New Spin on Doing Your Laundry Tougher Rules Would Mean Costlier but Energy-Saving Washers

By Jura Koncius

Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, April 12, 2001; Page A01

When newlyweds Alan and Tracy Bloom Schwartz bought a front-loading Maytag Neptune washing machine for their new home in Potomac last year, they had no idea their low-sudsing appliance would save them 6,971 gallons of water annually -- more than enough to run their dishwasher every day.

"We wanted a quality machine because we plan to be here a long time," said Tracy, 44, as she swung open the door to the Neptune's oversize stainless-steel wash basket, in the mudroom where it sits next to her tidy recycling center. "I didn't really know my machine was part of this major energy-saving effort."

With her $1,000 machine, equippedwith interior light, eight-hour delay wash feature and ergonomically designed 15-degree tub tilt, Schwartz finds herself on the leading (albeit high-end) edge of a quiet revolution in the way Americans do their laundry.

As the nation copes with energy shortages and a national utility bill of $140 billion a year, the kind of washing machine Americans will be able to buy is being debated by the Bush administration. In what will be yet another test of the White House stance on energy policy, officials are considering whether to let stand stringent standards for clothes washers pushed through just days before Bill Clinton left office. These Department of Energy standards are under a 60-day review period that officially ends today. Joseph Davis, a DOE spokesman, said a decision was "imminent."

But unlike many of the other regulations -- involving arsenic and ergonomics, for example -- these have the support of industry. Appliance manufacturers are expressing confidence that they will not be overturned. Conservatives opposing the rules are already disappointed because they have been told by White House sources that they expect the rules to stand. Charles Samuels, government relations counsel to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, said he believes DOE is focusing on water heaters and air conditioners, where industry opposes the change in standards. "They have other red meat," said Samuels. "We don't expect there will be any trouble."

Manufacturers say they wouldn't steer from their course now, anyway. "Even in the unlikely event this rulemaking did not go through, we would still continue our plans to move forward with high-efficiency appliances," says Doug Ringger, of Maytag's research and development department. "This issue is here to stay."

That's because the standards are the work of seven years of dialogue between energy officials, manufacturers, environmental organizations and consumers. Under them, washers manufactured after 2004 and 2007 would be 22 and then 35 percent more energy-efficient than today's washers. According to DOE, the net economic benefit from water and energy conserved would total $15.3 billion from 2004 to 2030.

The rules do not mean the end of conventional top-loaders, despite what some anti-regulatory groups have claimed; the new machines load from the top, the front or an angle in between.

Banned from the market would be the water-guzzling washers churning away in most American homes -- machines that use 40 gallons per load as opposed to about 21 gallons in the high-efficiency machines proposed for 2007 -- which translates into energy savings, since there's less water to heat. But there is a cost as well. Whirlpool's current $199 entry-level washer, for example, would disappear, and company officials would not speculate on what its cheapest model might retail for under the new rules.

According to a DOE study, the price of today's typical clothes washer -- $421 -- would rise to $474 in 2004 and $670 in 2007. But manufacturers say those prices are likely to drop, and that the savings in energy costs over time would offset the initial hike. Already, there is a range of prices in high-efficiency models available, including Frigidaire's FWT645RH, a $770 front-loader, and Whirlpool's top-loading Resource Saver at $599. Nevertheless, some consumer groups are still concerned that low-income families and seniors could be priced out of the market.

Heidi Baumgartner, who was part of a 1997 Maytag/DOE water savings consumer study in Bern, Kan., says she's heard few complaints from the 104 Bern households whose old washers were replaced with free Neptunes. Would she buy one for her family of five? "I could not afford it," said Baumgartner, who was washing two bridesmaid dresses on "delicate" as she spoke on the phone.

A Cleaning Revolution

As regulators discussed the fate of America's dirty clothes, aradical shift was already spinning in America's basements and laundry rooms. In the late 1990s, washer manufacturers began rolling out a new generation of high-efficiency machines, both top- and front-loaders, and have already sold millions of them, despite the higher sticker price. For those consumers still smarting over the government's mandate of the highly unpopular low-flush toilet in 1992, manufacturers are adamant that these machines clean just as well or better than today's standard models.

