Topic: Regulators Destroying Your Home Appliances

[Pandora]

The regulation in question is “Energy Conservation Standards for Dishwasher, 77 FR 31918.”

You can spend the day reading the history’s most obtuse bureaucratese, complete with legislative history and technical detail, along with testimony for and against and the Department of Energy’ final judgement. Or you can just internalize my summary: get used to hand washing your dishes. As of May 2013, dishwasher manufacturers are not going to be allowed to make or sell a machine that works.

The excuse is energy and water conservation of course. The presumption is that consumers and manufacturers have no interest whatsoever in saving energy and water even though everyone pays for both and, for the most part, our usage determines what we pay. The reason that companies and consumers have not adopted the new standards on their own is that they are incompatible with clean dishes.

There’s a pretty good chance that your current dishwasher using 6.5. gallons in a load. In the future, only 5 gallons of water can be used in the course of washing dishes. Maybe the manufacturers can ramp up the intensity of spray? Think again: new “energy efficiency” standards require that they use even less energy. Less energy plus less water equals dirty dishes. Plus, the new energy standards will substantially increase the cost of the appliance, taking it out of the affordability range for elderly people and the poor.

How the heck can the regulators get away with this? You really want to know? Here’s the answer that the Department of Energy cites: “7 U.S.C. 7701–7772 and 7781–7786; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. Section 301.75–15 issued under Sec. 204, Title II, Public Law 106–113, 113 Stat. 1501A–293; sections 301.75–15 and 301.75–16 issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Public Law 106–224, 114 Stat. 400 (7 U.S.C. 1421 note).”

So there.

And this is only a few years after the regulators made two additional changes that degrade the value of the dishwasher. They required that dishwasher soap stop using phosphates, and hence the soap scum stays on the dishes and doesn’t get whisked away by this natural chemical. The only real way to get dishes clean in many water environments is to add your own. Plus, with the default setting on hot water heaters at a tepid 120 degrees, the water isn’t hot enough to really clean, unless you have taken the time to hack your heater.

The latest blow to the dishwasher means its near or final death. It will look like the old-fashioned kind. It will take up space in your kitchen. It will have lots of lights and look pretty. But it won’t do a damn thing to actually clean your dishes. Such regulations are never reversed. That means that future generations will never know of a time when you could stick a bunch of dishes in a box and have them come out clean. If you want clean, you will be filling sinks again.

... the amazing Sofie Miller of the George Washington University Regulatory Center testified (about) this regulation ... pointing out ... that the proposed savings from the ruling as seen in the models posit a time period well beyond the life of most all dishwashers. She concludes that 84% of consumer will receive no benefit at all from these changes.

The Silicon Greybeard expands:

The fed.documents show that the average cost of these inferior dishwashers is going to be $48 more than the dishwashers which work better.  The annual energy savings will get you back those $48 in 11.8 years, or not quite $4.07 per year.  The typical dishwasher appears to last somewhere between 8 and 12 years so some owners won't ever see economic payback.

Back to the original post ...

... As you continue to ponder the implications of a government that is directly targeting your domestic quality of life for destruction, consider this parallel legislation: “Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Clothes Washers FR 77 32308.” This one won’t go into effect until March 7, 2015. So you have two and half years of somewhat clean clothes. After that, it’s pigpen.

It took me hours to dig through the details of this regulation that has been batted around since 2008, but here is the upshot.

Washing machine will become “Washington machines,” useless and heavy steel squares that are more expensive than their predecessor that actually washed clothes. Built by government dictate, Washington machines can’t use much more energy than a wristwatch. Amazing. Infuriating.

[Alphabet Soup]

Mine is still working OK but sounds like I better replace it now instead of waiting...

thank you Øbongo (you miserable son of a bitch)

[Glock32]

And how long has it been now since you could buy a toilet that actually flushes?  That was back in the early 90s sometimes. I guess there is still a substantial black market for illicit thrones coming in from Canada and Mexico.

And shower heads.  2.5 gallons per minute maximum, another Federal dictate. I derive a certain satisfaction in reverse-engineering and disabling this mandated garbage, but I only end up getting equal parts pissed off at the fact that I am even having to do it in the first place.

I used to ask when is it ever going to end? Well you know when? Never. That's when. The American people are hunky-dory with the Federal government managing their lives for them, and they prove it at every opportunity.

[Pandora]

They'd already begun destroying the appliances, they're just intent on finishing the job.

Our dishwasher and clothes washer are about five years old.

The dishwasher never did the job the way the old one did and a lot of that does have to do with the damn phosphate-free soap, but adding the TSP wasn't a real big help.  Any dish with Ranch dressing, mayo or cream sauce needs to be swiped first under the faucet or an imprint -- not the actual substance, mind you -- remains on the plate.

Our clothes washer stopped agitating; it would fill and then not move, so replacing it wasn't an option.  We went for the front loader.  Pffft.  Whatever the hell is the matter with it is causing my bath towels to smell BAD after once use; something is not being washed out properly.  I put bleach in with the white clothes, but my dishrags come out still bearing the stains with which they went in.  Not of this happened with my old top loader, and I was able to adjust the water level on it to accommodate a smaller load; not so on the newer one, it supposedly does that itself.  Did I say Pfffft!?

The shower heads suck.  We do what Glock does and remove the restrictor and then we've got a lack of water-pressure.

The condenser motor went on our fridge well over ten years ago, sooooo we replaced that.  Jayzus save us, PLEEEZE, from the redesigners.  What!? plain old door shelves/racks weren't good enough -- I could get an amazing amount of jars and bottles in 'em -- so they put bins on the door resulting in more plastic and less space, forget accommodating a gallon milk container.  Inside shelves, same thing -- more bulk, less space -- as none of them span the width of the fridge; they're split into two with raised borders and require more hanging hardware on the back wall, at which area everything freezes despite the temperature setting.  And the thing bangs, gurgles, rattles and hums when it turns on, which, as the book assures us, is normal.

