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Why Doesn’t Washington Want Me to Have Clean Underwear?
A while back, we had to replace our 12-year-old washer and dryer. Our old units were as basic as it gets: toss in laundry and soap, crank the mechanical timer and, bingo, clean clothes.
Once the washer gave up the ghost, we were excited to replace those dinosaurs with sleek new “High Efficiency” models. Today’s washers and dryers come with Ferrari styling, computer consoles and more lights than a Space Shuttle dashboard. Granted, the cheapest options cost double what we paid for our old units, but finally we could embrace the brave new world of bleeding-edge laundry innovation!
“They probably won’t get your clothes as clean as your old basic washer,” the salesman told me. He added that customers complained all the time, but there was nothing he could do. Government regulators insisted on “high-efficiency” washers and dryers; manufacturers had to comply.
He was right. Our domestic duo looks a lot better, but they don’t do the job half as well as the beat-up old versions. The feds claim their regs will save you money, but water and energy costs are pennies compared to the extra dollars we blew on our Laundromat of Tomorrow. So now I’m out a couple thou and my towels smell funny.
We see this foolishness everywhere. Whether it’s washing machines, refrigerators or toasters, government regulations vastly increase the price of consumer goods while reducing their effectiveness and longevity.
Shouldn’t technology get better over time? Have you experienced this effect in our household — and is there anything we can do to let manufacturers make appliances that work?
Published in General
I say we should challenge these regulations on First Amendment grounds. They are obviously an attempt to establish the Church of Gaia as a state religion.
No faith-based scientism I say!
Seawriter
Actually, I just replaced our dishwasher and it is significantly more efficient, quieter, and does a better job than the unit it replaced.
When we had the house built in 1995, I don’t recall investing much (any!) time in selecting a dishwasher – the builder suggested a unit and we just accepted it as a default – but what did I know? I was only 28 & had never pondered the dishwasher universe. That unit lasted 8 years of relatively light use. We looked a bit closer at the details of the replacement, but since we were new parents, other issues held more interest for us. We got a not quite the top of the line unit. It lasted 10 years of a bit more use.
My major requirement with the current unit: That it worked well & was QUIET. I can’t stand the sound of appliances running. A Bosch wouldn’t fit due to our wood floor, so we ended up with a top line Kenmore (no, really). I cannot hear it running at all. I can only hear it when it drains.
I only accidentally did something for the environment.
“I only accidentally did something for the environment.”
This is the best kind of environmentalism!
Jon, my 2000 washer-dryer was the last one of its kind — big and totally effective. But if you add these new “efficient” appliances to the low-flow toilets, it’s no wonder the new compact fluorescent bulbs are so popular — who wants to see anything, or anyone, too clearly?
If you stacked all the clean laundry, the pile would reach the foot of God.
But, Comrade, there is no God.
That’s okay, Commissar. There is no clean laundry.
My concubine takes My laundry down to the creek and washes them.
It’s environmentally friendly, efficient for Me, and I don’t hear a thing.
I’m a licensed private pilot, but when I look at our modern washer & dryer, the sheer number of buttons and settings scares the hell out of me. My wife won’t let me touch the units for fear I’ll break them.
But not to worry, they break themselves.
Our modern washer & dryer clean clothes very well. However, the electronics in our first modern washer & dryer went belly up, and the cost to replace those electronics met the criteria for total replacement of the units—and these modern units are expensive.
The other problem was that the electronics died at the five year point (look for a Neutral Observer post correcting this). Before we started buying modern equipment, our previous “old-fashioned” units lasted twenty years.
The manufacturers make things that work, it’s just they need to work longer, and not cost to much to repair. As for what to do? We could take the liberal approach and pass a law, but I’d rather use free market economics and make Neutral Observer wash our stuff in the creek and beat them dry on rocks (I’ll post a picture if I can sneak one).
Jon – While the government is willing to delegate to you some of the minor decisions in your life deciding how clean your underwear needs to be is clearly above your pay grade. I’m surprised you hadn’t realized it. After all, it’s for your own good.
No. Crappy and expensive short-lived appliances are in the interests of all the corporatists. Manufacturer’s love them because you pay more and have to replace them often. Bureaucrats love them because they get to feel environmentally sanctimonious while peeling off votes of the environmentally credulous.
P.S. A teaspoon of TSP (trisodium phosphate from your hardware store) in your liquid “detergent” will help enormously, because at the same time the government mandated “high efficiency” machines (read, “low efficacy”), it banned phosphates from “detergents,” causing your soap to be almost as useless as your machine. However, don’t spread this recommendation around too much, because if everyone did it, you might contribute to a toxic algae bloom, making your water undrinkable (see Toledo).
