Cotton Incorporated Laundry Study 2014

Department of Energy (DOE) has passed rules and regulations that mandate the reduction of energy for clothes care appliance manufacturers. For example, the Modified Energy Factors (MEF) mandates the reduction of the energy used by automatic washers and recently added the Water Factor (WF) to the equation to reduce water consumption. In 2015 the front load washer will be required to use a maximum of 18 gallons of water per cycle in a 4.0 ft3 washer as compared to the current 24 gallons. The top load washer requirement is a maximum of 30 gallons of water as compared to the current 38 gallons of water use. The industry challenge is to “maintain the level of performance of clean clothes with a reduction in energy and water.” The industry acknowledges that lowering water in both front and top load washers will impact rinsing and increase abrasion and the potential for color transfer.