need to vent over appliances grrrr!!!!

[smilingcat]

Sometimes I feel like I'm getting ahead and at other times I feel like everything is conspiring to keep me from saving money for my retirement.

I remember my parents had appliances that lasted and lasted... for years they would run... for decades it would run... Only reason they got rid of it was well styling got just too old.

The olive green color... the gold color... the traditional white...

I thought I took a good care of my appliances but my washer went Kaput about three weeks ago. I specifically bought it because it was more or less industrial grade without too many fancy functions. Amana washer. It started to leak after only 15 or so years. My mothers kenmore washer lasted nearly 25 years... I ended up buying Fisher&Paykel washer cause it was the only one we liked. Sure others had stainless steel drums but it had stains on the steel finish (hmmm...) then I ran my finger on the seam of the drum and it snagged my finger. (hmmm...) And Fisher Paykel is assembled in USA. (Buy American)

I hope the new washer lasts more than 15 years... All those fancy electronics make me nervous.

And tonight. I'm really bummed. It's a good thing we have a large chest deep freezer and a spare fridge. I opened our fridge in the kitchen tonight and I heard this spitting, sputtering noise from the fridge. I thought maybe the refridgeration gas was leaking... Listened to the sound and couldn't find it. Pulled out some of the shelves in the freezer section and still couldn't find the source of the noise. Close the door and noise became faint. My partner opens the door and looks in. She sees an orange glow in the back of the fridge. OMG!! It's ready to catch on FIRE!!! Together we pushed the fridge so we could unplug the thing. the fridge is only 18 or so years old!!

Now we have to buy a new fridge after having bought a brand new washing machine... Less than a month ago no less... I'm feeling really poor again.

Whats really odd was that I got side tracked while we were looking for the washer and I spent some time looking at new refridgerators. Only one we liked were again... Fisher&Paykel.

The bright side of things is that we caught it in time so my house didn't burn down. All of our foster animals are safe and sound. and I still have a roof over my head. sigh... but no fridge. Yes we do keep an ABC fire extinguisher in the kitchen. It's a good size.

I hate spending money. I also went cloth shopping at Talbot over the weekend. A cute red plaid skirt, stylish pair of pants, ... I needed new work cloth... then the trip I just took to see my father for the last time... Last month was very expensive. This month is also going to be very expensive...

Did I say I hate spending money?

I hope I can sleep tonight. I'm just really angry about the whole thing. Guess where I will be tomorrow morning? Playing hooky from work. WHY ME!!!???

I just hope it doesn't take two weeks for delivery.

[papaver]

If you hate spending money, be happy that you have NEW appliances. They will use a whole less energy. I hope you did the sensible thing and bought energy efficient appliances...

Yes they used to make appliances that were there to last. But they don't do that anymore... the reason is simple. If everything would last for 25 years, they wouldn't sell as much.

My washer broke down a month ago. It was fifteen years old. I have a new one, and boy does it use a whole lot less energy.

[cylegoddess]

Nothing last like it used to - and hey at least you didnt get what I did!
My ( now gone) bunny bit thru our new three year old fridge cord, and I fixed it. Guess what shprted out all the house fuses and burnt out its own motor, requiring a NEW fridge. Yep. 15 years sounds good. I wish my washer would do that but its plastic and dont thing it will last 27 years like Dads

[uforgot]

I just retired my 30 year old dryer. I could have just replaced the heating element once again, but it was $50 and the new dryer was a scratched floor model for $200 with free delivery and setup. I don't imagine it will last 30 years, but maybe I won't either! Those 70s Kenmores were great appliances. The washing machine is still working!

[sfa]

Yeah, household appliances do seem to conspire to all break at the same time, don't they? We had to replace our dryer and dishwasher last year within a couple of months. I keep expecting our fridge to go (it spent the last four summers leaking all over the kitchen floor, but this summer it stopped. No idea why.), but it's holding on. The furnace also scares me--our house is 90+ years old and the furnace is from at least the 1940's (coal furnace originally, converted to burn heating oil at some point). How long can a furnace last?

