We have a holiday tradition at Kunaland; our appliances seem to break down, and this year was no exception.

When I moved into my home over 35 years ago, the previous owners left a fridge and a stove. After I bit, I updated both to fancy stainless steel versions and placed the original appliances in the basement.  They served us well there, especially the fridge, which was constantly plugged in and used as our grocery overflow center.  It stopped cooling a few months ago, and sat dormant.  My initial plan was to become more conservative and live with one fridge.  However, the sacrifice never got easier. With Thanksgiving on the horizon, I contacted my appliance repair man, who gave me various tips as I replaced everything from the defrost timer to a startup capacitor, all to no avail.  My ancient fridge had reached its end of life.

One week before Thanksgiving, my 20-year-old dishwasher started to act up.  I originally had purchased a brand with a high-reliability rating, and that appliance had only been repaired once (for a door latch) all that time.  However, it was stopping mid-cycle and was not draining water.  The only way I could get it to re-initialize was to go into the basement, turn off its circuit breaker for 5 minutes, and then turn it back on.  This suggested that a logic board was failing, which was an expensive repair.  It was time to say goodbye to that unit, too. 

I had to replace two major appliances, but both had served me well.  That can’t be said of other newer and more expensive appliances I have had to replace in my 30+ years of living in my home.

I replaced the original stove and refrigerator with fancy and higher-end stainless steel units from Kenmore. In less than 10 years, both had multiple repairs and quickly reached their end of life. They were replaced by a Kenmore induction stove and a Samsung French door refrigerator.  The Kenmore lasted around ten years, but that was with multiple service calls.  Finally, its main logic board had to be replaced, but Sears was no longer stocking that board, and the unit had to be scrapped.  Worse was the Samsung fridge, which was a nightmare.  I fixed the unit multiple times and also had numerous repair calls.  Finally, the freezer door fell off (no, we don’t abuse our appliances), which was so costly that the repairman advised us to junk the fridge.  We replaced the Kenmore Induction stove with a GE Induction stove and the Samsung fridge with a Whirlpool French door refrigerator. So far, the GE stove has been OK, but the Whirlpool has required a number of service calls.  It also has a habit of freezing behind the crisper door, which it did on Thanksgiving.  This warms the fridge compartment to the point of food spoiling.  The only option is to remove everything from the fridge and freezer, unplug the unit, and let it defrost for 24 hours.  This is happening on a refrigerator that costs well over $2000.00.   

My parents bought a single-door Kenmore fridge in 1950. It was our primary fridge for over 20 years until someone gave us their old (late 50s) but larger two-door fridge. The Kenmore fridge went into the basement and continued operating until the mid-1970s when we moved and left it behind. The same applies to their old and inexpensive Crown brand stove. Neither appliance required any service during their very long lives.

Our appliance guy has encouraged us to keep our ancient washer and dryer, noting, “Most new appliances are junk. They require constant repair, and often parts are unavailable, forcing the consumer to buy a new machine.”  It does seem like he is right.  Appliances that were built to last for decades in the past barely make it to 10 years, and that is with constant repairs in the interim.  Yet, they are more expensive and tout endless, and often unnecessary, bells and whistles. 

My wife and kids love the in-door water and ice maker on our fridge, but I have been told that these additions are a major point of failure. The fancy gaskets and flaps used to lower fridge energy costs frequently malfunction (I fixed the ones on the Samsung fridge at least half a dozen times).  Computer logic boards are often placed in high-stress areas, like directly above a stove’s oven, causing them to fail. Unlike mechanical parts used for generations of appliances, logic boards are unique to a small set of models.  They are stocked in limited numbers, and after a short period, they become unavailable, making a fixable appliance obsolete. 

Mechanical parts have also undergone a crapifacation. The newer and more energy-efficient linear compressors on LG fridges are so failure-prone that LG is now facing a class action lawsuit. Whirlpool is facing a class action lawsuit for defective wiring of their fridges. Samsung is facing a lawsuit stating that their washers corrode faster than they should. Bosch just settled a lawsuit for electronic panels on their appliances that were failing prematurely. Electrolux/Frigidaire is being sued because their washing machines are prone to mold issues, resulting in excessive service calls. LG and Kenmore are being sued for refrigerators failing early. As I researched this post, I just discovered that last year, the owners of my fridge model received a settlement for defective refrigerator evaporators freezing up, which is precisely the problem that requires me to “defrost” my frost-free fridge.  Sadly, I’m past the deadline. I’m sure that there are more lawsuits out there. However, these listings make the point that major expensive appliances are failing at an abnormally high rate. 