According to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, more than 60 different models on the market already meet the stiff 2007 standards. They estimate that the average consumer using one of these machines will save $50 a year on utility bills and about $675 over the lifetime of the washer -- about 14 years. (Maytag says the Neptune saves even more.) Consumer Reports gave the Neptune ($1,049) its highest rating, calling it "excellent overall" in its washer testing in August 2000. The high-efficiency $1,099 Kenmore Elite Calypso, made by Whirlpool, debuted at Sears last September and has caught the attention of many consumers because it retains the popular top-loading feature but does away with the agitator. Instead, it employs a wobbling "calypso action" wash plate that bounces the clothes clean. The January 2001 Consumer Reports placed it "among the best washing machines we've ever put through the wringer."

In the midst of these breakthroughs, the power laundry room became part of a national remodeling boom that started in the kitchen and bathroom. The washer and dryer moved out of many basements into more hospitable quarters upstairs nearer to bedrooms. And Casual Fridays meant more khaki pants and polo shirts to wash in households that formerly spent big bucks on dry cleaning.

Manufacturers contend the new models are gentler on clothes and can accommodate larger items such as sleeping bags, comforters and car mats. High-efficiency models extract more water from clothing than conventional machines, requiring less time in the dryer, saving even more energy.

"We are going to be developing products that go even beyond the DOE standards," said Steve Mejeur, brand manager for laundry products at Whirlpool. "We see the high-efficiency segment of the business growing, especially with what is going on in California and the Northwest this past year."

High-efficiency washers work best with a special low-suds detergent that is not yet available at all stores. Sales of Procter & Gamble's Tide HE and Unilever's Wisk HE, designed to prevent dinginess and dye transfer in lower water levels, are growing slowly.

Despite manufacturers' enthusiasm for the new standards, anti-regulatory forces are skeptical.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute petitioned the Energy Department last month to urge the Bush administration to reconsider the washer rules, calling them "costly and intrusive" and unnecessary.

"We aren't talking nuclear reactors here. I think people don't like being told what they can and can't have," said Ben Lieberman, a policy analyst at CEI. "I'm not against high-efficiency washing machines, but I feel it's a choice that should be left to the consumer . . . If they are fantastic, then the last thing you need is a regulation for it."

In some states, there are rewards for buying them. Last July, Maryland became the first state in the nation to eliminate the sales tax on highly efficient washers and other appliances bearing the "Energy Star" label.

Manufacturers are optimistic the rules will remain.

"This took eight years to craft and everybody's been part of it. My message is, don't rock the boat," said John Kurtz, Whirlpool's manager of fabric care. "As a manufacturer, it's very difficult to operate under uncertainty. Even though this is a challenging target, we know how to get there. We have enough time to meet those levels and to make the machines affordable."

"The growing public awareness of the energy situation is making more people pay attention to the energy efficiency of these machines," said Doug Horstman, vice president of government affairs for Maytag. "If this rule was overturned, the DOE would have to set another one. And it would be sad for the nation because of the energy and water savings that would be lost over the time it takes to get new standards."

Schwartz, co-owner of Creative Parties in Bethesda, says she and her husband generate about eight or nine loads of laundry a week, what with all the sheets, towels, workout clothes and casual pants and shirts her husband wears as a sales manager at Berliner Specialty Distributors in Hyattsville. She's on board with the washer standard.

"I think people need a little help to change their habits. Most consumers won't go the extra mile without some incentive," she says. "These new washers are a great thing. Think of what they will do in California. Maybe they should throw out all their washing machines and start over."

Staff writer Cindy Skrzycki contributed to this report.

© 2001 The Washington Post Company

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

Answers

Actually, I'm thinking of throwing out (or giving away) my very old washing machine and starting over. I have my heart currently set on the Staber 2000 toploader. 66% less water. 60% less energy (because less hot water). 75% less detergent. Extracts more water for less drying time. Maybe I can pay for it out of my gasoline savings.

http://www.staber.com/

My current plan is a very aggressive decrease in energy use as a precursor to maybe going party solar. Also eyeing the SunFrost SF19 refrigerator/freezer.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

maybe going party solar

I wanna go to the solar party too! LOL

As to the fridge, I hear the best ones have the motor on top as opposed to the bottom. Of course, these also have the price at the top as opposed to the bottom or middle range. Bummer, that.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

"party solar". Barefoot, you perhaps expected me to live it up in the dark?

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

I'll bring the moontan lotion, okay?

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

The joys of living it up in the dark are often celebrated again about nine months later......

[this is not a come on, and I do not do this on TV either.]

LOL

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001

Somewhere I have the Consumer Reports thingie on washers if anyone is interested. I'm waiting for the stackable version to come out, then I'm going to cause them to be put in the hall closet--sod losing the space, I want my W/D inside, not on the damn carport.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2001