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It’s important to know that the best time to replace an appliance isn’t necessarily when it breaks down.
Appliances aren’t heirlooms
You might be saving that trusted family fridge that has been hanging in there pluckily for the last twenty years. But aside from doing a not-particularly good job at keeping your food fresh for longer - it will likely be highly inefficient, not just because of wear-and-tear, but because fridge design and economy has improved so much over the last ten years.
So if a few decades have rolled by, it might be time to retire Gran’s old Westinghouse.
Lifespan
The bottom line is it’s often hard to predict when a good appliance is going to turn bad.
As a general rule, appliances will typically last between 10 and 20 years - but this will vary between appliances.
According to the American National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) - who helpfully released research called the Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components - the contemporary average lifespans are as follows:
- Fridges - 13 years
- Dishwashers - 9 years
- Electric ovens - 13 years
- Gas stoves - 15 years
- Microwaves - 9 years
- Dryers - 13 years
Care
These will be subject numerous factors, not least how you treat your appliance - they’ll always benefit from some T.L.C. Or at least, some routine maintenance.
Semi-regularly doing things like cleaning your dishwasher drain, vacuuming your fridge coils and cleaning your oven - while always keeping an eye on factors such as load-capacities - will help improve your appliances’ longevity.
Otherwise the quality of your product will be an obvious factor - and Winning Appliances makes a point of stocking only the best from leading brands. And as with just about everything in life, you get what you pay for with the more high-end products designed to last longer than others.
To fix or not to fix
This will be one of the ever-present dilemmas - and the choice whether to fix or replace the appliance in question won’t always be very clear cut.
A good rule of thumb is that if the repair is going to cost more than half the price of a new model, it’s worth opting for a replacement.
An appliance reaching its eighth or ninth-year birthday is getting over the hill and only worth simple repairs - ditto if it’s continually breaking down.
Other clear-cut indicators include: heavy rusting, a broken fridge compressor or a washer that refuses to spin. Problems like this will be generally too expensive and labour-intensive to fix, so you’ll often be better off getting a completely new model. And - hey - you deserve to treat yourself sometimes!
Warranty
Be sure to check out the terms of your warranty - and find out whether your appliance is still under warranty. If so, be sure to give the manufacturer a call to get your money’s worth - and get them to fix it.
At Winning Appliances, we’re always there to help you determine the answers to these tricky appliance-life questions - so if you need any more information, please feel free to contact our experts either in-store or online.
