For fun: what is the oldest appliance in your house?

[SKL]

Just curious.  I'll start.  Our stove / oven has been here at least since we moved in 25 years ago.  I would guess it was here since the house was built in 1987.

[73349]

1988 microwave, I think. We also have some 1985 light fixtures.

[Soror]

We lost all our upstairs appliances during our house fire 13 years ago so nothing is older than that upstairs. The water heater downstairs survived it is 21 yrs old. 

[rebcoola]

The chest freezer is from the 80's everything else is less than 10 years old.  

[Kareni]

How very funny, @SKL, as I was planning on asking the same question!

The small microwave (Montgomery Ward) that my husband bought in 1980 is still growing strong. We use it multiple times a day. It's all original apart from the door which was replaced after a cross country move damaged it in 1983.

Regards,

Kareni

[Loowit]

Probably the water heater and the heat pump.  Both are original to the house, I think, and would be around 17 years old.

[mommyoffive]

I think if you have something made at least 15 years ago it does not compare to appliances built now.  Appliances are now built by the manufacturers to design to fail.  So the life of an appliance is much shorter,  were as things built before could last 20 years plus.  Nothing in our house is over 14 years old.  We built new construction.    Our furnace, fridge, and maybe our dryer are the only things left from when we moved in 14 years ago.  Somethings we are on more than our second one of.

[Lawyer&Mom]

My oil furnace was made by a company what went out of business in 1962...

[KungFuPanda]

Our microwave was a wedding give in 93.  I've also had my crockpot that long.

[Lori D.]

A 1986 Maytag washing machine, still going strong. (34 years)

And right about the time I got married, my aunt handed down her swingin' '60s Singer sewing machine to me. (50+ years for the sewing machine) Since the only sewing I do is the occasional repair or hemming, it's still going strong. Back at the start of April I had to replace the belt (which had crumbled away due to heat and dry weather) so that I could sew pandemic masks. 😉 

Edited September 15, 2020 by Lori D.

[Innisfree]

My mother's Sunbeam stand mixer, c. 1952.

[Forget-Me-Not]

The stove.  It came with the house when we bought it sixteen years ago.  The people who owned the home before us put it in because the original was an electric and they wanted gas.  I'm so glad they did.  

Until several weeks ago, I would have said the water heater, which was original to the house when it was built in 1996.  But it suddenly rusted through the bottom and started leaking earlier this summer.  Can't really complain because it was 24 yrs old.  

[catz]

Well, my stove is 16+ years old.  We converted back to gas after we moved in this house.  My Cuisinart food processor is over 20 years old.  I just replaced a 20+ year old kitchen aid mixer in the past couple months.  Shortly after we first moved to this house we replaced a 90 year old boiler.  Our house was built in 1915 so the walls and woodwork could tell stories.  😂

Hearing that a microwave from '93 works is amazing.  I can't even tell you how many times we've replaced microwaves.  Like every 2 years on average it seems like.  They don't make 'em like they used to.

[Ausmumof3]

I was going to say the oven but then reading the thread reminded me about the sewing machine which is an old Elna from who knows when.  It will probably outlive me.

[alisoncooks]

The fridge and dishwasher are original to the house, so 25 years. 

[Matryoshka]

We moved here in 1994 and replaced all the appliances within a year or so of moving in.  The dryer I think is the only one we haven't had to replace at all (knock wood!); I wish I'd had dh rebuild the washer engine when it died rather than buying a new washer... The double oven from back then is also still going, but dh had to replace one of the coils a year ago, fortunately he found the part used on Ebay!  The problem with these is that the parts aren't made anymore!  Dh did find a replacement part for the washer, but it was of course also used and old, and I wasn't sure if it would last that much longer.  But I liked the old machine so much, in retrospect I think it would have been worth it...  If he could have gotten a new part from the mfgr, totally would have done that instead.

The dishwasher, cooktop, fridge, and washing machine have each been replaced once.

Oh, as for small appliances - my KitchenAid stand mixer and Cuisinart food processor are still from my wedding registry... (also 1994, so likely a year or so older than the other stuff).