Gotta’ love Big Government regulations for all their unintended consequences. Or not.
When I got hitched, I was happy to toss the cheap, hand-me-down toaster my mom bought in the early ’60s. It still had stains on the side I had made as a kid. In the intervening 15 years, we’ve bought four $100+ toasters. They all, to varying degrees, burn one side of the bread and barely toast the other. I haven’t figured out how to blame this on Obama, but I’m working on it.
You can’t, unless Yer a racist. Yer better off blaming Bush.
We got one of the HE washers awhile back. I’m glad someone else’s towels smell “off.” I was starting to wonder if there was a special middle-age odor my husband was developing.
The really depressing thing is, my view, the absolute metaphysical certainty that should the Republicans regain both houses of congress and the White House, nothing will be done to pull back these asinine regulations. We have Republicans to blame for toilets that don’t flush very well, and lightbulbs that don’t light very well.
Front loader? I use bleach and hot water with all my towel loads. But, also, in order to keep front loaders from developing smelly gunk around the seal, I’ve learned to do my towel load last, wipe down the “window” and the seal with paper towels, and then leave the door open for at least a day to make sure the machine is thoroughly dried out.
If it’s too late and you find the black mildew gunk around the rubber seal (look under the edges), there are online instructions for doing a cleaning using bleach and/or vinegar. Then maintain using my method above, or by running an empty cycle with vinegar or bleach occasionally.
Oh, yeah, and your husband is probably developing a special middle-age odor as well. Not admitting how I know this… /joking
I was told a few years ago by my refrigerator repair man that affordable large appliances are now made with a seven year life span. (He never was able to fix the fridge – I had to buy a new one). Today I was told by a range salesman that a particular brand had a seven year life span, but if I purchased a more premium brand, I could expect a longer life from it.
It is not in the manufacturer’s best interest to produce long-lasting appliances.
The smell on the towels is generally caused by the stuff that grows in the drain on the rubber boot that seals against the door (I assume you’re talking front loading washer.) The supposed solution is to completely dry the area after each use and only have the door closed when the machine is in use. Of course, if you have kids or cats this is never going to happen. On the positive side, you can always just budget for new towels every few months and always have really soft towels.
And another thing. On my washer there is a “quick wash” setting. It runs a load in half an hour vice 1:05, but it uses a lot more water…meaning it actually washes the clothing. Just FYI.
The company I work for makes machine tools. The main spindle motor is a standard 3-phase motor which is controlled by a variable-frequency drive. In the last few years, our motor supplier has been pushed into producing “higher efficiency” motors, which will use less electricity when run at the standard power-line frequency. These motors are much larger than the old ones, which gives them higher inertia and therefore causes them to use more energy for starting and stopping than the old motors. Of course, larger and heavier means more material used in their construction. Since our machines are used in applications that require starting and stopping several times per minute, overall energy consumption is far higher than it was with the old motors. So, we pay more for a larger, less efficient motor than we would for the compact, efficient ones we used to use. This is what happens when the government makes manufacturing decisions.
Here’s a funny story.
My buddy just bought an air conditioner. He tried to hold out, but a recent heat wave broke his willpower and so he bought one.
He subsequently got a cheque from the Ontario government as thanks for buying an “energy-efficient” model.
It’s impossible NOT to buy an energy-efficient air conditioner. By law, they must ALL be energy-efficient.
He has a smart-meter, and he’s able to look up his electricity usage month-by-month online. His electricity usage jumps incredibly the month he bought the air conditioner.
And yet, he received a taxpayer-funded reward for being energy-efficient.
I’d laugh, if I wasn’t so busy crying.
My HE machine is actually a top-loader. The lid locks when the machine is running, but it obviously doesn’t have to be water tight like a front loader. There is no rubber boot. I like to keep the lid up after the last load just to be sure the interior dries out really good. However, because the machine uses such a low level of water, I can’t help thinking the clothes and towels, etc., just swish around in dirty water. I’ve put in a pair of pants folded (yes, my husband puts clothes in the hamper folded) and at the end of the cycle they are still folded. Hard to see how they can be really clean if they aren’t agitated around like in the old washers.
Don’t get me started on light bulbs , but I must tell y’all that American Standard has figured out how to make a great low-flow toilet. The Champion model is the best I’ve had or seen anywhere. You’re right about the GOP of course.
Can you pour in extra hot water from the sink?
