How Often Should We Replace Our Home Appliances?

As spring comes, many people immediately think of spring cleaning and giving their homes an update of some sort. Whether it is a fresh coat of paint, new furniture, or something else – spring is the right time for change.

The same applies to your home appliances, before you sink into your spring cleaning, think about whether you need to replace any of the major appliances in your home. If you don’t know when appliances should be replaced, you are not alone. Fortunately, we had Lars Appliances to tell us more about the lifespan of various appliances.

Your Fridge

Generally speaking, most fridges will last at least 10 years. However, there are other ways you can determine that your fridge might be ready to be replaced. For instance, if it starts cycling much more often than normally, it’s possible that it’s showing its age.

Finding condensation on the inside of the fridge might be another signal that something is wrong. It could be something as simple as the rubber seal around the perimeter of the door getting loose. Or it could be that the fridge is failing and that you need to replace it soon.

Dishwasher

This appliance doesn’t really get the credit it deserves from most people. Not only does it save you from the trouble of washing the dishes by hand, which can take hours, it also saves you money. It may be a bit counter-intuitive to think so, but a dishwasher can use as much as 5 times less water than you would use doing the dishes by hand.

However, if your dishwasher is about to fail, it may be more of a problem than help. Typically, you can expect anywhere between ten and thirteen years from your dishwasher. However, if you find that your dishwasher is not as effective anymore, or that it produces excessively loud noises while in operation, it’s time to do something about it. Call in a technician to look at it. Depending on the severity of the issue, the age of your device, and the cost, you may want to repair or replace your dishwasher.

Coffee Maker

Here’s a smaller machine that people often replace even before it has served its expected lifespan. The main reason is because these machines tend to be inexpensive, and with new features added, who could resist.

However, you should know that a standard coffee maker, as well as home espresso machines tend to have a life expectancy of about 5 years. After that period, the machine might continue to work, but it will start to show its age. Perhaps the water will not get as hot, or the pump will weaken. All in all, five years is plenty of time for a coffee maker to justify its cost.

Cooking Range + Oven

One of the most important appliances in your home is certainly your stove and your oven. Depending on the manufacturer, you are probably looking at a device that will be with you anywhere between ten and fifteen years. With gas stoves, it is possible for this to be even longer, as long as you care for it properly.

As with any other device that gets hot and then cold, this heat cycling takes a toll after a while. You may notice that the heat in your oven is not distributed equally, or that it doesn’t reach the right temperatures at all.

It may be possible to repair these issues, but after a while, the cost-benefit ratio just dictates to replace the device rather than repair it.

Your home appliances can be quite expensive, and having them fail unexpectedly can put a big strain on your budget. That’s why it makes sense to know the life expectancy of each and prepare for such an eventuality beforehand.