First, Biden came for your gas stoves. Now it's your dishwasher

President Joe Biden has set his eyes on another appliance in your kitchen — the dishwasher.

Months after an official in his administration floated the idea of banning gas stoves, the Department of Energy (DOE) has now set its sights on limiting access to dishwashers if they use too much water, as determined by the bureaucracy. Meanwhile, his administration continues to look to limit access to gas stoves.

The DOE’s proposed rule would require that all dishwashers sold use around three gallons of water. The agency predicts the change would cost manufacturers $125 million to convert and lead to a negative net present value of somewhere around $100 million.

The administration said there would be benefits to the climate, such as reduced carbon dioxide limits. While it predicts an estimated cost of “$8.6 million per year in increased product costs” the “estimated annual benefits are $125.8 million in reduced product operating costs, $34.6 million in climate benefits, and $37.0 million in health benefits.”

The proposed regulations were packaged with the announcement of other proposed restrictions on beverage vending machines and electric motors. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm claimed the changes would save money for Americans while fighting climate change.

“This Administration is using all of the tools at our disposal to save Americans money while promoting innovations that will reduce carbon pollution and combat the climate crisis,” Granholm stated in a Friday news release.

However commentators have pointed out some of the problems in the DOE’s logic.

“The department estimates that consumers will save $3 billion over the next 30 years, or $100 million per year, on their utility bills thanks to the rougher rules,” Christian Britschgi wrote at Reason. “That’s a pretty small per capita savings when spread across the 89 million dishwasher-owning households.”

The new regulations might lead to more water usage as individuals switch to washing dishes by hand, Britschgi pointed out, citing research from the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI).

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