My sister has a really nice toilet that has two different flush buttons. One is for low-flow, and the other gives the flush some extra oomph.
Just in case one was unclear on the purposed of the two buttons, the low-flow button is labelled “1” and the high-flow button is labeled “2”.
This is the way it should be, by giving the user the choice.
I had a Whirlpool washer and dryer for 22 years without a single problem. With a new house, we decided it was time for a modern washer. Turns out that I have to WASH the washing machine every two months or else I get black streaks on my clothes. Washing the machine means using a lot of very hot water and powdered detergent, preferably with phosphates, which doesn’t exist anymore. Thanks for the tip about the TSP; I’m going to buy some tomorrow.
We all should know by now that we are viewed as behaving as errant children and must be looked after via the benevolent hand of regulation.
Would favor the return of phosphates in not only in old 409 spray cleaner, but dishwasher detergents as well.
As for the rest, use the Jeff Foxworthy lines about wearing a shirt just one more day and if yer undies do not stick to the wall they are good to go.
Stone knives and bearskin references aside. Might as well ramble in the face of such foolishness foist upon the populace.
The road to the unpleasant place is paved with good intentions as the saying goes.
We purchased new appliances last year; a Whirlpool set. The washer must be used exactly according to an elaborate set of instructions. It does not have a “pre-soak” button. I went to do my own pre-soak by pouring water into this top-loader. After I had carried five gallons from the sink, the washer turned itself on and drained out the water. I was wishing I could have simply replaced the 25-year old Kenmore that we replaced, but the new Kenmore was just as high-tech/high-efficiency as the Whirlpool.
The dryer has an annoying habit of chirping out electric tone tunes for every event, and we have not figured out how to silence it. We just close the laundry room door and let it sing annoying tunes to itself.
The high-efficiency thing works for us. We have good soft water here. Maybe a water softener would help your results.
I also have a new HE machine. There is no center spindle. It does this crazy air-puffing thing. And I too have seen things go in folded and come out that way.
I can’t figure out how to control the cycles at all. I can’t even set the water level myself.
http://www.speedqueen.com/home/en-us/about-us/why-speed-queen.aspx
The above is a link to a company called speedqueen, which makes laundry equipment the old fashioned way.
I discovered this company after reading enless horror stories online about the myriad failures of our glorious new Gaia-sanctioned “high efficiency” washers and dryers, which seem to be designed to destroy clothes while using almost no water, but at great expense.
My washer and dryer have reached the ripe old age of six, and I’ve already had to replace parts. Grrr.
It’s too bad there isn’t a political party that represents freedom, so that people could buy and companies could make machines that use enough water to get the job done, or perhaps even allow people to buy toilets that use more than 1.6 gallons per flush.
But no, because the party I used to think represented freedom is the party that imposed the light bulb ban, courtesy of GE lobbyists.
Disgraceful, and inexcusable.
My dryer seems to remove all foul smells and leave everything smelling fresh. At first it was kind of embarrassing hanging my underwear out where the neighbors see it, but I got over it pretty quickly. Whether they did, or not, I don’t know.
As far as government regulations ruining a product, I have to say ethanol in gas takes the prize. I now pay an extra $1 a gallon for ethanol free gas for my boat. It cheaper in the long run than dealing with the problems caused by ethanol, and I don’t have the 25% loss of horsepower I see with ethanol if the gas sits in the tank for more than a month.
We bought a new HE washer (top loader) and dryer last year. I told Mr. Mc that if this counts as advancement in American ingenuity, we are doomed. Any laundry left sitting in that washer more than a couple of hours after the cycle finishes stinks and has to be washed again. Heaven forbid that someone closes the lid after removing the clothes–the whole laundry room will stink. I clean the thing frequently with the HE machine cleaning solution–a waste of water, I might add–and wipe down anything I can find inside the machine to wipe down. I, too, seriously doubt that three teaspoons of water can clean 20 pounds of clothes. I have found that using the “bulky/bedding” setting on the washer is the easiest way to get it to use more water. I do like that I can put a lot more clothes in the washer, and also the dryer is a dream because the clothes come out of the washer nearly dry from the 2-hour spin cycle.
On the dishwasher front, when we bought our new dishwasher, it only took about a week for all my dishes to become gunked over with white film even though we use high-dollar detergent. TSP additive did not improve the situation for me–possibly there is not enough water for it to be effective. I’ve managed to locate some old-fashioned Cascade through dubious sources that actually will clean the dishes. Problem solved, but I’m likely in violation of multiple federal statutes.