[Kalmia]

Well, in the house we are signing the papers to sell tomorrow, the oldest appliance is 39 years! A Jenn-Air cooktop installed when the house was built in 1981. It worked great and could be easily repaired! However, the new owners are tearing out the kitchen to put in new cabinets and new appliances that will probably only last 7 years max. Oh well. 

[shinyhappypeople]

Our washing machine, bought very cheap in a pinch to tide us over until we could afford a nice one.  It's avocado green and was probably built in the 70s.  Runs like a champ, though. 🙂

[Spy Car]

Until very recently it was our Detroit Jewel enabled cast iron rage. Well over 100 years old. Cooks excellently!

But the door hinge broke and attempts to file a warranty claim failed 

Bill

[Junie]

Not in my house, but my FIL still has his original stove from when he built his house in 1961.  It's 59 years old and that thing is a finicky beast.  I refuse to use it.

[Bambam]

Our house is probably 15-16-17 years old. The oven and stove top are still original. Do water heaters count as appliances? If so, both the tankless systems are still functioning. 

I hope this doesn't put a hex on anything. 

[Spy Car]

Our Miele vacuum cleaner is 22 years old and going strong. It went in once for a mild servicing after I cleaned up construction mess and forgot I'd removed all the internal filters. D'oh! The vacuum was an engagement present for my soon-to-be bride. Never say Ol' Bill isn't a true romantic.

Then, as a baby bauble, I got Mrs Spy Car a Miele washer and dryer (since we loved the vacuum so much). Love these too, but we had one potentially catastrophic repair bill two years back that Miele (for whatever reason) comped us on completely). I was blown away. The Miele repair guy says they are like new at 16 years of age. Knock wood.

My Atlas 150 pasta maker (hand cranked) is over 40 years old. Does that count? I dunno.

Bill

Edited September 15, 2020 by Spy Car

[Spy Car]

dp

Edited September 15, 2020 by Spy Car

[katilac]

Our trash compactor was here when we bought the house in 1996, and it certainly wasn't new then. 

 

[Innisfree]

5 hours ago, Dobby's Sock said:

Is it olive green? I might have the same one 🙂

Nope, black and white. They do last, don't they?

[Momto6inIN]

Maytag chest freezer bought in 1998, (so 22 years), followed by the Jenn Air oven which we bought when we remodelled in 2002 (18 years).

[BusyMom5]

Big appliance- a Kitchen Aid dryer 17 years old.  The washer gave it up last year after several repairs.

Small appliance- i have a 20 year old crockpot and a Kitchen Aid mixer 19 years old.  

[Pippen]

5 hours ago, Junie said:

Not in my house, but my FIL still has his original stove from when he built his house in 1961.  It's 59 years old and that thing is a finicky beast.  I refuse to use it.

In March I replaced my 1973 Tappan range. It was a workhorse for 47 years, 27 of them for me. I can only remember one repair sometime back in the late 90's. 

The hinges on the oven door were starting to fail and the door fell totally off a few days before the new one arrived. 

[G5052]

We rent a 1980's split level. I'm almost positive that the washer and dishwasher are either original or from the early 1990's. Both have some minor issues but are going strong. The dryer was the same age I'm guessing but had a catastrophic failure last fall. The landlord brought one from another rental house. It's not a very good dryer, but it works. 

[ksr5377]

Our washing machine was purchased in 1987 by my best friend's grandparents.  They passed away the year DH and I bought our first home, and my friend's mom gifted it and the dryer to us as a housewarming gift, since no one else in their family could use it at the time.  The dryer pooped out on us about a year ago but the washing machine will not quit.  Every time it needs a repair I think I'll get a new one but DH manages to fix it up for under $20 and I can't justify the expense.

[TravelingChris]

6 hours ago, Kalmia said:

Well, in the house we are signing the papers to sell tomorrow, the oldest appliance is 39 years! A Jenn-Air cooktop installed when the house was built in 1981. It worked great and could be easily repaired! However, the new owners are tearing out the kitchen to put in new cabinets and new appliances that will probably only last 7 years max. Oh well. 

I think ours is a Jenn Air Cook top too.  But not really sure.  We have a crappy oven in the top that works for a max of 1.5 hours then turns off so no more turkey cooking until we get a new one and what we want to do is get a double oven. Raise the microwave probably and add another place to hold our pizza stone, broiler pan,  cookie sheets, etc which are under our lousy oven.  

