Today refrigerators work for 8-10 years, if you're lucky. How did it happen that our home appliances have failed so much over the past few decades? I buy and sell refrigerators and freezers made in the 1950s that still work great today. I have seen washers and dryers from the 1960s and 1970s that still functioned as they did on the day they were made. And now household appliances break down and require maintenance in 2-3 years, and in general, new appliances serve a third or a quarter of the time that appliances made decades ago served. It breaks down more often and faster than before. It rusts and decays faster than in the past. Why is this happening, and what is happening at all? I have been tormented by these questions for years, selling thousands of pieces of equipment,and more recently - and together with sellers of used equipment and repairmen from all over the country. And here's what I found.
A 1950s Hotpoint refrigerator that I bought a few years ago. It worked great and had a factory paint. He is almost 60 years old.
1. Not enough competition
There are only four major manufacturers of household appliances in the world, and before there were more than a dozen. Thanks to competition between companies, it turned out that the equipment served for decades before it had to be repaired or changed. Over time, Whirlpool and Electrolux bought them all. Here's today's breakdown of who owns whom.
Whirlpool (USA) owns and manufactures Admiral, Jenn Air, Magic Chef, Maytag, Amana, Estate, Inglis, KitchenAid, Kirkland, Roper, and a bunch of lesser known brands. Whirlpool is the world's largest home appliance manufacturer. Whirlpool also manufactures equipment for other brands such as Ikea, Crosley, Kenmore, etc.
Electrolux (Sweden) produces Electrolux, Frigidaire, Gallery, Gibson, Adora, Americana, Eterna, Hotpoint, Profile, RCA, Tappan, White Westinghouse, and other lesser known brands. Until June 2016 owned by GE (now owned by Haier). It is the second largest home appliance manufacturer in the world.
LG and Samsung recently entered the home appliance industry - two more major manufacturers. They sell appliances under their own brand, and both manufacture small appliances like air conditioners and microwaves for other companies.
Promotional video:
Haier (China): GE and Haier.
Reducing competition negatively affects consumers. It is easy for manufacturers to maintain high prices for equipment and spare parts, and to lower standards. Since they own all the brands, they can produce several types of substandard equipment, and this will not negatively affect the main brand. If one of the subordinate brands starts to fail, they can make it disappear and start promoting any other.
Vertical modular washing machine with LEDs under the timer.
2. More parts are made to fail
The quality, or life time of parts, has been gradually decreasing over the past 10-15 years. Example: For top-loading washers and dryers, the two most expensive machine parts are the motor and the timer. For decades, there have been very few problems with them, but over the past 10 years there has been an epidemic of failures of timers and motors in washing machines and dryers - they fail, and they have to be replaced. The home appliance industry has been backtracked. If suddenly a person pays a repairman, and he finds the cause of the breakdown, then it turns out that the spare part will cost $ 100, and the whole repair will cost several hundred. When people find out about this, they usually change the car. The faster a part breaks, the faster the consumer will buy new equipment. Motors run a third or a quarter of the time they used to run. The switches are glued together and eventually crack and break (the solution is simple - to strengthen them with a coupler, but although this problem is already 20 years old, no one does anything). Refrigerator door seals are glued rather than screwed, which is why they gradually begin to lag behind the doors, roll up and fail - which, you guessed it, leads to their replacement. All of these problems were identified decades ago, and there is absolutely no excuse for their appearance today, unless these companies do it on purpose. There is no other way to explain this.leads to their replacement. All of these problems were identified decades ago, and there is absolutely no excuse for their appearance today, unless these companies do it on purpose. There is no other way to explain this.leads to their replacement. All of these problems were identified decades ago, and there is absolutely no excuse for their appearance today, unless these companies do it on purpose. There is no other way to explain this.
And it's not just the parts, but the whole design of the cars. For example, one of the most popular washing machine models of all time was the Whirlpool direct drive machine. These washers have been in production for just over 30 years. Then a few years ago they replaced the direct drive with a "vertical modular washing machine." New cars can be identified by the LEDs under the timer, as in the photo, and can often be found at the nearest junkyard. These are some of the worst machine designs ever made, and you will run into serious problems in just 1-3 years. They replaced the most reliable car with the most unreliable.
Another example is the Frigidaire dishwasher. You can find them in retail for $ 300, but they usually break in 2-3 years. I talked to people repairing household appliances who went to hundreds of houses with broken dishwashers, and they joked that among themselves they call this technique "disposable dishwashers." Dishwashers have been found in almost every home [USA] since the 1970s - how can they be made 40 years later so that they break after a couple of years of use? This is either incompetence or, more likely, planned obsolescence.
3. The topic of manufacturing quality technology is too confusing
Who makes the best washer? It used to be Maytag, then for some reason the quality of their washers dropped, and the top-loading Whirlpool were the best. Whirlpool has been manufacturing Kenmore washers for over 20 years. Then, all of a sudden, Whirlpool stopped making these amazing direct drive cars a few years ago. LG is now making the best top-loading machines. Here's the weird thing: Those great Whirlpool cars under the aforementioned brands left a good impression in the minds of consumers, but now they are all getting a bad reputation because all new cars are of disgusting quality. What was the best became the worst, and millions do not know it.