But it seems like your appliances are lasting a bit longer than average. Here's the life expectancy of household appliances: http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-ad...pectancy.shtml

Sarah

[Ritamarie]

We've got a 1950's oven. Works like a charm (well except for the broiler). Pic is of my husband (who is as old as the oven) making his first ever batch of cookies during the snowstorm. It took him a few batches to figure it out!

[bmccasland]

Back when I worked in a fish pathology lab...

We had to replace our ultra-low freezer (holds steady at -80C), life span of about 5 years, $5000 each. I'm sure they cost more now. We got to know our local heating and cooling repair guy real well as we tried to keep our various incubators and freezers alive as long as possible before we had to replace them. Let alone servicing the building's heating and cooling system.

[Dogmama]

Smiling cat - if things happen in three's, hang on because you ain't done yet!

I'm on my third dishwasher in about 10 years because they kept being recalled for catching on fire (GE's). The manufacturer would give a "rebate" of $25 or so IF you bought one of THEIR new dishwashers. My dishwashers were usually old enough to not qualify for replacement or at least a good deal on replacement.

I smell a rat.

[OakLeaf]

I'm sitting here listening to my 3-year-old fridge rattle. Reason it's rattling is, every time there's a power failure, the drain freezes up, and unless we disassemble the whole thing and take a hair dryer and boiling water to it, the freezer will fill up with water from the drain. Of course nothing that's plastic and popped together ever goes back together exactly the same way. Ergo the rattle.

OTOH, I bought a new belt for my 11-year-old washer, which I'm pretty sure is all it needs, and haven't got around to installing it yet.

[kermit]

I feel your pain, but the technology has changed so much the new ones are great. My house in Georgia has top of the line frig and washer and dryer. WOW are they quiet, fast and energy efficient. The house we rent in Miami, well... our washer just died. It was super old and a commercial size. Worked great until it rusted and fell apart. So I go tell my landlord that it died and he goes okay I've got another one. He points to this old, yellow thing sitting on his carport. I'll get some guys to help me and bring it over afterI clean it up. Grrreeeeaaattttt! This thing is older than the other one. So he installs it and it's TINY and leaking. I let him know and he spends the day FIXING it. Was hoping he'd realize the thing is a turd, and a polished turd is still a TURD! Well he spent all day replacing hoses and guess what I'M ALL SET! At least you can go pick out what you want!

[badger]

yeah, things aren't made the way used to be. Companies need to make money so appliances these days are only made to last 10-15 years. Oh, and don't bother with any of those extended warranties. They're just useless money pits, and if/when you do need to use them, they make it really difficult to redeem.

I just wish they made cars to last longer than 10-15 years!!

and I feel your pain on spending. I just spent $1000, yes, one THOUSAND dollars on a nighguard for my teeth grinding.

[Irulan]

Consumer Reports gives expected lifetime on major appliances as 10-15 years now, depending on whether its a water heater, washer etc...

[Zen]

My clothes dryer is from Montgomery Wards

[TsPoet]

in 2003 my brother talked me into spending $$$ on a 50" DLP TV. It blew up 3 weeks ago (as in exploded, my poor dog was sleeping behind it, she ran an hid in the closet for 2 days!). I called my brother, and he said that 6 years for these modern TVs is about right!? I paid that much money for a TV with a 6 year lifespan???
My brother also feels that you should replace appliances, TVs, etc every 5 years anyway, to get the benefits of new technology.
My brother is nuts, but I think a lot of people agree with him.

[OakLeaf]

My brother also feels that you should replace appliances, TVs, etc every 5 years anyway, to get the benefits of new technology.
My brother is nuts, but I think a lot of people agree with him.

There really is a point where the resource expenditure of replacing an appliance - especially if it's properly recycled - is less than that of continuing to run an old, inefficient one. Five years sounds pretty short though. It's about the useful life of a computer, but not for resource reasons.