What a con!

[Freckle]

My tumble dryer stopped working last week. The repair man has just been to fit the parts required. He commented on what good service we'd had from the machine as it is over 10 years old. Said that it was the last of what he considered to be the really good decent machines because of a policy by manufacturers of white goods which ensures that, rather than repairing machines, we will buy new ones.

The cost of spare parts has been increased so that it is almost as expensive to repair a machine as it is to buy a new one. What makes it worse is that many of these machines are basically made from non-biodegradable plastic, with only the outer shells being metal. So we are constantly chucking out machines which will not biodegrade, only to replace them with other ones. Tbh, we did consider buying a new t/d as the cost of repair (£85) is not that much less than buying a new machine. But this machine has given us pretty good service so we decided to stick with it.

Should the government not be looking into this practice? Should manufacturers not be required to produce machines which will last many years, rather than encouraging this easy-come easy-go attitude?

It's all very well getting het up over excessive packaging on fruit, etc., but surely the bigger mountain is discarded white goods.

I think it's driven by people wanting to do this though, rather than the government making it too easy. It's the same with old cars too - they are far cheaper, relatively, than they used to be, because more and more people will only buy new ones.

but you may get into hot water posting about tumble dryers in the environment section... they're one of the baddies.

So, if you own a tumble dryer, you can't post in the environment section? Or you can, but be a hypocrite and not mention that you own one?

Or just not use it whilst posting in this section??

I am aware that t/ds are not very environmentally friendly, but with 3 boys and cold weather there are times when it is needed.

As with cars.

Freckle when the bloke came to fix the ancient washer/dryer in our old rented flat he said that when buying a machine it is best to get the most basic model as they last longest and the parts are cheaper. He said anyone paying 700 quid for a machine was mad as all they are paying for is a digital display and extra insulation so it is quieter. The fancier the machine the more that can go wrong.

But although I agree with you I think that it is a fact of life that things are manufactured with a short life so you will buy another one. Batteries for example could be made so they last for years but then no one would buy any more of them.

But that in itself encourages disposal of old machine rather than repair, doesn't it? If you pay, say, £200 for a w/m and the repairs cost £150, you are more likely to say "oh sod it, let's get another one". If you pay £700 for a w/m and the repairs cost £150, you are more likely to pay for the repairs because it seems so much less compared with the value of the machine.

Perhaps the answer is to reduce the cost of spare parts - according to the chap this morning, they are artificially high because the manufacturers want you to buy new rather than repair. He said a repair that he could have carried out for, say, £60 a couple of years ago would cost in the region of £150 now because of the increase in cost of spare parts.

There was an article in Guardian about this recently.
I find it really frustrating. My washing machine is on it's way out, I have a really, really handy DH (He fixes fighter jets so washing machines are not that frightening), but can we find ANYWHERE that will provide us with replacement bearings? No. Not even the manufacturer.

Oh, and I do know that I am going to be thrown off the environment thread as fighter jets are not at all environmental .

LOL!

Oh, and i have a drier too. Things only ever go in for 10 mins though, after the line or airer when the weather means that those don't get stuff dry. Saves on ironing too!

The only thing I still use my ancient tunble dryer for is dd's teddy which has to be washed and dried in one day otherwise she can't sleep. As I hate using the TD Teddy tends to be a bit of a health hazard by the time wash day comes round for him...

I consider myself environmentally conscious and I have a tumble drier. I live in central london in a flat with no outside space to hang things (and I hate to think what horrible colour and smell they would have if I did hang things outside!) and 2 young boys.

I am quite shocked at the implication that you can't be environmentally awate and have a tumble drier.

However, back to the original point of the thread, I too think it is shocking that appliances don't last long.

My mother has a fridge freezer and also a vacuum cleaner that date back to my childhood! Both were american and brought over in a house move over 18 years ago and were certainly not new then. And they both still work.