When I watch the actions of major appliance manufacturers, I am reminded of the mattress industry. Which mattress will be good? How much should it cost? Where can I buy it? You probably don't know this, as do most people, as there are so many brands and models in the mattress industry that it's hard to imagine. It seems that every year they come up with a dozen new bed models, and besides, in different stores the same mattresses are sold under different names! This is great for producers, as consumers are not able to hold them accountable for quality and have an adequate system of reviews and ratings. And the home appliance industry is no better. Whirlpool makes the same washing machine and sells them under different names, just like other manufacturers do with other household appliances. It feels like manufacturers don't wantso that users prefer one brand over the other, and instead produce equipment that needs to be replaced as soon as possible in order to increase sales.
4. Household appliances are made to rust quickly
One of the main differences between modern household appliances and those that were produced 40 years ago is the quality of painting. New equipment starts to rust in a year or two, although I have seen washers and dryers 40 years ago that still have not rusted. How can it be? I have identified several main reasons for this.
A rusty lid on a modern Whirlpool washer.
A. Change in painting technology. For a long time, washing machine lids were dipped in paint so that every surface, every nook and cranny, could receive an adequate amount of paint to prevent rust. It was very effective, often the parts did not rust in decades. Now the covers of the machines are painted with spray guns. The problem with this approach is that some parts of the lid are physically impossible to paint over due to the corners and bends, so they do not receive paint. Can you guess which part of a top-loading machine rusts first? Cap! I've seen new covers start to rust for over a year now. Over time, rust spreads and irritates the eye, and then rust flakes begin to fall from the cover into the car.
B. The quality and thickness of the paint has changed. Previously, household appliances were painted in several layers so that the paint would last for a long time. Scratching is unavoidable, but multiple coats are less likely to rust. Many new cars have very thin paintwork, the minimum amount a manufacturer can afford. As a result, household appliances rust throughout the entire surface.
B. The thickness of the metal has changed. Previously, manufacturers used much thicker metal. The structural support of the paint was naturally better, the thick metal prevented paint peeling and resisted rust longer. Now the metal is so thin that when it first comes into contact with water, it rusts through and through - never heard of it before. This can be judged by the difference in weight between old and new cars. Older cars often weigh 10-20 kg more than new ones simply because of the thickness of the metal. This metal rusts and breaks down much faster, and dents appear more easily.
Appliances like this 30-year-old freezer were smoother and had thicker metal.
D. The surface of the metal has changed. Almost all of the cars had flat, smooth surfaces. They were easier to paint and clean, and did not accumulate as much extra dust and moisture. New cars often have a raised surface - sometimes over the entire surface, sometimes on the sides. This is the worst possible surface - it accumulates dirt and moisture, accelerating rusting. I live in Hawaii and you will be terribly surprised at how quickly refrigerators with such embossed surfaces rust here.
When household appliances get rusty, people change them pretty quickly. Rusty cars harm both people and the environment, and one would expect manufacturers to make cars with paint that lasts for decades. But manufacturers only make money on the sale of new equipment, and by producing quickly rusting cars, they sell more new ones.
What to do with rust? Buy appliances with a flat surface. Clean it so that it does not collect dust and does not accumulate moisture on the surface. Do not scratch appliances, especially the tops of washers and dryers, by placing baskets of laundry on top of them. After scratches appear, the rusting process begins. Use water-repellent coatings, especially if you live in humid areas. Once rust appears, you can sand it down to metal with a sandpaper and paint with epoxy paint (I recommend Krylon paint, it only takes 10 minutes to dry).
5. We need to start producing long-lasting equipment
What is happening in the home appliance industry today is quite funny. Everyone is screaming about ecology and energy efficiency. But what about the lifespan of household appliances, after which they end up in a landfill? If the old refrigerator or freezer lived for 40-50 years before the change, and the new ones live at least 10-15 years, this means that we produce 3-4 times more equipment. According to a very conservative estimate, we throw away 2-3 times more equipment than before. How could this possibly be better for the environment?
6. What are we doing to change the situation
The situation needs to change in two areas: the quality of new equipment and the purchase of used equipment. Elon Musk would already start working on an improved version of home appliances powered by batteries and solar energy. But personally, you can only change the world a little bit; but you have to start with something. My partner Bobby Henderson and I created the ApplianceSwap project, where we describe all the steps of buying used equipment. We help people look for used equipment near their place of residence and buy it. The site also offers courses for those who want to organize their own business, buying out-of-order equipment, repairing and selling restored ones.
We look forward to the future of the home appliance industry. The situation can change, and it does. When these new startups start asking what is best for the customer, good things can and will happen.
Have you observed how the quality of household appliances changes over the course of your life?
