DavidRescinded
4579
237
19
Apr 11, 2026 2:47 PM
DavidRescinded
4579
237
19
alecmrcraig
Don’t tell them your WiFi password
Lachwen
Plenty of them DIDN'T work forever. Yes, planned obsolescence is a thing, but there's also a LOT of survivorship bias involved with older appliances. Just like how so many people are convinced that only really good music and movies were made "back in the day." There was plenty of crap being put out back then too, it just didn't have staying power so we don't remember it.
whatsisname
glovelyday
Manufacturers lusten up! I DO NOT WANT MY REFRIGERATOR COMMUNICATING WITH ANYONE!!!
qPRdxH4UXm36HS9rJgLA
My parents have a refrigerator from the 70s still running fine in their garage.
lpooptoomuch
do the lights dim when the compressor kicks on? those old refrigerators were so inefficient. google says they cost 3-5 times more in electricity, or $200 or more a year.
ispendtomuchtimehere
YES! I still have both!
Raventhief
Oh god yes. We need to take computers out of everything but computers.
cosonfused
My oven has a wifi function (not connected). you know what it can't do? REMEMBER THE DATE AND TIME when the power goes out.
TheMellowPeril
B- but you can install the app and download FIFTEEN new cooling cycles for your fridge! And it stops working when AWS servers are down!
bikergeek6249
I bought a washer and dryer in 2010 and I feel glad that I got the last generation that didn't demand bluetooth and wireless connectivity.
PupShadowDMcTaggart
I watched “The Brave Little Toaster” as a kid. Some of my appliances are 110+ years old and work as well as they did when built. It wasn’t until the 1930’s that design stopped having individually replaceable components during the Great Depression.
ArchaeoEejit
Won't someone think of the shareholders.
RummageSaleBubbler
If you're lucky you'll get a delicate-cycle in the next loot box.
RipThemUpRatchet
Me, thinking of the shareholders
J3lek
I recently bought a refrigerator with zero smart features. It's not a requirement on appliances yet.
TMCybersnark
Yeah, I just got a new fridge (through my landlord, 'cause the old fridge died), and it's as analog as the one in the pic.
delecti
You can still get durable appliances, and inflation adjusted they're not even more expensive than they used to be. You can also get durable appliances without smart features. You can just *also* get cheap junk, which has advantages if you can't afford the expensive durable ones.
This is just "Boots" Theory of Economics but applied to appliances and framed in a very "keep off my lawn" way.
rabensaga
*Terms and Conditions apply - Good machines from formerly reputable manufacturers lasted. And as others stated you can still get solid tech without smart features, they just cost more than budget fridge #3 from no-name-brand XY
Nukls
1972 Maytag still workin
noReallyIamPrincessBob
Remember when your washing machine actually filled up with water and cleaned your clothes instead of spitting on them a little and calling it done?
orangefactorfive
It's true. The Maytag Repairman was so underworked that he had time to run a radio station in Cincinnati and a bicycle shop in New York.
pothocket
It's just bots posting and upvoting this shit, right?
DdCno1
Bots and people of the land, the common clay of the new web. You know, morons.
LurkingSarcasm
I cannot stand planned obsolescence. Reminds me of that article about how we are tanking the tech industry by holding on to devices more than 2 years.
TI99Kitty
Kind'a makes you wonder how all these companies survived all those decades when appliances/devices/cars were affordable and used to last for decades.
theshinobi23
All they have to do is pay us enough to live--er, to buy their new products...
lpooptoomuch
ok but nobody is building big appliances that can't be fixed, appliance repairman still exist and it's usually not that hard to fix them yourself if you can operate a screwdriver. plus now we have youtube which will probably have someone showing you exactly how to fix it. The thermostat went out on my dryer, the screen everyone hates so much gave me an error code that told me exactly what was wrong. I researched the part number found a video on the repair and it took a little over an hour.
lpooptoomuch
your grandpa wasn't born knowing how to rebuild a carburetor, he had to learn it. Just because you don't know how to repair something doesn't mean it's not possible.
LurkingSarcasm
Look at you, not seeing the actual problem here.
lpooptoomuch
look at you not understanding that big appliances are very much built to be repaired.
IhaveAfaceForRadio
If the appliance has an app or connects to the Internet, I'm not buying it.
jwillywill
They still do speedqueen.com
usernametakenisthestoryofmylife
Nowadays it's "Washing machine, call fridge"
Eldibs
Survivorship bias. You only see the ones that are still working, not all the ones that broke, so it seems like they were more durable than they were. However, they were more repairable, so when they did break, they could be fixed.
