if you have soft water. This is what they wrote:
QUESTION: Why is there a residue on my dishes after using the Seventh Generation Automatic Dish Detergent? Is this residue safe?
ANSWER: The residue that periodically is found on clean dishes is caused by the level of hardness in your water and the amount of detergent that is used, accordingly.
If you have hard water you will need to use a rinse aid. Our product does not have phosphates in it, which can act as a rinse aid. With extremely hard water, the detergent will need the assistance of the rinse aid, which acts as a buffer so that minerals from the water and soils are not redeposited on the clean dishes and glasses.
If you have soft water you will need to reduce the amount of the detergent that you use per load. If you are using too much detergent, it will be impossible for your dish washer to rinse off the extra detergent and the minerals from the water.
The residue has no health impacts.
I gave it a shot. It worked! There's no film when I don't fill the prewash cup and skip that cycle. Since I rinse my dishes before I load them it makes more sense to go through a normal cycle and skip prewash. My overzealous, germaphobic ways got me into trouble. I change my writing to 4.5 stars.
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If it had not been for the following (9/07), I'd have given this a 3 rating. However, on an investigation of biodegradable "green" products, Consumer Reports wrote: (RE:) "Biodegradable" detergents. Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwashing Gel is said to break down in the environment. But the claim broke down when we found that the product contains a petroleum-derived agent that doesn't readily biodegrade. A spokeswoman said the company would remove the claim and review its product line and labeling. Biodegradability of two other detergents--Earth Friendly Product's Wave automatic dishwasher gel and Planet Ultra Dishwashing Liquid--was certified by reputable independent groups."
Buy Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwasher Gel, 42-Ounce Bottles, Pack of 6, Packaging May Vary Now
Like others here, I am trying to switch over to Eco-Friendly products as much as possible. I've had pretty good luck so far using brands such as Mrs. Meyers,Method(my favorite) and Earth Friendly, and thougt I'd give this one a try.And again like others here, I was very disappointed with this "Seventh Generation Dishwasher Gel".
My dishwasher is fairly new, about a year old, and it works really well. Usually even for pots and pans, I don't have to scrub them first, and usually I don't even have to use the pots and pans cycle(saving energy that way), so the first time I loaded it up to be used with this gel, I did it as usual. Just a quick rinse of excess food,barely even getting my hands wet.When the load was done, I couldn't believe all the dishes I had to wash over due to food particles, and the pots and pans were really bad.
I tried it again, this time, giving an extra good rinse and scraping of the pans, and used the pots and pans cycle. No change, there were still dishes that needed a do over. Each time the same thing..ARGHHH!
Also, I didn't have the film others have mentionedI used Ecover Natural Rinse Aid 16 fl. oz. which works really well but there was a powerful bleach like smell from the detergent that lingered for quite a while and made my eyes tear.
So what's the use of a dishwasher if you have to wash the dishes first?
I'm not giving up on eco-friendly products, becasue I have been happy with other products. I am going to try one of the brands recommended by the other reviewers here, and add my low rating to the average for this one.
I'm glad I didn't sign up for the 'subscribe and save' on this product. It isnt something I would use again or recommend. I'm eating out tonight(let someone else do the dishes for a change)....thanks...Laurie
Here's some nice products I use and recommend:
see my reviews for product details of:
Tom's of Maine Anticavity Baking Soda Peppermint, 6 oz toothpasteall natural ingredients
Cloud Star Buddy Wash Pet Shampoo, Lavender & Mint (19 Ounce) environmentally friendly to earth and rover!
Earth Friendly Products Orange Plus Concentrated All Purpose Household Cleaner, 22 Ounces (Pack of 12)
method Daily Shower Spray, Ylang-Ylang Formula, 28-Ounce Bottles (Case of 8) natural, safe, biodegradable
Read Best Reviews of Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwasher Gel, 42-Ounce Bottles, Pack of 6, Packaging May Vary Here
I switched from Electrasol to this hoping to be more environmentally friendly.
This is awful, it doesn't clean nearly as well. There seem to be a film on everything and some food never comes off the plates.
I'm not helping the environment if I have to run thing more than once, if I have to fill the dishwasher with too much detergent, or if I throw the whole thing away because it's a poor product. I'll grudgingly use this up but will never get again.
I will try their powder product to see if that is any better but I'll buy a small amount locally and test it as opposed to a case of it at Amazon.
Another thing I will try is the ecover brand, I hope something works better otherwise I'll go back to mainstream products.
EDIT
I just tried ecover brand (also eco-friendly) and that works much much better.
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Actually gets your dishes clean unlike most of the powdered varieties and it has a cool scent. My only complaint is that when the product was delivered some of the bottles had leaked inside the shipping box. Probably wouldn't have happened if the seventh generation folks had packaged the product with a seal around the top cap on the detergent bottles (urrggh!)
