Posted on 01/08/2017 9:18:48 PM PST by Lorianne
It’s a pretty astonishing fact, if you think about it. The government ruined our showers by truncating our personal rights to have a great shower even when we are willing to pay for one. Sure, you can hack your showerhead but each year this gets more difficult to do. Today it requires drills and hammers, whereas it used to just require a screwdriver.
The water pressure in our homes and apartments has been gradually getting worse for two decades. I had to laugh when Donald Trump made mention of this during the campaign. He was challenged to name an EPA regulation he didn’t like. And recall that he is in the hospitality business and knows a thing or two about this stuff.
“You have showers where I can’t wash my hair properly,” he said. “It’s a disaster. It’s true. They have restrictors put in. The problem is you stay under the shower for five times as long."
The pundit class made fun of him, but he was exactly right! This is a huge quality of life issue that affects every American, every day.
It’s not just about the showerhead. The water pressure in our homes and apartments has been gradually getting worse for two decades, thanks to EPA mandates on state and local governments. This has meant that even with a good showerhead, the shower is not as good as it might be. It also means that less water is running through our pipes, causing lines to clog and homes to stink just slightly like the sewer. This problem is much more difficult to fix, especially because plumbers are forbidden by law from hacking your water pressure.
As for the heat of the water, the obsession over “safety” has led to regulations that the top temperature is preset on most water heaters, at 120 degrees Fahrenheit, which is only slightly hotter than the ideal temperature for growing yeast. Most are shipped at 110 degrees in order to stay safe with regulators. This is not going to get anything really clean; just the opposite. Water temperatures need to be 140 degrees to clean things. (Looking at the industry standard, 120 is the lowest-possible setting for cleaning but 170 degrees gives you the sure thing.)
The combination of poor pressure and lukewarm temperatures profoundly affects how well your dishwasher and washing machine work. Plus, these two machines have been severely regulated in how much energy they can consume and how much water they can use. Top-loading washing machines are a thing of the past, while dishwashers that grind up food and send it away are a relic. We are lucky now to pull out a glass without soap scum on it. As for clothing, what you are wearing is not clean by your grandmother’s standards. But I haven’t even mentioned what might be the biggest factor in why our clothes aren’t clean and our dishes are dirty. The government forced soap manufacturers to remove from soap the thing that makes them work for these purposes: phosphates. Phosphates, used in soap from the middle ages until the 1980s, break down the soap after it has done its work and allow the water to wash it away along with the dirt and oil it scrubbed out of the clothes.
Now, soaps lack this crucial ingredient. In order to add it back in, you have to go to the paint section of the hardware store and buy it in a box (TSP, the real stuff, not the artificial kind). Add a quarter cup to your wash. You would be amazed at the difference it makes. Things actually get more-or-less clean.
SNIP
The site may or not be click bait, but the issue is real. Or have you been fortunate and not had to buy a new appliance lately?
Tell me how a plumber can adjust your water pressure.
It is not illegal for a plumber to increase your water pressure.
Bought a water heater last year. Came with instructions for adjusting temperature. Took all of 30 seconds.
Article implies that this is difficult or impossible to do.
Our house was built in 1978. Recently had our plumber friend come out and go through our toilet lines. Long story but he was in awe of our pressure. Said it was way over govt regulations. Shhhhh
There is one serious problem with such a modification.
When the tank is in the original position, if the toilet plugs you can easily take the tank cover off and close the flushing valve.
If the tank is on the next floor and the toilet plugs...................how are you going to stop the overflow?
Thanks for the Cascade Commercial Dishwasher Soap reference, been looking for something like that for years.
I’m ordering 2 boxes from Amazon right now.
Have a 12 year old topload Whirlpool washer.
Agitator gear broke last year so when the repair guy came out I said, “diagnose it and if it cost too much, time for a new washer.”
He told me to try to keep the old machine going as long as possible because the new one on the market are crap. So, $100 later, still have the old machine just cleaning away.
I bought 3 shower heads last year. Restrictions popped out with tweesers. I have more flow than I had with the originals installed when the house was built.
The fill valve should still be located adjacent to the seat.
Never smelled so much BO as when in Paris last year... gagged on the metro/train whenever we had to go somewhere
Yes, but the flush valve, the one which releases the flushing water from the tank is in the tank itself.
Not saying that such a setup won’t work, it will flush like crazy, but short of putting a valve in the downline near the toilet itself there isn’t any way to avoid a flood under dire circumstances.
Re: front-loaders wash WELL?
Not my Bosh.
I can’t wait for the darn thing to die.
I bought the biggest one available at the time because I don’t care to drag my blankets, sleeping bags etc. to the laundromat.
Still have to, because it doesn’t put in enough water so I have to either lug and lift jugs of water to add more each wash and rinse or make the trip to town. Otherwise the cloths just roll around rubbing on the front and wear away the fabric.
I’m getting too old for this.
My farmer has one of those with short agitator and it gets their grubby farm gear clean.
Nice!
I didn’t need adjustments to my front load washer and mostly do a 34 minute quick wash that is the best I’ve had. Cleans the best.
Bosh makes some of the best stuff in the world. Maybe you do indeed get too little water and need to bypass that by turning the screw to the right on the applicable solenoid. Consult YouTube about that.
Easy to do, pull cover, turn screw clockwise some and close up.
bump
“Not saying that such a setup won’t work, it will flush like crazy, but short of putting a valve in the downline near the toilet itself there isn’t any way to avoid a flood under dire circumstances.”
If you flush and see it clogged it has already dumped the tank ....
Anyone with a wrench, screwdriver, and some gumption beyond the couch can change each of these things.
Just don't put them in your carry-on bag. I'm sure TSA would confiscate.
No problem, I drive there from CA.
Just a four hour drive.
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