Premature obsolescence Appliances: What brands last more and which less?

Often, when we need to make a purchase, we pay close attention to prices - what is normal - but too little in other variables that are also important.Assessing savings of a few euros too much at the time of acquisition can make us think less than advisable in other characteristics.

The useful life of the product (that is, the period during which we can use it) is also key.Especially when it comes to goods that suppose a high expenditure of money and whose duration is measured in years.

An example is appliances.Who acquires a refrigerator or a washing machine does so with the idea that, for a few years, he will not have to make a similar purchase again.But how long do these artifacts last, and what are the brands that last the most?

On average, eleven or twelve years

In general, the duration of large appliances (refrigerators, dishwasher, washing machines and dryers) is around eleven or twelve years.This is stated by the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU), based on the results of a survey among more than 87.000 people from five European countries: Italy, France, Portugal, Belgium and Spain.

He asked his partners about the time that his previous appliances lasted, information that allows him to prepare a projection of the average time that can be expected to last an appliance from a certain brand.

According to users' responses if there is a brand that lasts longer than the others, that is honey.This brand stands out as the most durable, by far, in washing machines, dryers, with 16 years on average, 15 years in dishwasher, and 14 in refrigerators.

Frigorific

The most durable appliances are refrigerators, which usually fulfill their functions for about twelve years, although the most durable are those of General Electric.The most frequent problems in these devices are related to temperature control, the closure of the door and the "no frost" system, intended to avoid ice formation.

According to the OCU, other brands that stand out for their reliability are General Electric, with 15 years;Brandt, Miele, Zanussi and Ignis with 14 years;Smeg, Siemens, Electrolux, Bosch, AEG, Edemas and Balay with 13 years.

Dishwasher, washing machines and dryers

For dishwasher, washing machines and dryers, the average duration is eleven years.However, depending on the manufacturer, this figure also has important variations.The brand that offers a more extensive life in the three categories - always according to the study cited by the OCU - is the German Miele, considered high -end and, therefore, with prices that are not among the most affordable.

But both dishwasher and honey washer and dryers work during an estimated period of 16 years, five above average.A fact that could justify a greater investment, of course for those who could assume it.

In the case of dishwasher, the other brands highlighted by the endurance of their Santhompson products.Balay, Bosch, AEG, Siemens, Zanussi, Baucknechjht, Smeg and Neff, which last twelve years on average.

For their part, those that are below average, all around ten years, are the following: HOOVER, IGNIS, FAGOR, WHIRLPOOL, CANDY, TEKA, INDESIT AND HOTPOINT AND ELECTROLUX.

The washing machines that follow Miele among the most enduring are the AEG, Siemens, Zanussi, Smeg, Baucknecht and Balay, which work for a few years of average.At the other end, also with an approximate duration of a decade, several of the previous paragraph brands are repeated: Teka, Hoover, Indesit, Whirlpool and Candy.

And in the case of the dryers, in addition to the Miele, the Baucknecht, Siemens and AEG stand out, which meet the average: twelve years.A firm, meanwhile, is on the negative side of the scale: Indesit, whose dryers work for about nine years).

Against premature obsolescence

The OCU, like other organizations that defend the rights of consumers and users, has claimed for years a norm against premature obsolescence of products.That is: against the commercialization of goods that fail or stop working too soon, many of which cannot even be repaired, due to the difficulty or lack of spare parts for such task.

In fact, there are studies that show that for years the useful life of appliances is increasingly and shorter.Because of this, that has been one of the main claims of European consumers.

And not only in relation to economic savings, but also with the care of the environment: the logic of "buying, using little and throwing" is so extended that up to 90% of what is manufactured just six months later has already beenin the trash.

Such demand, in recent times, has finally resulted in specific directives, tending to guarantee the "right to repair".In October 2019, the European Commission approved a new regulation with "ecological design requirements" for ten types of products, including appliances such as refrigerators, dishwasher, washing machines and dryers.

The regulation - which will come into force next month - try to make these artifacts have a more extensive useful life, reduce their environmental impact and also favor economic savings for citizens.

Guarantee the right to repair

Among other measures, spare parts must be available in the market for a minimum period after sale (seven years for refrigerators, ten for dryers and washing machines) and both the latter and dishwasher must consume less water.

However, that new regulation still has many limitations.For example, replacement pieces and certain maintenance data may be available only for professional reparators, and not for users.

Therefore, in November 2020 the European Parliament approved a resolution so that, among other things, consumers have access to the pieces and the necessary indications to restore their devices.And also that they have truthful information about the useful life of the products.

After this resolution of the MEPs, it is the EU member states that must issue laws to prevent premature obsolescence and guarantee a real "right to repair" of the products for citizens.

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