"dsi1" wrote
>
> My impression is that the old ones were built like a tank. The newer ones
> must be more like a 70s AMC Pacer. :-)
>
I think with appliances like refrigerator freezers, dishwashers, clothes
washers and clothes dryers their life span has a lot to do with how they're
used/abused. People aren't necessarilly aware that they're abusing their
appliances. I've seen people open the fridge and leave the door open while
they walk away for five minutes to do something in the next room, return and
keep rummaging about in the fridge and still not close the door and walk off
again to make a phone call. Some people stuff oversized pans into their
fridge so that when they close the door it doesn't fully close, they can
leave it like that for days, not even notice when they go in and out over
the period, folks permit their kids and guests use their fridge as they
will... the fridge gets five years use in one month. These kind of people
then wonder why they get only like three years from a fridge. Some folks
cram like twice the clothes recommended for their washing machine and run
like six of those huge loads every day, then wonder why the transmission
fails prematurely. Folks who use due diligence can have their fridge and
washer last more than 30 years. There are normal folks with normally
functioning brains who live normal lives, and then there are the freaks.