But we also have a second oven which is not functional in the downstairs kitchen ( non functional because we use an electric dryer and ran out of electricity).  And we have a gas heater for our pool which looks ancient and my dh refuses to use w/out z good inspection first.

We bought this house 9 years ago and gave replaced one of the dishwashers and the water heater and had the a/c replaced too (for free because it was under warranty).

But I am not at home and have no way of ascertaining which one is oldest.

[Tap]

Chest freezer is 26 year old. Bought the week we moved into our first home (first we bought) and when my son was born.

Kitchen aid mixer is apx 22-24 years old???

Dishwasher is 20 years old. 

[Susan in TX]

Our hot water heater that is over 20 years old. We just replaced the heating/air conditioner that was about the same age.

Susan in TX

[Arcadia]

Our condo was completed in early 2006. The oven, microwave, dishwasher and gas water heater came with it. We bought the washer, dryer and fridge in summer as we closed on our home in May. 

The oldest rarely used electrical appliance would be my dual voltage travel hairdryer. That was bought in the 90s and still functioning. The second oldest would be my dual voltage travel kettle and that was bought in the early 2000s. 

[Laura Corin]

No appliances are very old (well, I think the central heating boiler is about fifteen years old) except the 'washing machines' (enormous sinks) in the former scullery which I assume are a good hundred years old.

I've posted before about the washing machine that I grew up with, that was bought in 1958 to wash my second brother's nappies and (after repairs by my mother over the years) was finally sent away in about 1983.  She only swapped to an automatic because she could no longer get the parts to repair it.  Here's an advertisement for it: https://images.app.goo.gl/C6tcXEk7s1J2A9kC6

[maize]

We moved in ten years ago. The fridge was already here, so older than that but I don't know how old--maybe fifteen years? The only other thing we haven't had to replace are the furnace, if that counts as an appliance, and the AC unit. I'm pretty sure the furnace is as old as the house, so bout 35 years. AC unit is younger than that because the house originally had a swamp cooler but I don't know how old--older than ten years.

[teachermom2834]

We just replaced our HVAC that was original to the house 45 years ago. We would call for service and tell the tech it was that old and they would say it couldn't be- then they would look at it and go "wow. It really is that old."

It was still working OK actually. But just OK and we had alot of service calls. We live in the south and really can't be without it for about six months a year. So, while it was functioning, it was kind of scary and we knew we would have issues pop up. We finally bit the bullet and replaced it this past winter.

So this was our first summer with the new AC. It does work better but the best part is not wondering when it is going to quit. I hadn't realized how much anxiety that was really causing me. We knew its days were numbered so glad we did it before we were in crisis and all the AC companies were busy in the summer.

It was just funny that no one could really believe we still had it and it was still running at 45 years old in the south. 

[gstharr]

I got the washer and gas dryer in 1992. The washer has been replaced twice, and maybe a third time if the drain pump I am about to install does not stop the bottom leak.  My friend owns a laundry and told me that there aren't any significnt mechicnal differnece in old and new dryers. She said to dump it when it needs any repair. 

[YaelAldrich]

18 hours ago, Spy Car said:

Our Miele vacuum cleaner is 22 years old and going strong. It went in once for a mild servicing after I cleaned up construction mess and forgot I'd removed all the internal filters. D'oh! The vacuum was an engagement present for my soon-to-be bride. Never say Ol' Bill isn't a true romantic.

Then, as a baby bauble, I got Mrs Spy Car a Miele washer and dryer (since we loved the vacuum so much). Love these too, but we had one potentially catastrophic repair bill two years back that Miele (for whatever reason) comped us on completely). I was blown away. The Miele repair guy says they are like new at 16 years of age. Knock wood.

My Atlas 150 pasta maker (hand cranked) is over 40 years old. Does that count? I dunno.

Bill

Does the Miele washer and dryer take eons to do their thing?

[Spryte]

Household appliances:  nothing more than 15 or so, most are probably around 10 yrs.  

I have a few Art Deco toasters that are absolutely ancient.  They work, but make me nervous.  I let go of my mom’s 1950s stand mixer.

