Why don't appliances last anymore? 050826

 

Why don’t appliances last anymore?

May 8, 2026

I have a 20 year old set of Maytag washer and dryer and they are still going strong (fortunately).  I DREAD replacing them someday.  The dryer has had a local independent repair guy come a few times because the timer doesn’t work, so I just set our Alexa with an alarm to let me know when clothes are dry.   The washer has NEVER had any problems whatsoever.   They are NOT computerized models.

Our 21 year old Frigidaire finally gave out 2 years ago and we replaced it with a Whirlpool with an ice maker and water filter and we love it.   I wonder how long it will last?

Our stove/oven is also a Frigidaire and it is…15 years old?   I honestly don’t even remember.   It’s a gas model, as is our dryer.  

Honestly, some days I just take the sheets out to the illegal clothes line and let them dry in the sun.  And, yes, I LOVE the smell of freshly dried sheets from the clothesline.   Towels, not so much, as they always seem to be stiff.

The water heater is also about 15 years old.  I remember when the old one died and we found water all over the kitchen floor.   NOT FUN!

We don’t even use the dishwasher anymore.   Yes, it works, but it’s just the two of us, so we actually wash our dishes by hand.   I get a simple pleasure of standing at the kitchen sink and looking out into the back yard, watching the little finches at my dead sunflowers, stealing the seeds.

The air conditioner system is now 10 years old and OF COURSE, if it goes out, we will have to replace it.   We’ve been lucky so far this year when temps were below triple digits, but now that the summer heat is here, we are running it.  I miss having the windows and doors open and listening to the sounds of happy birds outside.

Last summer we had to have most of the roof over the house and garage replaced because the tree trimmers I hired to trim back a pine tree hanging over the bedroom dropped it onto the roof and broke and displaced 7 of the tiles on the tippy top.  So, I found a contractor who did the replacement of tiles work and actually the garage was in worse shape than the house roof, but all is fixed now.   I’m glad because now there is an “El Nino” forecast for next winter, which means more rain will be on the way.   So, we are ready for that.

Like us, our house is aging.  The son-in-law came by last summer and painted the main bathroom and I LOVE IT!   It’s so fresh and clean.   I can’t paint anymore and hubby has NEVER been a painter, so we are lucky to have a handy son-in-law.   I actually went out and fixed the side gate which had several missing boards and now it is presentable.   SOMEDAY I would love to have a new gate, but at least, for now, I can put up with this one and it is functional once again.

So, we limp along day by day and cross our fingers that nothing else goes out and we will make it through another brutal summer here in the desert.  The last few summers have been BRUTAL and this summer doesn’t look any better, so I will stay inside and sew tote bags and aprons and spend hours on my laptop.   I don’t read many books anymore.   I don’t know why, but I just can’t get into reading.   But, that’s a separate column.

Until next time.

613 words

May 8, 2026

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