Saturday, November 26, 2011

How long can your appliances last?

How long can our household appliances last, eg, fridge, cooker, washing machine, fan, etc? One thing I notice is that new appliances don't last long and started to give problem. For example, fan used to be made from steel, especially the blade. Now, everything is made from plastic and they just break apart.
I bought my fridge more than 30 years ago and it is still going strong, with just some repair and services once in a while.
My washing machine bought some 14 years ago gave some problem not long ago. The cold water inlet water valves didn't close any more. Then I found that I never use the hot water valve and it is literally new! So, I swap the cold water valve with the hot water valve and the washing machine is back to proper function.
One of the on/off valves of my 30 years old cooker suddenly didn't work well. Sometimes, it jammed up....
Since there are two rings which I never (seldom) use, I decided to open up the knob this morning to see what I can do. So, after removing two screws, the plunger (valve) were removed and replaced with the one which I seldom use. Bingo... the knob/valve is now working perfectly. Maybe, it will last for another 20 years!
Do you go out and shop for a new one because the towkay  told you that there is no spare? Next time, don't worry, the appliances usually came with "standby" which we just need to look for and use it!

2 comments:

Ensurai said...

My mother had a New World stove which lasted more than 30 years!!

I bought an Elba which lasted 20 years only because the lovely glass door of the oven broke into pieces...if I had a good handyman the stove could still be used with modification.

I heard now cameras may be TIME BASED!!two months after the warranty period they can konk off...sigh.

William said...

Coincident! This is also Elba and the glass door of the oven broke into pieces long ago. I don't use it. So doesn't matter. That glass is a special hardened glass.

That is way I told people not to buy pocket camera unless they wanted to change every 2 years.