The powder that Spokane residents are sneaking into the county may surprise you. It’s nothing they’re smuggling for illegal sales on streets, but rather, dishwasher detergent to get their porcelain plates into prime condition.

The out-of-county importing is a result of the nation’s strictest ban on dishwasher detergent made with phosphates, which is being tested in Spokane before launching statewide in the summer of 2010. Conventional dishwasher detergents like Cascade and Electrasol can be up to 9 percent phosphates, but those sold in Spokane have a cap of 0.5 percent, which usually means buying eco-friendly brands like Seventh Generation and Ecover.

While such brands have been popular in other areas, citizens in Spokane have complained the green-focused detergents are not cleaning their dishes as well as the brands they’re used to, and have taken to driving into Idaho (a shorter distance than leaving Spokane for another Washington county) to pick up dishwasher detergent. Because the ban is on the sale of phosphate-heavy dishwasher detergents and not on actual possession or use, citizens who seek their dish cleaners elsewhere are not breaking any laws. Part of the cause of the unpopularity of the ban is due to the water in certain areas of the Spokane county, where mineral-rich hard water is resistant to soap and makes it harder for low-phosphate dishwasher detergents to remove food scum. Click here to read more

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