Home and kitchen washing appliances are to be brought under the EUs Ecodesign directive which aims to cut down on energy and water usage.Both washing machines and dishwashers will come under the directive as part of the EUs drive to cut energy consumption by 20 per cent by 2020.The rules mean that from June next year for washing machines and by 2012 for dishwashers, instruction manuals will have to list the most energy efficient programmes and detail water and energy consumption, businessgreen.com reported.In addition, by December 2013 all household washing machines sold in the EU will have to offer a cycle at 20 degrees centigrade.The news comes after Michele Lerner of Investopedia.com recently warned homeowners against installing brand new kitchens or bathrooms before putting their home on the market.It was instead suggested that homeowners could opt for cost-effective, minor upgrades like replacing kitchen taps or painting cabinets.