Need to buy a washing machine

[Warph]

I need to buy a new washing machine. I guess I'm out of luck.

I refer to a fascinating article written by Mark Thornton for Mises Daily, part of the Ludwig von Mises Institute website (mises.org).

Thanks to the government, you see, washing machines aren't what they used to be -- and they're getting worse.

It wasn't long ago -- prior to World War II -- that folks washed their clothes by hand or used clunky hand-cranked machines.

During the postwar consumerization boom, labor-intensive clothes washing was made easy by automatic electric machines.

In 1956, Wisk, the first liquid laundry detergent, offered a vast improvement over the soaps Americans had been using to clean their clothes.

Competition among detergent and washing-machine makers continually improved the quality of both.

To be sure, clothes washing had become so easy and effective, even clumsy oafs such as I could do it with little effort.

But our government is unwittingly reversing our washday advances.

Thornton cites a 1996 Consumer Reports test of 18 washing-machine models. Thirteen were rated excellent, five as very good.

In fact, any decent detergent and any machine would get your clothes nice and clean back then.

In 2007, Consumer Reports tested 21 models. Not one of them was rated excellent. Seven were rated as poor, the rest as mediocre.

What's worse: Consumer Reports found that in most cases, the clothes were as dirty after washing as they were before!

True, some high-end front-loading machines fared slightly better, but they are much more expensive and, the report found, have issues with mold.

Why are newer models so much less effective than 1996 models? The federal government.

It set energy standards for washers in the early 1990s. A decade later, the Department of Energy made those standards significantly more stringent.

To meet the new standards, machine manufacturers began abandoning the traditional top-loaders in favor of front-loading washers, which use less water and, therefore, less energy.

But that also results in less rinsing -- the mother's milk of getting clothes clean!

"The easy stuff like sweat is mostly removed, but all the tough stuff like grease and body oils largely remains," writes Thornton. As a result, people using the new machines end up doing multiple loads with higher water levels or washing the same clothes two or three times -- all of which defeats the government's energy- and water-saving goals.

Sam Kazman, general counsel of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, writes in The Wall Street Journal that "when the Department of Energy began raising the standard, it promised that 'consumers will have the same range of clothes washers as they have today,' and cleaning ability wouldn't be changed. That's not how it turned out."

Imagine that: a government mandate having an unintended consequence.

So here I am, looking to replace an old washing machine, and I learn that the old, worn-out one will still do a better job than one that's brand-spanking new?

I better hoard some 100-watt incandescent bulbs before the ban on incandescents takes effect, so I have enough light in the laundry room to see how unclean my clothes are.

Or maybe I can find some old shop that refurbishes washers made before 1996 -- assuming it's still legal for somebody to operate such a business.

[larryJ]

Warph, good post.  I think (and hear) the same is true about most appliances anymore.  We had a dishwasher that came with the house when we bought it 35 years ago.  We replaced it about 5 years ago.  The man who installed it said in a conversation, that even though we had purchased a top of the line model, it will never last as long as the old one did, mostly because of parts made of plastic where the old one used metal.

Same with the central air conditioner sitting on top of my house.  The one that came with the house 35 years ago was already 5 years old when we moved in.  It lasted from approximately 1970 til 2005, with one incident where the motor had to be replaced at a cost of $125.  The one we have now, installed in 2005, is having problems and will cost us roughly $500 to $600 to replace..............
the motor. 

The plumber who did a lot of upgrading to bring the house up to code, installed a new water heater, although there was really nothing wrong with the old one, but it was old.  He did this because of all the new plumbing and our new instant hot water feature, the old one would not work very well.  While installing the new one, the conversation was about "they just don't make them like they used to."

I like to think that it is the same with people.  They just don't make us like they used to.

Larryj

[Catwoman]

Excellent posts, Gentlemen...And rather disheartening, because I, too, am going to have to be replacing my washer/dryer set before long.  I asked the repairman, the last time he was here, what to buy...And he said anything that was made by Maytag or Whirlpool.  He said they are the easiest ones to fix, overall. He also mentioned that these cold water washes that you can use aren't telling you the truth...You have to wash things on warm in order to have the detergents do their job...Evidently, there is a minimum temp that they function at and anything less, they don't work.  You can rinse in cold but not wash in cold.  I was glad I asked...My clothes have been cleaner since stopping the cold wash thing.

[Wilma]

Maybe that is why I don't have any complaints about my clothes getting clean.  I always use warm water to wash.  Haven't outgrown the heating the wash water on the stove thing.  I just cannot fathom cold water washing getting the oil out of clothing.

I like Kenmore's front loading washer.  Haven't had any trouble with mine, yet.  I have been using it for six years now, but then, I am not doing laundry for a family.

[Catwoman]

I looked at the frontloaders but am leaning heavily toward the Whirlpool or Maytag toploaders...I can't remember the model names...But they are huge and are heavy duty.  As much laundry as I have to do in this family, they'd be worth the investment.  Expensive, yes...But I'm thinking they'll be worth it.

[Diane Amberg]

I'm in the same position too.My washer and dryer are both 1989 from when we moved here. My heavy duty basic top load Whirlpool washer and GE gas dryer have only had one small repair each and the repair man told me the same thing.The next one will never last as long and to keep gettin these repaired for as long aspossible. I too use warm water wash and cold rinse and start with hot for whites then switch to warm part way through. No problems.

[Wilma]

I went with the front loader because I wouldn't have to stand up to reach the controls or to load or unload.  It was just a plus to find that it uses less water, less detergent, softener, etc.  Besides the top can be used to store all kinds of laundry stuff without it interfering with the loading.

[Catwoman]

Hmmmm...You're knocking down all the supposed reasons I had for NOT buying a front loader...I'll have to give this more thought!

[Wilma]

Another thing, my front loader will hold as much as you can stuff into it.  It then measures the water according to the weight of the load.

[Janet Harrington]

I really want to comment on here about old appliances, but my fridge is old and still working and I don't want to put a jinx on it. LOL 30 years and counting.