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08/28/2008

10 Questions for . . . Ed Hammer, CFL Inventor
In this installment of 10 Questions for . . . , Associate Editor Kimberly Janeway speaks with Ed Hammer about his 1975 invention, the compact fluorescent lightbulb, and why it took so long for this innovation to reach the marketplace. Hammer (shown with the first CFL) has worked in the lighting industry for 50 years and holds more than 40 patents. How do you feel about being called the father of the CFL? And does Edison inspire or haunt you? "Father of the CFL" is a nice title—I'm fine with that. I wasn't haunted by Edison. I wanted to make the world a better place; it's still my goal. What led to your invention? I was a senior physicist at GE Lighting in Cleveland and was working in fluorescent lighting in 1973, when we had the energy crisis in this country. As a result, we designed a bulb commonly called the F-40 Watt-Miser, the first energy-efficient linear fluorescent lamp. That said, I thought we might as well get a replacement for the 100-watt incandescent lamp. That type of lighting is very, very inefficient. What did you envision as a replacement for incandescent bulbs? I thought if we could get a fluorescent replacement, we'd get more efficient lighting. I was also thinking compact and to get it to look like an incandescent I would make it spiral and bend it with certain geometry, but it wouldn't be easy. My colleagues gave me many reasons why it wouldn't work. From conception to prototype took up to two years, and my first compact fluorescent lightbulb was good. It's on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Today's spirals look very similar to the first one. You invented the CFL in 1975. Why did it take so long for it to reach stores? A number of reasons. There wasn't enough money for GE to do the CFL. It got delayed. Time goes on and there were other projects. In 1985 we tried to do the CFL, but bending it was very difficult because there wasn't automated equipment. GE thought the CFL was a good bulb but too expensive to make. The bending was done manually and the other parts were automated. The only place in the world where CFLs could be made and sold at a reasonable price was China. In the end, GE wasn't the first to bring CFLs to market. Were there any problems with the first CFLs? One big problem was that they operated with a high-frequency electronic ballast. People complained they were having problems with their TVs and they'd take them back to the store. The output frequency of the CFLs was the same as the frequency from the televisions and was causing interference. Once we identified the frequencies being used, the remote-control people designed around it. Interference is no longer a problem, but that slowed down sales of CFLs.

08/27/2008

Mold can be a problem for some front-loading washers
Front-loading washing machines are more efficient than traditional top-loading washers. Sure, you’ll pay a $400 to $500 premium for the average top-loader, but your electricity and water savings should offset the added expense over the lifetime of the appliance. Plus, front-loaders are among the highest-rated washers in our tests. But front-loaders don’t have a spotless reputation. We’ve received myriad comments from readers about water left behind at the end of the wash cycle, bleach spotting, excessive vibrations, unhelpful service reps, and other complaints common to all washers. But one issue seems unique to front-loaders: mold buildup in the rubber gasket of the door and the resulting odor on clothes. The mold problem is so widespread that class-action suits are targeting the LG, Whirlpool, and Sears, whose Kenmore front-loaders are made by Whirlpool. Maytag Neptune and Whirlpool Calypso front-loading washers have been part of similar lawsuits; settlements were reached for both. One Consumer Reports reader had a Whirlpool Duet for four months when it and her family’s clothes began to smell of mold. She contacted the manufacturer, which she says told her to clean the machine twice a week with bleach, wipe the door down after each wash, and leave the door open to dry it out. “I work full time and have five children—four who do their own laundry,” says Merryl Nall of Collierville, Tennessee, says. “Needless to say, that would not work.” Whirlpool took back the washer, and Nall has switched to a top-loader. Mold, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, can cause symptoms that include nasal stuffiness, eye irritation, wheezing, or skin irritation, fever, and shortness of breath. For people with chronic lung illnesses, mold infections can develop in their lungs. And exposure to mold can also bring on asthma attacks. Suggested remedies to the mold problem abound. Whirlpool sells Affresh tablets as a way to clean washer residue and mold. Sears warns against using non-HE detergents, cleaners that could create conditions for mold growth. And LG recommends that once or twice a month you run a special hot cycle to which you add bleach to clean the washer. Our advice: • When washing, use warm or hot water unless a load requires cold. • Wipe the door gasket and glass dry once you’re done washing. • Clean the detergent dispenser and any attachments once or twice a month. • Run a dehumidifier if your laundry room is damp. If you see mold buildup in a front-loading washer, call the manufacturer for service and save all paperwork related to the purchase and service of your machine. In the Maytag Neptune and Whirlpool Calypso settlements, plaintiffs eligible for restitution needed to document multiple authorized repair visits made during the warranty period and soon after the warranty expired. In response to the many reader letters we've received, we're asking owners of front-loaders whether repairs they’ve had done to their washers relate to mold alone. We’ll report on the findings from the Annual Questionnaire, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, in future stories.—Ed Perratore

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