Yes, I think so. If your washer breaks down and you need to buy a new one you’ll be hard pressed to find one that isn’t a swanky “high efficiency” washer that claims to save water and energy. With over 35 years of washer experience, both front loading and top loading, I was eager to try out the new product with the glass top that allowed me to watch the washing cycle. I didn’t think it would save me much on my electric bill because I was already using cold water with normal washing powder on all my cycles to reduce my energy costs. It also said I would save on detergent because it would use less but I was already using half of what the manufacturer recommended for various loads so the only saving I would have would be on the water bill. That’s a good thing isn’t it?
The salesman explained that the “new generation” washer would use less water because the detergent recommended would do all the work along with the small agitator which would slap the laundry items against each other to get everything spotless. It sounded so sophisticated and scientific and we all know that sophistication is cool and science is so brilliant, right?
It definitely didn’t sound like a myth to save on energy and water bills and detergent.
The first thing that hit me was that the high efficiency detergents were mighty more expensive than the old detergent. Okay, so they say you use less than normal so the upfront cost is more but it would last longer and in the long term would be cheaper. Not so for me because I was already using less detergent anyway.
Then when I loaded my first high energy load in this energy and water saving machine the instrument panel lit up like a cockpit. It had buttons and directions for everything. Very fancy and actually the nicest part of the whole new washer experience. I did wonder though about how all those lights were saving energy. Remember how we were given a list from our energy companies on how to save the planet by making sure all the little blue and yellow lights were off on our computers, tv’s etc? Well these little blinkers stay on throughout the cycle which runs for a minimum of 47 minutes. No hardship though, they are worth any extra cents.
But then comes the shocker. The water level is so low that the clothes stick out of the water and because you can watch them being agitated and washed through the clear glass lid you will see that they don’t get completely submerged throughout the cycle except for a light spray of water at intervals.
The instruction manual reassures one that this is quite normal and that the garments are still being washed thoroughly. That would be all good and well if my black items (slacks, and shirts) do not come out with blotches of white all over them where they haven’t been rinsed properly. This, despite selecting the “extra rinse” button. So now the garments have to be returned to the washer and put through the rinse and spin cycle and rinsed again to remove the so very high efficiency detergent and sometimes it is necessary to do this twice.
This means, even on the delicate cycle which runs for 47 minutes, the clothes now have to be put through a 27 minute rinse and spin cycle; twice. A wash that used to take 20 minutes of energy now takes 101 minutes of energy and three fills of water that equal the one fill for the rinse in the old washer. Some high efficiency washer this is! Just who are they fooling! And who knows whether the lighter clothes aren’t filled with detergent particles too but they don’t stand out. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if people start getting more and more skin rashes from the residue in their clothes especially people with sensitive skin and babies.
It’s my experience that high efficiency low energy and water washers are a myth.