I will come out too, I have a TD which is how I dry stuff in winter or in long rainy spells. I use my line when I can. BUT, the line makes for more ironing, which isn't eco-friendly either! What to do? We live in the ordinary, rat race in a crisp shirt de riguer economy. (yes I have some no-iron shirts but not all and they don't always work).

I don't have a fighter jet though [mock shock emoticon]. And my dh can't fix anything much, except a meal when hungry. Better than nothing I guess.

This thread has got deflected, we also have a tumble drier(use it in emergencies for drying nappies, and am going to give it away when youngest is out of nappies) but I still think it's relevant to question their use. As with cars (we have one of those too).

But the thread wasn't exclusively about t/ds. OK the thought was instigated by the problem with my t/d, but the problem applies to all white goods.

At the end of the day, we could revert to washing everything by hand as that is more environmentally friendly, but, realistically, that isn't going to happen. We could question the use of many electrical goods and acknowledge that, if we were truthful, most of them are not strictly necessary - just time-saving and convenient.

I thought the point of the environmental topic was to debate and pass on tips about how we can live a modern life with as much care of the environment as possible - not to castigate or criticise people for owning machines which are not 100% green.

DH and I, in a 16 year relationship, have never flown anywhere. Does that offset our carbon-footprint from t/d use??

yes i expect the no flying more than offsets the tumble drying.

but I do wonder whether it's actually possible to live a modern life at all and still care for the environment enough.

in which case is there any point about worrying about whether our white goods have better environmental ratings, or whether they are properly recycled at the end of their life, if current forecasts are right, we have to either totally change the way we live or just give up on even trying to amend our ways, environmentally.

I got a sniffy comment from someone the other day for having a mini-fridge next to our (undertop) normal fridge. I put snacks/fruit/juice in it for the kids to help themselves when they are hungry. Apparently we are wantonly wasting energy. I didn't point out that we don't have a car/dishwasher/tumble drier, but I wish I had

I agree with fennel about the changes having to be pretty radical in order to make any real difference long-term. Which is why I support the proposed mileage charges for car usage. Appealing to the better nature/common sense of the British motorist hasn't worked, so the only thing left to do is to hit them in the wallet

I do think that doing whatever we can to be green, recycle, whatever, whilst living a modern life has to be better than living a modern life without any thought for the environment.

I am heartened by the fact that my children seem to be very environmentally aware - partly through my efforts and partly through school initiatives - and that gives me hope that our future is not as bleak as the media implies.

I know that with cars there is a target to have x amount of parts that are recyclable when the car is scrapped by a certain date which car manufacturers need to adhere too so in theory the newer cars will be more environmentally friendly.

Not sure of the situation with white goods, but aren't the newer ones more efficient in the water/energy they use? I would have thought that most manufacturers have targets as to the recyclability of their products parts.

Certainly the machines are more efficient, but that doesn't explain why spare parts have been made so much more expensive, nor why the main body of the machines are now made out of non-biodegradable materials.

As with packaging, I do think the government needs to give the manufacturers targets to achieve wrt the durability of their products (like having to offer a 10 year guarantee perhaps??).

Maybe manufacturers should have to be responsible for their products once they've reached the end of their working lives eg a Bosch WM would have to go back to Bosch and be recycled by them? That might concentrate their minds about using recyclable materials.

Precisely. Those who produce should dispose. Might concentrate the minds of the morons who wrap veg in double plastic bags, etc., as well.

Oh yes! I'd really like to be able to take all my excess packaging back to the supermarket as well.

Dh's mum has a fridge which has been going strong for 35 years and two hoovers of similar vintage.

Agree re difficulty of repairing white goods (and audiovisual stuff too - why can't TVs and stereos be repaired or upgraded?).

My washing machine has just dies £rd one in 8 years all have been unfixable.My Mams has just died after 20 years and her t/d was still going after 28 years! Just shows the difference in quality now!.
I think I have found a new one though and its reconditioned!

I think its outrageous taht things aren't made to last. there was an article about the lost art of repair in the Guardian recently. here

some old stuff isnt green like the way the have to make stuff today. Still they should make new stuff green and still last.