Roma detergent at Big Lots

[passatdoc]

Was in my local Big Lots store yesterday evening to pick up a few household items (pail, wooden clothes hangers, etc.). I saw the Roma detergent on an end-aisle display. In Southern California, any discount store will have its share of Hispanic customers----although the product line is not 100% geared to that demographic (compared to, say, a market catering mainly to Latinos), maybe one third to one half of the customers at a Big Lots store here will be Hispanic. There is one aisle of Latino food products, otherwise the products are "mainstream".....the household aisle has lower end detergents (Sun, etc.) and there was an end-aisle display of Roma. I read Spanish and the package clearly stated that the product is phosphate-free. Does anyone know if all of the Roma sold in USA is phosphate-free, or are they selling the no-phosphate variety to comply with California law? It seems like sometimes people on this board find Roma with phosphates in Latino-oriented markets. 

 

[polkanut]

My guess would be that they're selling the phosphate-free version to not run afoul of the law.  Just my 2¢ worth.

 

[mich]

Don't quote me on this..

But I don't believe that California, was ever apart of any Phosphate Ban...

 

[passatdoc]

I think you're right. If they are are selling a phosphate-free product in CA, most likely they have one product for all 50 states, otherwise distribution would be complicated. I normally don't go poking around in Latino-oriented supermarkets, but I understand some of them sell imported Roma and/or Foca WITH phosphates (which may not be illegal in CA, but....).

 

 

[washman]

It is phosphate free

I bought some at Kmart. It does ok but foams up a lot.

 

[supersuds]

Launderess had a link awhile back to the effect that Wal-Mart had pressured all of the Mexican detergent companies into making only phosphate-free products. I think the days of phosphated Mexican detergents are done, unless some old stock is still on the shelves.

 

[sudsmaster]

There's no state wide ban on phosphated laundry or dishwasher detergents in California.

There are some local bans. The one I know about it around Lake Tahoe, which does make sense, since it's one of the largest most pristine bodies of water in the USA, with a lot of commercial and residential development along its shores.

In most cases the pollutant of concern in California is nitrogen, not phosphate. This probably has something to do with the fact that the state is mostly a Mediterranean type of climate, with sparse rainfall for most of the year.

I've also noticed that phosphated Mexican brand laundry detergents are disappearing from store aisles, being replaced by similarly packaged but phosphate free versions. I generally don't buy either, since the HE versions are either non-existent or extremely hard to get (like Ariel Bajaespuma).

I wind up mixing up my own batches of HE laundry detergent boosted by weight to 33% STPP. Typically I use Sears Ultra Plus HE for this.

 

[dustin92]

I bought some here in Michigan and it was phosphate free. In my opinion, not worth buying.

 

[launderess]

Stick a fork in it, they are done

IIRC it is nearly impossible to find Mexican detergents of old loaded with phosphates in the USA. Between the tree huggers, Walmart and other forces makers simply decided it was not a battle worth fighting. Remove phosphates and the vast Mexican-American market is still open without worries about distribution due to phosphate content.

 

[mich]

Ariel

Ariel Doble Poder, Oxianillos, and Ace (besides the "Ultra formlations", all have Phosphates. Quite a chock full of 'em too. I know there are a few other brands, that should still have the phosphate content, but, Ariel seems to be the most readily available. 

 

If you own a black light, you can actually test for the presence of phosphates. Just pour a little out, on a plate, or dish, and go into a dark area. Under a black light, the phosphates should glow heavily. 

 

You can also make black light posters, with phosphate detergents, but, that's for another time lol