The Doctors Corner: What is in the News, Why Better, Safer, Healthier is important.

Here's the proposition: what if there was a simple machine that could easily take care of one of housekeeping's most unpleasant tasks in record time.

What if it came with just one teensy tiny little trade-off: every time you used it, it filled your home with toxic fumes. Not a trade-off you're willing to make? Guess again because it's most likely one you've already made.

The device is your dishwasher. 51% of all American homes have one of these time and labor-saving devices in their kitchens, and new studies have shown them to be a prime culprit in lowered indoor air quality. In approximately 30 experiments, Researchers at the EPA and the University of Texas recently documented the indoor air pollution created by dishwashers and found that them to be a substantial source of hazardous fumes. Dishwasher pollution comes from two basic sources: your water supply and the detergent you use. When these materials are exposed to the hot water that circulates through your dishwasher as it cleans, any volatile chemicals they contain are easily "stripped" from the water and evaporated into the air. Such contaminants include the chlorine added to both public water supplies and dishwasher detergents, volatile organic compounds like benzene, radioactive radon, and contaminants like gasoline and industrial solvents that have worked their way into public water supplies.

According to researchers, depending on the material in question and your water temperature, dishwashers can reach 100% efficiency when it comes to transferring water pollutants and detergent chemicals to indoor air. Because dishwashers continuously vent about 6 liters of air into your home per minute, these stripped toxins are escaping from the machine throughout its operating cycle. Worse, the air pollution created by this dishwasher venting is often exceeded by the single large burst of contaminated steam that's released whenever a dishwasher is opened soon after it's washing is done.

Although we think it sounds a little odd to say, protecting yourself from your dishwasher means taking steps like these: … Ventilate your kitchen during and after dishwasher operation. This can mean opening windows, running your stove's ventilation fan (assuming it vents outside and not back into your kitchen), and using window fans. … If you're connected to a public water system that's using chlorine to treat drinking water, filter your home's water supply. An activated carbon filter placed where water enters your home will remove chlorine and most volatile chemicals. It will also filter water used in your washing machine and shower-two other sources of exposure to hot water-stripped indoor air pollutants. … Have your water tested for radon. If results are positive seek solutions from radon abatement professionals. … Keep your dishwasher closed and sealed for at least an hour following a completed cleaning cycle. This will prevent the hot burst of pollutant-laden steam that escapes when dishwashers are open immediately following their use. … If you have a "no dry heat" option on your dishwasher use it. This prevents the activation of your dishwasher's heating coils. These coils heat up the inside of your dishwasher and evaporate the water that remains after the rinse cycle into your homes air. Deactivating the dry cycle also saves energy. … Only run your dishwasher when it's completely full. Running a dishwasher when its less than full means you're using it more often than necessary and increasing its contributions to unhealthy indoor air. And it means you're using more water and energy (and money!) than you need to.

… Use a natural, chlorine-free dishwasher detergent. This will greatly reduce your dishwasher water's burden of chlorine and other chemicals and reduce the number of exposures. For more information about healthy dishwasher detergents, keep reading.

The Inside Dish Part II: A Nightly Cascade Of Chlorine If you've kept your trigger finger off the scroll button, you know that your dishwasher can be a fume-spewing monster masquerading as a miracle worker. It's not the best news, but it doesn't necessarily mean you have to rush into the kitchen with your toolbox, rip your dishwasher out of the wall, and replace it with more manual labor than you can shake a sponge at. The beast beneath the counter can be tamed. It often just depends on what you feed it...

Choosing a healthy dishwasher detergent can often make the difference between a dishwasher that helps and a dishwasher that harms. When it comes to making that choice, there are two primary things to keep in mind: 1) Chlorine. Most commercial dishwasher detergents include chlorine to sanitize dishes and bleach away stains. When the chlorine is subjected to the high temperatures of a typical cycle, much of it is evaporated into the air and inhaled by a home's occupants. Any chlorine that remains in the water is discharged into either your septic tank or a sewage treatment facility. Once in the environment, this chlorine can combine with organic materials present in water and soil to form carcinogenic substances called trihalomethanes.

2) Phosphates. Contrary to popular belief, phosphate use is still legally permitted in dishwasher detergents. Once phosphates are discharged into the environment they promote massive, algae growth in local waters. These sudden blooms of algae become food for microorganisms who flourish in their presence. Now present in larger-than-normal numbers as a result of an increased food supply, these microscopic creatures quickly use up all the available oxygen in a body of water. With little or none left for fish and other aquatic creatures, the waters become devoid of life.

So what to do when a mountain of dirty dishes buries your sink? Well, you could just throw them out and get new dishes... you know, like in college. But a better recommendation is to try a safe dishwasher detergent from Melaleuca called "Diamond Brite Gel". It's both phosphate and chlorine-free. The earth and air-friendly formula gets dishes, utensils, and pots and pans spotlessly clean without contributing to pollution inside your home or outside its walls. In fact, if your home uses chlorine-free or filtered water, it can make your dishwasher 100% safe to operate.

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