2011hoovermatic
Well-known member
When were phosphates banned in american laundry detergents?
This might have been asked a while back by someone I presume.
Thanks
This might have been asked a while back by someone I presume.
Thanks
When phosphates were banned in american laundry detergents
- Thread starter 2011hoovermatic
- Start date
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There is no nationwide ban on phosphates in residential laundry detergents.
There are local and state bans. The industry has generally responded by removing phosphates from all their laundry products, in order not to run afoul of selling phosphated products in areas where it isn't allowed, and to avoid having to sell and package different formulations (although as I recall products like White King Laundry booster was able to sell a variety of formulations in the same box with a simple letter code on the side of the boxes to indicate if they contained phosphates or zeolites).
In my part of California - where there is no state law banning phosphates in laundry or dw detergents - I recall that my usual laundry detergent - "Clout" - which I got from Costco, started giving really poor results in the 1990's. By careful reading of the label I traced the "good" Clout to the presence of phosphates, and the "bad" Clout to the absence of phosphates. It took me a while but with the help of the internet by the end of the 1990's I was able to learn that STPP was the key missing ingredient in most laundry detergents. So I bought some 50 lb sacks of the stuff from a local chemical supply warehouse and have been supplementing HE laundry powders with it ever since.
In most of California, phosphates are not regarded as an environmental concern as they are in "wet summer" states like in New England. In fact, nitrates are considered to be more of a problem here. But places like New York or Minnesota have statewide bans on phosphate home cleaning products like laundry detergents. And the Lake Tahoe basin region in California/Nevada also has a local ban for obvious reasons.
In California one can still find phosphated laundry detergent in products from Mexico, like Ariel or Roma laundry detergents. However it's very hard to find low sudsing versions of these products, which is why I supplement regular HE powders (like Sears Ultra Plus HE) with STPP.
There are local and state bans. The industry has generally responded by removing phosphates from all their laundry products, in order not to run afoul of selling phosphated products in areas where it isn't allowed, and to avoid having to sell and package different formulations (although as I recall products like White King Laundry booster was able to sell a variety of formulations in the same box with a simple letter code on the side of the boxes to indicate if they contained phosphates or zeolites).
In my part of California - where there is no state law banning phosphates in laundry or dw detergents - I recall that my usual laundry detergent - "Clout" - which I got from Costco, started giving really poor results in the 1990's. By careful reading of the label I traced the "good" Clout to the presence of phosphates, and the "bad" Clout to the absence of phosphates. It took me a while but with the help of the internet by the end of the 1990's I was able to learn that STPP was the key missing ingredient in most laundry detergents. So I bought some 50 lb sacks of the stuff from a local chemical supply warehouse and have been supplementing HE laundry powders with it ever since.
In most of California, phosphates are not regarded as an environmental concern as they are in "wet summer" states like in New England. In fact, nitrates are considered to be more of a problem here. But places like New York or Minnesota have statewide bans on phosphate home cleaning products like laundry detergents. And the Lake Tahoe basin region in California/Nevada also has a local ban for obvious reasons.
In California one can still find phosphated laundry detergent in products from Mexico, like Ariel or Roma laundry detergents. However it's very hard to find low sudsing versions of these products, which is why I supplement regular HE powders (like Sears Ultra Plus HE) with STPP.
The name brands stopped making phosphate versions around 1991 or 92. They had been making phosphate-free variants for a long time -- I know when a friend moved to Maryland in the mid-1980s they were banned there, as they were in other states whose rivers drained into Chesapeake Bay, such as Virginia. The manufacturers decided to simplify things and stop making two versions, which also complicated distribution for a lot of retailers.
When P&G went from the traditional tall, narrow detergent box to the short, squat design we have now, which was in the late 80s, I think, Tide and Tide with Bleach were made in phosphate and phosphate-free versions. There was a serial number on the top of the box; if it started with P it had phosphates, but if it started with 0, you were out of luck! I was a Cheer user and was annoyed that the "compact" powder on the shelves was all phosphate free. I finally called their 800 number to ask when they'd start making a phosphate version, and the lady immediately said "We're not going to." She said they were phasing them out of Tide, too.
The Winn Dixie grocery chain sold a phosphate version of its house brand "Arrow" detergent until at least about 2000 or so. Most or all of their territory in the southeast did not (and still do not) ban phosphates. You could also find Calgon with phosphates (sigh -- wonderful stuff) until about 10 years ago, as I recall.
When P&G went from the traditional tall, narrow detergent box to the short, squat design we have now, which was in the late 80s, I think, Tide and Tide with Bleach were made in phosphate and phosphate-free versions. There was a serial number on the top of the box; if it started with P it had phosphates, but if it started with 0, you were out of luck! I was a Cheer user and was annoyed that the "compact" powder on the shelves was all phosphate free. I finally called their 800 number to ask when they'd start making a phosphate version, and the lady immediately said "We're not going to." She said they were phasing them out of Tide, too.
The Winn Dixie grocery chain sold a phosphate version of its house brand "Arrow" detergent until at least about 2000 or so. Most or all of their territory in the southeast did not (and still do not) ban phosphates. You could also find Calgon with phosphates (sigh -- wonderful stuff) until about 10 years ago, as I recall.
