How Long Do Home Appliances Last?
Technology and electronics just like anything in life succumb to wear and tear. This is why as consumers we strive to look for the more long-lasting and efficient appliances. It makes no sense to constantly spend on new appliances which constantly break down and have expensive repairs. So for that reason, here’s a detailed list of appliances and the amount of longevity a homeowner must expect from them. The list also takes into account how frequent an appliance breaks down or must be repaired.
So, how long do appliances last?
Refrigerator
A Refrigerator is usually the most expensive acquisition in your home. Ranging around $1000 for a low-end model and scaling up several thousands more for a high-end fancy model with all the bells and whistles.
If you have burned quite a hole in your wallet in order to obtain a refrigerator, naturally you’d like squeeze in as much efficiency as long as possible. A typical refrigerator usually has a lifespan ranging of about 15 years. So if you have a refrigerator surpassing or near the age of 15 years, it’d be best to invest in a new refrigerator before your current model dies and leaves you high and dry, spoiling all your food.
Furthermore, refrigerators have become more and more energy-efficient over the years, so buying a new one might actually be a great investment. Your current refrigerator may be eating a large chunk of your energy costs and investing in a new one could potentially halve the costs.
HVAC
One of the most important and essential home appliances is your HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning). Without them, your home won’t be cool in the blistering summers and warm in the freezing winters. As you would expect, since your HVAC relies upon most of the time, it’s bound to wear and tear much faster than other appliances. You should expect to have your HVAC replaced once it approaches 15+ years of use.
Also, a keen-eyed and careful homeowner can extend the life of their HVAC through consistent and proper maintenance. Simple errands such as consistent wiping and cleaning of filters twice a year can ensure longevity to most owned HVAC systems. Having your HVAC properly checked and serviced by a professional once a year can essentially help your HVAC unit run like a well-oiled machine for a long time.
Hot Water Heater
Hot running water is an essential and necessary resource required in every household. The usual lifespan of a hot water heater in your home would be in the range of seven to ten years until you might have to consider replacing the unit.
With that being said, you could extend the life of your hot water heater by following a simple step of draining about a quarter of water from the tank every three months. The reason for this step is that drainage of the water helps remove sediments from the tank. These sediments if unattended to would form minerals in the water. These minerals, in turn, hinder the heater’s ability to generate hot water quickly. Getting rid of these sediments and minerals will make sure your water heater runs more efficiently and uses less power to heat up your water.
Washer/Dryer
A washer and dryer is an absolute must for households whose families live a hectic schedule of work every week. A packed schedule makes it very difficult to work on the time consuming and tedious chores such as washing and drying. Hence the washer and dryer become an integral part of your home.
The average life of washer and dryer is around 8 to 12 years. This is based on how frequently you use it and whether you use the proper method necessary for use.
In order to increase the lifespan of your dryer/washer, you will need to regularly clean its lint trap. Also, you need to cleanse your washer and dryer hoses, heating elements as well as dryer ducts. This not only extends the life of your dryer but also reduces the chances of a fire caused by your dryer. This usually is a consequence of having a lot of lint accumulating in the heating elements or the dryer ducts.
Dishwasher
If you live in a household that has running sink water and dish soap, replacing your dishwasher might be an afterthought. This is because you can invariably wash the dishes on your own if your dishwasher ever ceases to work. Then again, the dishwasher offers a lot of efficiency and convenience when it comes to the chore of dirty dishes.
A regular dishwasher usually has a lifespan of about eight years, but do take liberty in replacing them earlier if they start to make loud noises or stop washing your dishes properly. You wouldn’t want to your dying dishwasher to overstay its welcome to the point where your precious crockery or dishes break.
Fret not, dishwashers are appliances which are generally affordable in the market. With the most basic of models ranging of about $400, a replacement won’t hurt your wallet as much as you think. Just like refrigerators, dishwashers have also become quite energy efficient so upgrading to a modern model of dishwashers can help you shave off those extra dollars when it comes to your annual energy costs.
Stove/Oven
You’d think that your stove/oven is one of those integral home appliances that would last you a long long time. So, how long does a gas stove last?
On average, your stove/oven can be utilized for a range of 10 to 15 years. Different variants of your oven and stoves have different lifespans. Take, for instance, a Gas powered stove lasts much much longer in comparison to an electric stove. This is because the electrical coils in an electrical stove tend to wear out quicker due to wear and tear.
However, proper maintenance and check-ups via a professional can ensure that your stove or oven lasts longer and runs better. A few common faults that occur in ovens/stoves are ignitor failure and damage to the control board or the bake element of your oven/stove.
Microwave
A Microwave is just a small electric appliance that you keep mostly only for your convenience rather than a necessity. How else will you enjoy that instant popcorn or reheat the previous night’s leftovers? While it is an inexpensive home appliance, it sure does have a long life of 8-9 years if maintained well.
Many of the times, your microwave can be rendered useless because of the development of gunk inside the device. This gunk clogged all the heat vents within the microwave giving you diminishing results in heating your food every time you try to use it.
While it can be easily replaced, you could also clear up your microwave by following these few steps. All you need to do is put a couple of wet paper towels or a bowl filled with water and dishwashing soap. Place the bowl inside the microwave and run it on high for a minute. These steps help massively in loosening the thick gunk that blocks the heat vents inside. Once loose, it becomes easier for you to clean up the inside of the microwave and eventually help it recover its efficiency.
Calculate your expenses
Now that you know how each of your home appliances might last, it’s time you figured out how much you would be spending in order to maintain all your home appliances. In order to see your annual expenses on repairs and maintenance of your home appliances, check out this home maintenance calculator.
This home maintenance calculator, as the name suggests allows you to gauge and see your expenses in maintaining your home for a given year. What’s more, seeing that you’ll be using appliances that have large lifespans, you can even see how much you’d be spending on maintenance for the next 25 years.
How do you maintain your appliances?
In order to see to it that your home appliances last for a long time, you’ll need to maintain them. In order to do this, you can go it alone and try to keep a keen eye on all your home appliances and prevent them from breaking down. When they do finally break down, you’ll have to shell out a lot of money for individual repairs via a private contractor.
The smarter alternative would be to invest in a home warranty. Why a home warranty? This is because it covers the maintenance of most of your home appliances and is protected for a year all for a relatively small sum at the start of the year. Trying to repair any broken appliance individually will lead you to pay a high amount of money for one session of service. American Home Shield (AHS) is one of the top home warranty companies in the market today. They offer some great plans for your appliances at competitive prices. You should definitely consider checking out plans from AHS.
A home warranty, however, would ensure that you won’t have to pay exorbitant amounts of money for each and every checkup or repair of your appliances. Now, while the general public has a skeptical view when it comes to which Home Warranty Company is trustworthy, we have the solution.
To make your choices easier in selecting a home warranty, head down to homewarrantyreviews.com. At homewarrantyreviews.com, you can research, compare and review your preferred home warranty company. You can compare all the prices and services offered.
At homewarrantyreviews.com, you can see how your top home warranty companies are faring in the eyes of the public. This is because all the reviews of the home warranty companies are made by the users of said warranty, hence giving you absolute clarity about all the home warranty companies listed.
Furthermore, at HomeWarrantyReviews.com, you can even see the ratings’ timeline of the top home warranty companies. This ratings’ timeline allows you to see how each home warranty company has been faring in the eyes of the public over the past five years. This timeline will surely help you choose the home warranty service you desire. Get a quote immediately!
| 
Thank you for your feedback!
RECENT ARTICLES
Essential Home Appliances Maintenance Checklist: Keep Your Home Up & Running