If we are including things like sewing machines, we have some sound studio equipment that’s in the older range.  The synth used to make R2D2 sounds In the original first movie comes to mind.  So it must have been made in the 70s, though I’m not the resident expert on that.
 

 

[Spy Car]

1 hour ago, YaelAldrich said:

Does the Miele washer and dryer take eons to do their thing?

Not really. There is a "sanitize mode" that can take 1:45, but those are rarely used (but it is useful to keep the machine mildew free). Our normal mode takes 58 minutes. Drying times seem standard to me. Very gentle on clothes. Top notch in that regard.

I'd check on what they've done to their dryers. Have vague understandings that some (or all?) have moved to a newer condenser type technology that's not good in humid places. Not sure.

I'm still blown away that they fixed our old washer that needed a $$$$$ repair for no charge. Far out of warranty.

Bill

 

 

[YaelAldrich]

30 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

Not really. There is a "sanitize mode" that can take 1:45, but those are rarely used (but it is useful to keep the machine mildew free). Our normal mode takes 58 minutes. Drying times seem standard to me. Very gentle on clothes. Top notch in that regard.

I'd check on what they've done to their dryers. Have vague understandings that some (or all?) have moved to a newer condenser type technology that's not good in humid places. Not sure.

I'm still blown away that they fixed our old washer that needed a $$$$$ repair for no charge. Far out of warranty.

Bill

 

 

I've used them in Israel and Europe and they seem to take hours to do a wash or a dry.

That's better that I have had...

[Spy Car]

30 minutes ago, YaelAldrich said:

I've used them in Israel and Europe and they seem to take hours to do a wash or a dry.

That's better that I have had...

I have a vague recollection that the repair guy said that the newer conderer type (?) dryers were not working out well in places like Hawaii due to the humidity. Ours is the traditional style dryer. Drying times don't seem long to me and the clothes emerge perfectly. Never cripsy-crittered.

Bill

 

 

 

[HS Mom in NC]

22 hours ago, shinyhappypeople said:

Our washing machine, bought very cheap in a pinch to tide us over until we could afford a nice one.  It's avocado green and was probably built in the 70s.  Runs like a champ, though. 🙂

My granny's was from the 1960s.  Yours probably is too.

[cjzimmer1]

My mom bought us a freezer when we were first married so that was from 1996 or 1997 and we still have it so it wins.  Our house was built in 1998 so everything else was from then or newer.

[historically accurate]

I've had a crockpot since I got married 21 years ago. Our upright freezer was purchased in about 2000 or 2001, so 19-20 years old. Our washing machine was purchased in about 2002 so 18ish years old. 

Our house's appliances are mainly right about 15 years old, from when we bought the house. Stove is on the blink currently. A/C, furnace, dryer, water heater, and dishwasher have all been replaced. Fridge, over-the-stove microwave, and water softener are still going strong. 

My brother's apartment had the 60s/70s dark brown appliances up (stove & fridge) up until a couple of months ago. 

[RootAnn]

Washer & dryer were pre-wedding presents from DH, so '97. Chest freezer is from '00, I think. Mini-fridge is from college '93ish. Refrigerator from '99 - new house.

Sewing machine is from MIL, so 1960s? 50s?

Dishwasher was with this house when we moved in. I'll guess 1994 or '95.

The door switch on the washer has been going bad for years, but it finally failed. DH bypassed it then replaced it for $15. Hoping it lasts another 20+ years.

Had my microwave for 20+ years & replaced it. Went through 2 in 5 years. On #3 now knock-on-wood.

I think we built around the chest freezer so I don't know how we'll get it out if it dies.

[Ellie]

Our house was built i 1997; the only appliance left that hasn't been replaced is the electric oven. Cooktop, water heater, microwave oven, AC units, small appliances, fridge, washer/dryer...everything is much newer than that.

 

[cjzimmer1]

2 hours ago, RootAnn said:

Mini-fridge is from college '93ish. 

I completely forgot I had one of those too since I don't have it plugged in all the time (I actually use it for traveling mostly) but mine is from when my oldest sibling went to college.  I don't know if she bought it new or used but I would it be from somewhere between 86-88 so it definitely beats out my 97 freezer.