For some appliances, newer is not always better. If you have an old dryer, you are better off not replacing it with an EnergyStar, more efficient model. Unless you want to wait forever to dry your clothes, whereas newer refrigerators work better but people hold on to old ones just the same.
Around 1 in 4 Brits admit that they have at least one household appliance that is still in regular use in their home that is more than 25 years old. Many of the people surveyed said they had held on to the appliance to get as much value for their money as possible but some say it was handed down to them by a relative and therefore it has sentimental value.
A survey of 3,000 people by the insurer Allianz Your Cover, found that the top five electrical appliances that are most likely to be going strong after 25 years are:
1) Food mixers
2) Ovens
3) Fridges
4) Irons
5) Washing Machines
What is the trade-off between a newer, more efficient model of an appliance versus the environmental resources to make a new one and the cost of putting the old one in a garbage dump? There is no reliable metric for that so it is basically okay to let it be based on how you feel. And that is how people made their decisions.
One respondent to the survey said, "I think people should take more care of the things they have. My wife and I bought a Super SER fridge shortly after we were married in 1971 and our oven was purchased many years ago too."
Another respondent added, "Taking care of things comes naturally to me and I believe that people should take more care of what they have. When I buy products I buy for the long term and make sure items last by cleaning and storing them appropriately. I also choose wisely by researching the products and finding the right ones for me."
Keeping smaller electrical appliances is not always an economic decision. One respondent added, "I still have a hand me down Russell Hobbs Kettle - I remember my grandma bought it for my mum. To this day I still have it in my kitchen but sadly my grandma passed away but my mum told me the kettle would remain in the family for generations and it has and I wouldn't part with it!"