Computer-controlled appliances give us features that we likely don’t need. For instance, my stove and dishwasher can be controlled via WiFi.  Has that made my life any better? No. My fridge has a panel that allows me to electronically control things like the size of my ice cubes and the fridge’s temperature.  Do I need to control the ice cube size? No.  Does my fancy electronic temperature display provide me any benefit that a more straightforward mechanical control didn’t? No.  My old washer and dryer have simple dials. Do I yearn for a spaceship-level computerized control panel?  No.  

Many of these new features are sold to consumers as advancements created to improve one’s life or energy usage. However, any benefit seems relatively marginal to me, and any energy saving is offset by repair costs as well as the cost of replacing these appliances earlier. Further, the environmental, material, and energy costs of manufacturing huge appliances would negate societal benefits.

Of course, I understand that some older appliance components, like toxic refrigerants, had to change. However, manufacturers have used energy and environmental mandates as an excuse to make shoddy products that are more expensive and fail faster, punishing both the consumer and the environment. The goal seems to be  planned obsolescence and shareholder profits, in my opinion.    

Here are some tips from appliance repairmen that may help with future appliance purchases:  

Avoid complicated fridges, especially those with indoor water/ice makers, as they consistently break.  At this time, Samsung and LG refrigerators should be avoided as they malfunction more often than other brands. Some repairmen advise getting the most basic fridge possible; you can still buy simple top freezer fridges with mechanical controls.  However, even these units likely use cheaper components, like Chinese-made compressors.

Regarding washers and dryers, there is a consensus that new top and front loaders wash clothes less effectively and break down faster than older machines. Front loaders are especially prone to mold issues. Don’t be fooled by the enormous drums on newer top loaders. Most new washers will only partially fill with water and take longer to complete a cycle.  Users note that they need to wash smaller loads despite the giant size of their washer’s drums. Additionally, top loaders that use impeller plates instead of a traditional agitator are prone to overloading and going out of balance.  Since they use cheap components, such actions can quickly destroy the washer’s suspension system.  Several repairmen cited LG top loaders as being of higher quality than typical home washers. Most repairmen noted that the costly Speed Queen brand was significantly better in terms of cleaning ability, durability, and reliability than consumer brands. Additionally, the commercial version (not the home version) of the Maytag washer is built to a higher standard than most, but not as high as Speed Queen.

 

Dishwashers also fail quicker than they used to.  The one brand that was thought of more highly than the others was Bosch.

Stoves should last a very long time, but they often fail due to logic boards placed directly above the hot oven.  Would you store your computer on a hot stove?  Of course not, but that is precisely what manufacturers do with their logic boards (the main computer board for the appliance).  Consumer Reports polled their subscribers, and they rated GE (now owned by the Chinese corporation Hairer), LG, and Frigidaire as more reliable.  While Samsung, Maytag, and Kitchenade were less reliable. 

Brands like Kenmore, Insignia, and Criterion are typically made by various third-party companies in Asia like Haier, Daewoo, and Midea. Kenmore used to be considered good quality when its appliances were made by the US companies Whirlpool and Frigidaire, but then it shifted its manufacturing to LG and Samsung, later to Hairer, and now to Daewoo. Repairmen have noted that each change has generally resulted in less reliable products. 

Chinese manufacturers like Haier, which makes appliances for US companies like Best Buy, are now introducing their own product lines into the US market.  It is still being determined if these products are better quality than those units that they make for US brands.  Additionally, repairmen have noted that some repair parts have been difficult to get for these products. That may improve over time.

Elite brands like GE’s Monogram, Viking, and Thermador are more complex and tend to break down more frequently per repairmen.  However, owners seem to like these fancy appliances. 

The best advice is to fix your old appliances when possible and, when necessary, purchase the most reliable new ones that you can afford.  The more bells and whistles you have on any appliance, the more things that can break.

Peace

Mike