A few years ago, when Obama was president, I read that new federal dishwasher standards were coming. So even though we didn’t really need a new dishwasher, ours was fairly old and so I bought a new one before the new standards would be implemented. My reason? The standards required future dishwashers to use less water, meaning that the dishes would take longer to clean and probably would be dirtier.
When Trump was president, he lightened the rules a little. But now President Biden’s Department of Energy has repealed the Trump liberalization and is imposing new standards that will require less water and less energy.
How much energy will the dishwasher rules save? Christian Britschgi of Reason writes:
The department [of energy] estimates that consumers will save $3 billion over the next 30 years, or $100 million per year, on their utility bills thanks to the rougher rules. That’s a pretty small per capita savings when spread across the 89 million dishwasher-owning households.
Yes, that is small. It amounts to $1.12 per year. And your dishes will likely take longer to wash and be dirtier.
So if you were thinking of replacing your dishwasher, now would be a good time.
READER COMMENTS
Jon Murphy
Jun 7 2023 at 8:05am
The DOE’s estimates probably do not take into account the “longer and dirtier” aspect, which means the real net benefits are likely negative given how low they are to start. If you factor in people like me who will either wash by hand (which uses approximately 4-10x the amount of water) or run the dishwasher again, I wouldn’t be surprised if the new rules lead to increased water usage compared to before.
National Jester
Jun 8 2023 at 6:02pm
When we moved out of California we had to buy a new washer and dryer. My wife was excited to finally get a new new front loader. Well, they are almost useless. Can only put a small amount of clothes in and it takes about an hour and a half to run a load. We like our kitchen appliances so far, although we are hearing that they might only last for 3-4 years. This reminds me of MTBE.
John Hall
Jun 7 2023 at 8:14am
Did the DoE measure the water that I use washing my silverware by hand before putting it in the dishwasher because it doesn’t always get it clean?
Knut P. Heen
Jun 7 2023 at 10:54am
I realized the other day that all these sustainability concerns would be completely unnecessary if we gave all the wealth of the world to one person. One person would not be able to much damage alone. The “problem” is in other words that the average guy and even the poor man is too rich for us to have a sustainable society. Sustainable for whom? I guess capitalism and global trade is bringing about too little inequalities for the elites to continue being an elite.
I bet they have a real dishwasher at the White House.
Billt
Jun 7 2023 at 11:32am
We recently purchased a new dishwasher. At the end of the washing cycle, the dishes smell (and taste) of soap. There is single rinse cycle. That cycle uses cold water and doesn’t eliminate the smell. So we need to run the wash cycle twice.
Our new washing machine is better. We still need to run an extra rinse cycle to get all the soap out. However it has an extra fast spin cycle. This leaves about half as much water in the clothes as our old machine. So we can save on energy in the dryer.
We get our water from Lake Ontario so water isn’t much of a concern for us. If we lived in California I’d gladly put up with soapy dishes and clothes knowing that this leave more water so farmers can irrigate their pistachio trees using the most wasteful manner possible.
steve
Jun 7 2023 at 12:41pm
Seeing aside anecdotes, every rating agency I have seen, like Consumer Reports or Wirecutter, rate modern dishwashers as superior to older ones. You do need to remember to not pre-rinse. Of note, the amount of water these is actually pretty variable and they may be using much more water than you think, and well above the Energy Star rating. They adjust based upon the particulate load so when needed they may use nearly as much as older models.
Query- Do you also believe cars from 1970 were better?
Steve
David Henderson
Jun 7 2023 at 1:31pm
You write:
No, as I’ve written about a number of times on EconLog.
nobody.really
Jun 8 2023 at 10:56am
I dunno. I recall someone saying —
BS
Jun 7 2023 at 1:15pm
Whether or not things are “better” according to bench tests has to be balanced against the behaviour of people who use them. More flushes, more cycles, deliberate removal of performance-degrading equipment, etc.
Buck5
Jun 7 2023 at 4:08pm
The entire dishwasher panic is bogus. Most dishwashers on the market today are already very, very close to the target. Some are already more efficient that the target. This whole dishwasher scare is stupid. The new dish target is 240 kWh/yr. Currently the standard is 270. The new water standard is 3.2 gal per cycle. The current is 3.5 gal. LG, Samsung, GE, Crosley, Insignia, Asko, Fisher&Paykel, KitchenAid, Whirlpool already have models that meet this new criteria. So how about you stop misinforming people and look at the facts?
Richard Fulmer
Jun 8 2023 at 1:55pm
The question isn’t whether appliance companies can meet the requirements. They will, whatever the requirements are. The question is whether compliant dishwashers will get dishes clean and do so without pre-rinsing.
David Henderson
Jun 8 2023 at 2:15pm
There’s one thing missing from your comment: any evidence that I’ve misinformed anyone.
robc
Jun 9 2023 at 4:12pm
How about not having a standard at all and letting the free market work?
You know what is misinformation? Telling people there should be a standard.
Andy Weintraub
Jun 7 2023 at 5:30pm
My wife of 62 years has been consistently against buying a dishwasher. Her reason? She married one.
I’m not sure how much more water we use to keep dishes and cooking utensils clean, but we know they’re always clean and we’re always ready for dinner, whether it be two or twenty.
JC
Jun 8 2023 at 4:22pm
None of this matters.
As Walt Whitman pointed out years ago the planet is already an orange sucked dry.
National Jester
Jun 8 2023 at 5:54pm
Ha! My wife and I want to completely remodel our kitchen. The price tag is $70-80,000. We don’t have that much money saved yet. But we went ahead and bought a new refrigerator, dishwasher and gas range. The cost to eliminate the gas line and run a 50 amp outlet to our kitchen would run thousands of dollars. Frankly, the Biden administration abuses of regulatory power reminds me of California. I hope voters take note of that in 2024.
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