The lifespan of home appliances is declining

The “they just don’t make things like they used to” camp can now put another notch on their scorecard. According to new data reported by the WSJ, US households spent an inflation-adjusted 43% more on home appliances in 2023 than they did in 2013. However, home appliance prices declined 12% over that same period.

The reason? Americans are spending more on repairs for their machines. Yelp users, for example, requested 58% more quotes from thousands of appliance repair businesses last month than they did in January 2022.

Driving the trend… More features have been added to appliances over the years – touchscreens that display different sensor-controlled wash options, for example – which means they’ve gotten more complicated to build. And, since additional parts are being used in construction, there’s a larger chance that something could break.

Less-durable materials being used in construction don’t help either. Appliances are now more likely to be made with plastic and aluminum, rather than steel like back in the day.

• In addition: The high-efficiency motors and compressors used in many modern-day machines are likely to be lighter-duty, since they’re tasked with drawing less energy.

📝 Bottom line: When it comes to modern-day appliances, technicians and experts say the best strategy to maximize durability is to keep the functions simple. Timed washes and drys, ftw!