Posted on 03/17/2011 11:57:41 AM PDT by AnotherUnixGeek
The culprit is the federal government's obsession with energy efficiency. Efficiency standards for washing machines aren't as well-known as those for light bulbs, which will effectively prohibit 100-watt incandescent bulbs next year. Nor are they the butt of jokes as low-flow toilets are. But in their quiet destruction of a highly affordable, perfectly satisfactory appliance, washer standards demonstrate the harmfulness of the ever-growing body of efficiency mandates.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Just listening to Dennis Prager talk about this in his current hour just about to end. How they’ve ruined the flush toilet. How they’ve ruined the light bulb. How they’ve ruined showers. Everything they touch turns to poo.
I’m not so sure on the claim that the new front-loaders don’t wash as well as traditional top-loaders.
I just got a new LG front-loader in December, trading up from a traditional Maytag. I’d had the motor replaced at least once and a few other repairs during it’s 7-year lifespan, the last three of which it really didn’t work well. The clothes would get shredded, it would get out of balance constantly and I *had* to use the dryer because the “clean” laundry was always covered in lint.
The new one has more cycles, extracts beautifully (which should help with propane costs when using the dryer), the lint streaks are gone, and clothes seem cleaner. I know it won’t last long — contemporary appliances don’t — but I’m very pleased with it.
Oh, I almost always use the “extra water” function. Screw the skimping, I have a well! :P
The last washer I bought did not have a HOT water setting...only warm. I installed a valve on the cold water supply line...when I turn it off, the washer fills up with HOT water. Its a complete pain, because I’ve got to stand there and wait for it to fill up, to turn the cold back on (the rinse will only use cold water)...but it works when I do whites.
Oh, and last Fall they ruined your dishwasher also.
Phosphates were banned in clothes washing detergents years ago.
Last Fall they did the same with dishwasher detergent.
Notice your dishes not getting clean? No phosphates.
Many complaints. Including my wife.
Having to flush 3 times for a ‘low flush toilet’ is a bunch of crap ,too.
Careful now, that might be considered the same as converting a weapon to full-automatic, clearly against the law. </sarc>
We bought a front loader after much debate. I liked the old one ‘cuz I could fix it myself - which I often did! But then the motor went out, and figured it was time.
I am doubtful this new one will last as long as the old one (20 plus years). And when it does break, not sure how easy it will be to fix myself with all the computer boards, etc.
But don’t have the mold problems (follow the instructions). Use the special HE soap or the seals go bad soon. On mine I can toss in more clothes during the cycle if it is soon enough.
Oh, can hit the “hot” button or the “sanitize” button. It has a water heater built in to bring the water temperature up. Cycles do take a LOT longer than the old machine.
Government doesn’t care.
Thank you for your decades of voter apathy.
Now pay your taxes - we need raises. :)
My but we are the punster today. LOL
Some bureaucrat in a bath robe deep in the bowels of the Washing Machine Bureau of Energy Policy just read your post and is formulating new rules concerning the threading and diameter of hot and cold water hoses and outlets!</sarc>
Because everything would then be rinsed in HOT water all the time...and I wouldn’t want to do that for blue jeans and other things...and I don’t want to switch the hoses around constantly.
“Oh, and last Fall they ruined your dishwasher also. Phosphates were banned in clothes washing detergents years ago. Last Fall they did the same with dishwasher detergent.
Notice your dishes not getting clean? No phosphates. Many complaints. Including my wife.”
I’ve posted about this before. At your local Home Depot, in the paint department, find a de-glosser called Tri-sodium Phosphate, or TSP (but be sure not to get the fake stuff, make sure the label says it has Tri-sodium Phosphate). I add a few tablespoons to my dispenser, before putting in the now useless soap. This can also be used in the washing machine. It puts back into the detergent the exact ingredients that it used to have...and the difference is incredible.
Actually, you posted it on Dec. 23, 2010, exactly 84 days ago. Here's the link.
One of the most amazing things I saw over in Europe were their washing machines in the laundromats. It was like seeing a whole new invention.
They have built-in thermostats - you can actually boil laundry. You can program spin cycles with the built-in computer.
Miele is a German washer brand. You can read more about them here - course they cost about a thousand bucks more than the tub spinners we got. But they last for decades. And you feel your clothes are really really clean.
True, but..
There is a brand name TSP and contains NO tsp.
So read the label.
My local Ace Hardware carries TSP but it doesn’t contain tsp.
I found a source for older boxes of detergent and bought several boxes. My wife uses it about every third load.
Also, I heard K Mart sells a detergent called Lemon something or other. Supposed to work well but I haven’t tried it.
And if you don’t want to roll your own, any restaurant supply store will carry the old phosphate-laden Cascade. This is because Washington exempted commercial institutions from the ban.
Because if you’re eating out every meal on a fat expense account, heaven forbid you have to put up with the odd soiled dish like the rest of the plebs....
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