To expect washing machines to last longer?

[damekindness]

I seem to go through washing machines every three years or so - granted it's used at least once a day every day. I've tried mid price and pricier options but they die at roughly the same rate. How long is a reasonable life to expect from my washing machine ?

My Mum buys Hotpoints and Whirlpool and she’s getting through them every 18 months to 3 years. I’m desperately hoping my 16 year old Bosch will die as I’d love a new washing machine. Damn thing keeps working!

Our mid-range Bosch is still working well after 11 years with almost daily loads. Hard water area and very occasional descaling. I couldn't quite justify £1k on a Miele at the time so £600 on the Bosch was the next best thing.

10 years ! 5 people in house. 2 teenagers who play rugby and football, so machine constantly on.

We just replaced our LG after 11 years of daily use. We did repair it several times before we replaced it though.

Another vote for Miele. Ours is 12 years old.

Washing machine 1 - 3 years. I overloaded it which was not covered by anything. No 2. 5 years. Water poured out over the floor, through the electric and there was a very loud bang and lots of smoke. Number 3 is 2 weeks old and now needs a new drum as the original leaks. It will take 3 weeks to get here (not in the uk) and I have 2 kids and a husband that rides bikes = lots of mud.

Our Indesit is nearly seven years old, it does about five loads a week in a hard water area. Our Bosch dishwasher died a couple of months out of warranty.

Consumer Goods Act says that White Goods should last 6 years but you’ll be hard pushed to get your supplier to back that up. A law has recently been introduced suggesting that White Goods should be repaired rather than replaced but I’m unsure of when this law comes in/already in place.
Less than six years is not acceptable. If you registered your appliance when you bought it then contact the brand. They will probably prevaricate but it’s worth a try. Maybe quoting the specific paragraph in the Act might help.

Suggest looking at the ‘Which’ website.

My hotpoint lasted 19 years. Was still going fine but I wanted a bigger one ( had babies). This one is 15 years old LG. I always take insurance out and probably only original thing by now is the casing. 😂

OP as you live in a hard water area try putting a tablespoon of soda crystals in the detergent drawer every wash.
Less than £1 a bag and does the same job as calgon but miles cheaper.

I also run empty on delicate cycle once every couple of months with a mugful of white vinegar poured into the drum.

Yeah I got totally fed up of this happening to me too. It's not just the cost, it's the inconvenience of having to find the money for a new one, having to shop for it, having to arrange time off work to be there for delivery, having to dispose of the old one, having to install the new one, getting rid of the packaging, it's a real pain.

I brought a Miele for £900 in the end and that seems to have done the trick.

I live in a hard water area with a lot of washing (family doing sports and dog). My washing machines tend to last just over 3 years. Then they are just worn out. I think it's disgraceful. My mum had 4dc and had a zanussi that lasted 20 years throughout our childhoods. It was on all the time. It got sold with the house. It didn't even break!

Things are made to break these days. I just had my tumble dryer fixed under warranty. A part wore out after only TEN MONTHS of use. Absolutely shameful.

Hotpoint 8 years or so. Replaced the brushes twice, replaced a loose wire and do 7-10 washes a week. It was about £350. Used to go through one every year when we lived abroad.

The problem with negotiating with the brand about the expectations of a reasonable length of working life for a washing machine is the waiting period...after around 48 hours the dirty washing mountain would engulf us

Which is I suppose what the manufacturers rely on

Miele. We got a 10-year guarantee when we bought it 12 years ago and have never had an issue with it. We use it 3/4 times a week. It’s appalling that modern machines are built to break down after a few years. My mum had a washing machine that lasted 24 years.

I used to buy cheap machines like Zanussi and they lasted about two years on a daily wash regime.
Now I have bought a Bosch and it has lasted much longer and going strong.

Only had 3 in 32 years - two (hotpoint and Bosch) lasted 14 years, current Bosch 4 years old. Used nearly every day, sometimes more.

My last Zanussi lasted over 20 years. I've had my current Zanussi 4 years and it seems as good as the day I bought it. I hope it lasts another 16 years.

Washing machines work as well as you treat them. Mine is a miele model and it's lasted me 12yrs so far. From day 1 of it been delivered its had a weekly boil wash with washing machine cleaner and the drawer and door are left open after each use to dry it out and i use a calgon tablet in each wash to keep limescale at bay its never failed me yet and a do a few washes each week with it. Also if you buy cheap you buy twice.

We leave the door of ours open between washes.

That's about it for looking after it...

Our last Bosch lasted 3 years.
Indesit we bought for tenants lasted a bit longer.

Previously had a Hoover that was rubbish, and a couple of Bosch ones that were OK but not great.

Most machines these days have sealed drums so we are told they can't be fixed. Some can, YouTube shows you how.

Now on my 4th Bosch but only because the one I really wanted couln't be installed by the lazy bastard from AO so I sent it back with him.

Ours is a Miele which must be 9 or 10 years old. Hard water area, and it's had a bloody hard life - at least a load a day until DC began disappearing to uni, and probably not much less than that still. It's just begun leaking, and will cost about £150 to repair.

The bloke in the small independent shop where I bought it said I'd save money in the long run by buying a more expensive machine, and he wasn't wrong. He refuses to stock cheap ones which only last a couple of years. He also told me to use less detergent than recommended on the packet, and to sling it straight in with the wash.

He's saved me a fortune over the last decade.

My repairer told me it's usually 3 years for most washers to need the brushes replaced, he said you could pretty much set your watch by that no matter how often the machine is used. He also said it's 6 years for the whole machine to need to be replaced. It's a bloody con.

I insure mine with domestic and general AFTER the first year. Before the first year is up it's pointless as you have an automatic warranty.