I remember working at a local fast food restaurant when I was a kid, and the repairman seemed like the was in the restaurant at least once a week to fix something, often the same appliance. Our particular store was open 24 hours, so I think you can see where I am going with the reason our equipment broke down all the time. Some of those reasons are also valid for home appliances.
Reasons Appliances Break Frequently
Working Too Much – as I noted in the intro, overworked appliances will break down. This is something that is quite often over the holidays when people are really putting their home appliances to the test. Just like people, appliances need a break, as most are not meant to be working non-stop for prolonged periods of time. There are other issues, however, that contribute to appliances working excessively hard.
Working Parts are Dirty – We have often talked about how important it is to make sure your appliances are cleaned properly. Oddly enough, this is just something that many people overlook. When was the last time you had your dryer vent professionally cleaned? When did you last check the jet holes in the arm of the dishwasher? Have you pulled out the fridge to clean the coils off in the back? Issues such as these will make the appliance work harder, which in turn can lead to the appliance breaking down.
Preventive Maintenance – If you have ever worked in the service industry, you probably had preventive maintenance, or PM tasks that you had to do at some point. Sadly, this is not something most homeowners even consider when it comes to their appliances. This would also include having a professional appliance technician to come into the house once or twice a year just to give all your appliances a quick once over. Again, we know people do not want to bite off a big repair bill, but that small bill could prevent much larger bills in the future.
Low-Quality Appliances – You get what you pay for… we have all heard the saying, and it very much holds true in the appliance industry. There is a reason knockoff brands only cost about half as much as a big name-brand appliance. They use cheaper parts. Buying a $400 oven sounds like a great deal when the lowest GE model of what you want is $1,000, but you may find that it breaks down far more often, and the lifespan will not be nearly be as long, not to mention the warranty that the manufacturer provides.
We would note that the better you take care of your appliances right out of the gate, the longer they will last. Most appliances start to have more significant problems toward the latter stages of the expected lifespan. By being proactive and doing regular PM, you can extend that lifespan and keep the problems to a minimum.
