In a sweeping efficiency proposal mandate on dishwashers, an Energy Department press release on dishwasher standards makes it clear the intent is to reduce “carbon pollution” and combat the “climate crisis.”

“Did you enjoy last night’s spaghetti, still crusted on the plate? Now you can taste it twice,” warns the WSJ.

Forget that the trivial CO2 emissions savings from your ill-functioning Whirlpool are laughable next to the coal power plants China is building, continues the WSJ.

The proposal requires manufacturers to slash water use by a third, limiting machines to 3.2 gallons per cycle, down from the current federal limit of five gallons. New appliances must simultaneously cut estimated annual energy usage by nearly 30%. Americans have learned the hard way that stricter efficiency rules on already efficient appliances translate into higher costs, inconvenience, and ultimately waste.

A New Standard

The Obama Administration’s dishwasher regulations raised the average price of a machine nearly $100, while producing a new norm of dirty forks and smelly glasses. When the Trump administration in 2018 proposed relaxing the rules, it received an avalanche of comments from Americans sick of overpaying for lousy equipment.

It’s “ridiculous that dishwashers I had years ago worked better than the high-tech ones today,” one comment said.

How to Undermine Efficiency

Machines can only meet much higher efficiency standards by recirculating water in longer cycles, meaning run times of two or three hours. Yet if the dishes aren’t clean, owners run them again, undermining the argument about conservation. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says that in 2020 nearly 20% of American households that owned a dishwasher never used it. That means they hand washed, which is as inefficient as it comes.

What Possibly Could Be Next?

At least progressives are being honest about their goal of controlling every detail of American life.

And yes, your gas stove is next.

Read more about Democrats’ war on energy in:

• The Federal Government Going Full Suicide Bomber Against America
• Joe Biden’s Death Warrant for Fossil Fuel Plants
• Mayor Adams Going Full Vegetarian