Want to talk about "self" cleaning ovens now?  Circa same as the dishwasher.  First cleaning embedded the crud on the inside of the glass in the door.  Under warranty, though they wouldn't just replace the door; no, they'd only replace pieces, which, at my insistence, eventually comprised the whole door.  So, now, we have to scrape clean the window-glass with a razor blade, then finish with a glass cleaner; brillo the inside surface of the door, being CAREFUL NOT TO TOUCH THE GASKET, which is about the only thing the manual's "cleaning instructions" conveyed -- SIX TIMES; and brillo the first two inches of the oven box itself, all the way around.

Dammit, I'm pissed off all this crap all over again now.

[warpmine]

They'd already begun destroying the appliances, they're just intent on finishing the job.

Our dishwasher and clothes washer are about five years old.

The dishwasher never did the job the way the old one did and a lot of that does have to do with the damn phosphate-free soap, but adding the TSP wasn't a real big help.  Any dish with Ranch dressing, mayo or cream sauce needs to be swiped first under the faucet or an imprint -- not the actual substance, mind you -- remains on the plate.

Our clothes washer stopped agitating; it would fill and then not move, so replacing it wasn't an option.  We went for the front loader.  Pffft.  Whatever the hell is the matter with it is causing my bath towels to smell BAD after once use; something is not being washed out properly.  I put bleach in with the white clothes, but my dishrags come out still bearing the stains with which they went in.  Not of this happened with my old top loader, and I was able to adjust the water level on it to accommodate a smaller load; not so on the newer one, it supposedly does that itself.  Did I say Pfffft!?

The shower heads suck.  We do what Glock does and remove the restrictor and then we've got a lack of water-pressure.

The condenser motor went on our fridge well over ten years ago, sooooo we replaced that.  Jayzus save us, PLEEEZE, from the redesigners.  What!? plain old door shelves/racks weren't good enough -- I could get an amazing amount of jars and bottles in 'em -- so they put bins on the door resulting in more plastic and less space, forget accommodating a gallon milk container.  Inside shelves, same thing -- more bulk, less space -- as none of them span the width of the fridge; they're split into two with raised borders and require more hanging hardware on the back wall, at which area everything freezes despite the temperature setting.  And the thing bangs, gurgles, rattles and hums when it turns on, which, as the book assures us, is normal.

Want to talk about "self" cleaning ovens now?  Circa same as the dishwasher.  First cleaning embedded the crud on the inside of the glass in the door.  Under warranty, though they wouldn't just replace the door; no, they'd only replace pieces, which, at my insistence, eventually comprised the whole door.  So, now, we have to scrape clean the window-glass with a razor blade, then finish with a glass cleaner; brillo the inside surface of the door, being CAREFUL NOT TO TOUCH THE GASKET, which is about the only thing the manual's "cleaning instructions" conveyed -- SIX TIMES; and brillo the first two inches of the oven box itself, all the way around.

Dammit, I'm pissed off all this crap all over again now.

Pan: As for the shower heads: Do you just have a head on the pipe or do you have a wand? We have a 6 foot hose and after the first try with the new one seven years ago, I took it apart(all of it) and ripped out three restrictors. Now the thing works as originally planned. You must get them all or it means nothing.

[Libertas]

I knew right away the low-flow crapper idea was a double-whammy for citizens.  Back in the day when that when down one of the prime drivers of that insanity was Bruce Vento-D-MN (long deceased, may demons violate him for all eternity!), it was all a payback to unions making the new crappy crappers and the union plumbers getting to unplug the useless things since they couldn't flush a kleenex without plugging!  It all got worse under more enviro-whackiness, water conservation, energy star BS...

          

My dishwasher leaks, neither my BIL or I know where, but it didn't work for crap so I don't use it, I grew up washing dishes in the sink so it's no big deal.  My garbage disposal crapped out so I jerked it out and put pvc piping in and straining drain plugs, never liked those useless POS's anyway!  On my second washer unit and it is beginning to act like it wants to effing croak and it is only 5-6 years old.  Microwave handle busted, I use a screwdriver cause, well, I dunno...it still works and I don't want to spend the money.  Fridge works still and is over 15 years old.  Gas fireplace doesn't work but I don't care cause I don't like using the damn thing anyway as it really sucked the gas.  I guess I figure the crap will hit the fan about the time the rest goes to hell anyway so why bother?!  Seems like everything made today is made to fail.  I'd be better off scouring the junk yards for old appliances made 30-40 years ago than anything new!

[Pandora]

Pan: As for the shower heads: Do you just have a head on the pipe or do you have a wand? We have a 6 foot hose and after the first try with the new one seven years ago, I took it apart(all of it) and ripped out three restrictors. Now the thing works as originally planned. You must get them all or it means nothing.

Dang, warpmine!  I had no idea there were so many.  Okay, then; thanks for the heads-up, we'll have to take a good look at the hose as well as the head.

Goldammy.

[Pandora]

Another interesting piece on the issue:

http://mises.org/daily/5267/Why-Everything-Is-Dirtier

From the comments:

Chemist · 52 weeks ago
You are confusing TSP with STPP.

TSP is trisodium phosphate and since it produces a nasty precipitate with hard water that can redeposit on clothes, it's never been a mainstay addition to laundry detergents.

STPP is sodium tripolyphosphate and does not produce a precipitate in hard water, and indeed is the miracle compound that made older laundry and dishwashing detergents that contained it so effective.

More information:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/laundry/2003052601018823.html

The fix:

http://shop.chemicalstore.com/navigation/detail.asp?id=STPP_LT