Buffoonery
Mine hasn't worked forever. But, 32 years and still going is good enough for me.
spontaneous9
... and they still are. Same microwave since 1998. Same fridge since 99. Toaster oven, still doing its job. Hell, both the LG flip phones (with & without a camera) still power up but nobody wants to carry a 3G signal anymore.
Holding onto the 20yr-old car 'til the wheels fall off. It's just smart enough not to report my driving habits to my insurance carrier, and NO touchscreen TYVM.
Canigetbannedagain2
I drive a 98 civic, everything works fine. I understand holding on to something because it's not broken.
spontaneous9
I'd still be driving my 92Corolla if some kid in a Lincoln Town Car knew how to drive a big RWD V8 in a heavy rainstorm. Passed smog check with flying colors every time, most reliable car I ever had, doors locked with a key, roll handle windows, standard 5-speed so I could still get it started with a dead battery. I loved that thing.
It was a tank. Broadsided at 60mph, shoved across 2 lanes & stuffed against the K-rail, I still was able to walk away but my poor car was flattened on both sides.
Canigetbannedagain2
Dang, it's sucks when something gets taken away from you and it's not your fault or when there's little you can do about it. I'm glad you were able to walk away, that sounds like a nasty accident.
flornholio
I live where there are frequent power outages. When the washer is going and the power goes out, just wait till it comes back, and the washer picks right up where it left off. (mechanical cycle control)
FeloniousMonk13
Fr man. A washing machine needs like 2 fuckin knobs and thats it. I do not need a screen or display of any kind, much less a fucking network connection.
TheAlteredWitch
"French man"
Kaleopolitus
I personally like it when devices like that can give me an error code to tell me what is wrong with it.
GeneralPrower
What's that appliance brand people are talking about is "no frills" and just makes shit that works?
Something "Queen"?
Vidikron
Speed Queen. Pricey but by all accounts will outlast other brands by a lot. Aunt has a set that's at least 25 years old.
JaceCameron
No. Because they didnt work forever. They still broke down. They were just too expensive to replace so they repaired them every time they broke down
FraudulentPepsi
Shhh. You're stifling false nostalgia
lpooptoomuch
vacuum cleaner repair shops were a real business
unluckyandbored
But that's the thing. You COULD fix them. It was worth the time and trouble to fix them.
JaceCameron
You can still fix them. Its just not worth the time.
EroticZombiePants
One difference is that the old stuff could mostly be repaired by any good repairperson or even the owner themselves often with parts from hardware stores. The modern stuff literally has gatekeeping attached to it. Like you can only specifically get parts through the manufacturer or warranties are automatically voided if you don't specifically get someone licensed by the manufacturer to repair the product.
sneakypoo
Plus, the old ones we still see working, well, we're seeing them because they're working. The other old crap that fell apart is forgotten.
billycakers
Haven't had to do any repairs on my fridge for 20 years
The701
I haven't had to do any repairs on mine for about 10 years. Because I bought it 10 years ago. Because the previous one, computer-free, broke.
Wolfshead009
Yes and no. Many of them broke, but they could BE repaired. Because they didn't have computer boards in them. Just the basic necessary parts that could be easily sourced and replaced.
lpooptoomuch
those computer boards can be replaced too. it's not complicated, just need to approach it like any other repair.
Wolfshead009
Problem is a board like that is VERY specific and can only be used on that model. Where as a generic knob can cover many models and even brands.
Tarmaccian
As someone who’s replaced a custom 1980s IC with a microcontroller: It ain’t always easy.
Then again, finding a mechanical part from the 1980s ain’t easy either, unless you are or can afford a machinist.
The biggest threat to repairability is crypto-locks and tivoization, preventing even equivalent electronics from functioning.
khora
No, they did break.
Wolfshead009
Yes, but they could also be repaired.
lpooptoomuch
so can modern appliances.
khora
If you spend 5% of you annual household income today, as was the price in the 60's, you can get a durable and serviceable washing machine still. Look for top of the range German appliances.
Wolfshead009
Problem is knowing how to find them in the sea of cheap garbage floating around out there.
Colopty
Well the first step would be to not shop in the cheap garbage price range.
DdCno1
You have the sum of human knowledge at your fingertips. Despite all of the AI garbage out there, it's still laughably easy to find this information.
Wolfshead009
Got to love such simplistic ideals. Too bad we have to live in reality.