I remember my first dishwasher. It was a standalone unit that was very loud but got the dishes very clean in about 20 minutes.
The built-in dishwasher in my house today takes half an hour to run a complete cycle, and the dishes must be rinsed thoroughly before being loaded. Even then, some of the pans remain greasy.
The built-in dishwasher fell under Biden-era rules that required low-flow restrictors, which reduce the water flow and can delay the arrival of hot water. Because we're running out of fresh water, don't you know?
The restrictors also make me grit my teeth when taking a shower. Do you remember when taking a shower was one of the most relaxing things you could do? Hot water, beating down on your back and arm muscles, was almost like a Swedish massage.
Today, there's no such thing as a "quick shower." It takes forever to get wet, and the weak stream makes it a chore to rinse off.
You can get someone to remove the restrictors (neither Sue nor I would know where to start), but whenever one of us brings it up, we shrug our shoulders and then forget about it, chalking it up to one more idiocy that modern folk must contend with.
That may be about to change.
In February, Trump's DOE postponed three Biden-era efficiency rules related to central A.C. and heat pumps, walk-in coolers and freezers, and gas tankless water heaters. It also carved a special regulatory category, freeing tankless heaters from Biden's near-ban. Just last week, the DOE cut four more rules outright—impacting ceiling fans, dehumidifiers, external power supplies, and the electric motors that power almost everything. This isn't just red tape slashed—it's a rare win for choice and function over dogma. What exactly did we dodge? A lot.
Take electric motor mandates—these rules hit everything from your blender to your garage compressor. They aimed to tighten already-strict regulations and expand them to even more motors in everyday appliances. Ostensibly, the goal was to reduce electricity use and emissions. Sounds noble—until you realize what it does to the products we actually use.
The entire regulatory regime that adds hundreds of dollars to some appliances and fails to reduce CO2 emissions by more than a fraction needs to be deep-sixed.
These motors skimp on low-end torque, hobbling appliances that need a quick jolt—think A.C. units gasping to start or a blender stalling on ice. They're slower to respond and less precise. And because they require rare earth metals and heavier materials, they make devices bulkier—your cordless drill suddenly feels like a lead pipe.
"Each of these rules hit manufacturers with retooling costs, consumers with higher bills, and our homes with clunkier gear," writes Reason's Marc Oestreich.
The government's war on efficient, reliable, well-crafted, and beautifully designed appliances did not begin with Joe Biden. The battle started during the Reagan administration when regulators seduced the Gipper to sign the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act. A bill designed to simplify the regulations in 50 states ended up handing the federal government unlimited power over our appliances.
These regulations stack up like bad sequels—each more expensive, less effective, and harder to defend than the last. The low-flow toilet that takes two flushes, the washer that needs a second cycle, the showerhead that sputters like a garden hose with arthritis. Trump's latest cuts nick the beast. But it's still alive.
Last week's rollback swings the pendulum toward sanity—I hope. My $800 dishwasher still mocks me, but my fans, heater, and A.C. might dodge that fate. It's a small dent in decades of regulatory lunacy that's burdened makers, killed innovation, and trashed our kitchens.
Preach it, brother.
