[meristohm]

We add clear vinegar to the rinse aid container, but only when the particlar detergent (we don't always buy the same one) leaves residue. Seventh Generation (sadly bought out by Unilever) still makes decent detergent. However, what's the environmental impact at and around the factory? I'd rather wash fewer dishes by hand (I've measured, after our old dishwasher broke, and can wash a day's dishes with less than 1.7 gallons of water) than contribute to demand for a manufactured item with non-zero embodied energy and the boxes and boxes of detergent scaled to hundreds of millions, perhaps billions.