Today’s Appliances Are Not Built to Last, Study Finds
Published at
iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — When an appliance breaks down in your home and you mutter to yourself, “They don’t make things like they use to,” take some solace in the fact that you’re absolutely right.
The National Association of Home Builders and Bank of America conducted a study of the lifespan of household appliances and sure enough, things that you assume will last forever won’t be around as long as even the average Chihuahua.
For instance, a gas-range now has a life expectancy of 15 years. It was 19 years two decades ago. Clothes dryers? You’re lucky now if you can eke 13 years out of them and the same goes for the expensive double-door refrigerator that you can almost keep a side of beef in. And trash compactors? Maybe six years.
While it’s true what you buy now doesn’t last as long as the old days, there’s still an important trade-off. Newer appliances are far more energy efficient than your mother’s dishwasher so you may be saving a lot more on energy bills even if you need to replace that contraption more often.
Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.