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NSF International helps protect you by certifying products and writing standards for food, water, air and consumer goods. As an independent, not-for-profit organization, our ongoing public health commitment is to encourage everyone to live safer.

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NSF News - Ann Arbor, MI -- NSF International today announced the development of a new protocol that will test and certify residential clothes washers to make sure they effectively sanitize laundry. Whirlpool Corporation is the first manufacturer to certify select clothes washer models to the protocol.

NSF Protocol P172 - Sanitization Performance of Residential and Commercial, Family Sized Clothes Washers (NSF P172) is the first protocol to test and certify residential clothes washers with sanitizing cycles. NSF P172 addresses consumers' interest regarding proper sanitization of residential and family-sized clothes washers. The protocol combines provisions from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of Energy under one protocol.

Whirlpool Corporation Becomes First Manufacturer to Meet P172 Requirements The clothes washers that have met the stringent requirements of NSF Protocol P172 and bear the NSF certification mark include the Whirlpool^® Duet HT^® and Duet^®Sport^TM HT, the Maytag^® Epic^TM, and the Kenmore Elite^® HE2^TM, HE3^TM, and HE5t^TM.

The protocol requirements include testing to ensure that:

• at least 99.9% of test organisms are removed when the washer's sanitization cycle is selected, and
• there is no carryover of test organisms between loads after sanitization cycle is used.

"All consumers have to do is look for the NSF Mark on the washing machine to make sure that the proper sanitization requirements have been met," said Tom Bruursema, general manager of NSF's Engineering & Research Services. "Annual certification will assure continued confidence in NSF certified clothes washers."

"Whirlpool is proud to set the precedent for other clothes washer manufacturers to meet the new NSF requirements, ensuring sanitization cycles are doing their job effectively," said Dick Conrad, product business leader for Whirlpool North America. "This mark underscores Whirlpool's commitment to our consumers, and to producing appliances that fit their lifestyle."

The protocol was developed by a panel of experts including representatives from the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Silliker Laboratories, Stilwell Consulting, American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) and the Centre for Research on Environmental Microbiology (CREM).

For more information about certification to NSF P172, please contact Patrick Davison, NSF Senior Project Manager, at 734-913-5719 or davison@nsf.org.

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