Green products that don't work

re: Green products that don't work

LogicalMama — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:27:07 GMT

My complaint with Seventh Generation is the price!

re: Green products that don't work

Brett Singer — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:58:57 GMT

These are really great tips, everyone, thank you for sharing them.

One thing: we actually use the Seventh Generation toilet paper, and have no complaints.

re: Green products that don't work

mommashay — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:29:09 GMT

I totally agree. I have yet to find a dishwasher detergent that actually works, including Method's tablets, 7th Generation, and Planet. But thanks to some of the comments I will try Ecover or Mrs. Meyers. I hope you are right! No paper towels have been worth it but Nature's Balance toilet paper is pretty good and you can get it at Safeway/Vons for the same price as all the big brands (for those of you who are like me and don't live anywhere near a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's.)

re: Green products that don't work

Cassie — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:17:22 GMT

We have never used paper towels. Waste of money and resources. We use cloth towels instead. They last for years. I never use rinse aid either. The last thing we need is more chemicals in our bodies. Anyone here know what is in it? You should, it does not rinse 100% off and your feed it to your kids. We use 7th Generation dishwashing liquid and it does a good job cleaning the dishes. If there is a film on your dishes your water is hard or you are using too much soap. Most people fill up the little cup all the way. You only need to fill it half way and I never fill up the tiny cup.

re: Green products that don't work

chyna823 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:05:12 GMT

I've tried a few "green" dishwasher powders, and most of them suck. But the Shaklee dishwasher powder works wonderfully, and instead of Jet Dry as a rinse aid, plain white vinegar works just as well.

re: Green products that don't work

dhsredhead — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:15:39 GMT

We use Ecover, Sun and Earth and ECOs products for washing dishes and clothing. I have been happy with all three. For toilet paper we use 7th generation, we did not like another brand whose name I cannot remember, but my partner also does not like super soft toilet paper. We use 7th generation paper towels, I also like Sunrise, they sell them at a super market here. The only two things I can think of that were eco-friendly and did not work for us were g-diapers and desert essence deodorant. For stain removal we use Dr.Bronners soap. We have clothing that was smoked damaged from a fire that I soaked in Dr. Bronners and all of the smoke stains came out. I also use it to clean my daughter's shoes too. Another good thing for stain removal is to wash the item more then once. I thought my daughter's favorite outfit was ruined forever until I let her wear it anyways and it went through the wash another cycle, the stains are almost completely gone now, the same with several pairs of pants I wear to work. It's also important to wash things in cold water.

re: Green products that don't work

Ashers mom — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:09:36 GMT

The Ecover dishwashing tablets are awesome!

re: Green products that don't work

LogicalMama — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:54:58 GMT

Mrs. Meyers laundry soap is awesome and when you use your 20% off coupons at Bed, Bath and Beyond, it's worth it.

ALso, I agree with Marsh's mom about Palmolive ECO+. It does work well and the others don't work well at all, but I am sure Method would work great b/c they are a great company with good alternatives.

As for toilet paper and paper towels-- I rarely use paper towels and fully believe that everyone should use recycled regardless. It's just what we need to do. I mostly use towels that I've been using forever and I wash them, but it works for us. We live minimally. Trader Joes makes a great paper towel that is 100% recycled; 80% post consumer recycled.

Regarding toilet paper, I've tried non-recycled that is scratchier than anything I've tried. I feel it's our responsibility to use recycled TP and again, Trader's Joe's makes a good one, as does Green Forest!

It's our obligation to the future of the planet. If everyone adopts an attitude of "I deserve better than this....," we are gonna screw ourselves!

re: Green products that don't work

tracy — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:04:40 GMT

I too, tried the organic dish washer stuff and I had to run the thing three times before I gave up [which wasn't very "green" of me...] and my dishes too had a strange white film. Oh well! Back to my cinnamon dish washing pellets that make everything sparkle.

re: Green products that don't work

Marsh'sMom — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:27:12 GMT

I've had the same experience with the seventh generation dishwashing liquid. I now use the Palmolive ECO brand (phosphate free) which probably isn't as friendly as SG, but does a better job (no film). It's still not as effective as the chemical laden stuff. As for paper towels and toilet paper, I found a brand at Costco called Sunrise by Marcal that I'm really happy with (http://www.marcalpaper.com/). The price was great too. I've never seen it outside of Costco though.

As for laundry detergent, I've tried 7th Gen and wasn't thrilled. I now make my own by using half Arm and Hammer Washing Soda powder and half grated FelsNaptha laundry bar soap. It works for general laundry cleaning and is super cheap because you only use 2 tablespoons per load. For stains though, I usually have to use a conventional stain remover before washing to get it out.

re: Green products that don't work

Bunny — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:08:09 GMT

The best organic approach for stain removal:

Wear dark colors. Works like a charm.

(I really have never understood why people feel compelled to wear white and khaki all the time. What's the use of a pair of pants if I can't sit on the floor, the grass, or some steps? and why would you put a young kid in something that won't let them sit on the floor, the grass, or some steps?)

re: Green products that don't work

dcfullest — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:18:46 GMT

I thought 7th generation's dishwashing liquid for dishwashers was absolutely horrible.

I have yet to use a Method product that wasn't great.

re: Green products that don't work

Casa Wasabi — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:15:00 GMT

I (also) don't remember the brand, but I was trying all natural stain remover for a while. hahahahahahaha. What a joke. I've learned that you NEED chemicals to get stains out of clothes, especially when there's a toddler involved. And if there is a superpioneerwoman out there that gets stains out with, like, saddle wax and a broom handle, save the advice - I don't have time to deviate from my system.

re: Green products that don't work

Brett Singer — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:05:22 GMT

I would post them, but I don't know the specific brands. The paper towels are from various manufacturers but are always brown. Same with the toilet paper. The dishwashing liquid was a store-brand but I don't know which store.

re: Green products that don't work

pqbon — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:32:18 GMT

Ummm, how about including the product/brand info for these products you don't like?