How long does washing machine last?

[Daisies123]

I realise this is a bit how long is a piece of string but...

How long would you expect a decent brand washing machine to last and what's your average no. of loads per week?

We think ours is 14 years old (DH bought it before he met me) and is Miele so came with 10 year guarantee, so clearly meant to last a while. It now does 5 or 6 loads a week since having DD (18mo) but before her 3 a week and when it was just DH 2 a week (first four years of its life).

It seems to be leaking from the door so investigating what to do- the seal looks fine. I think it's had much less use than the average washing machine so could be expected to last longer.

[SantiagoSky]

Ours is from 1994. The energy consumption is pretty much the same as newer models. It is a Swiss brand called V-Zug.

[PaintingByNumbers]

4 years or so, with washes done every day at least once. I always get those 5 year warrantees and always use them at least twice
miele are longer - is it a 10 year guarantee?

[GoodyGoodyGumdrops]

We have a Miele that's seen heavy use (family of 5) for 11y. Recently started to do funny things, so we got a service guy in. Costing it for an independent and a Miele guy worked out the same price. He gave it a full service, fixed a rattle in the door, and told me that it was on its way out and showed me why it was uneconomical to repair. But also told me it was perfectly safe to use and that I should just keep using it ("run it into the ground") until I was ready to replace it.

[user1492287253]

tbh i would rather spend my 300 and be willing to replace it every 3/4 years as needed.100 a year for a machine that cleans 5 peoples clothes is find. it slso means that when it starts misbehaving after 3 years i can call AO or whoever and get another delivered and installed. or i could do what my sister did and"invest" the best part of a grand with meile for a 10 year warranty and spend days at a time with no machine and take days off work to wait in for them. surely on this basis my plan is sound?

[Harvey342009]

Mines has lasted 12 years with 3 newborns in that time. Clean it out every month. Put a crushed up dish washer tablet in the drum and run on your hottest wash empty. This clean all the inside pipes. My step dad friend fixes washing machine and told us to do that and mines has lasted years , a word of warning it does smell after you've done this but I put a load on like that and my clothes are fine.

[VeryPunny]

Our Cheap as chips hotpoint lasted 13 years of abuse. Our far more expensive Bosch started needing repairs after 3 years. We are quite handy so managed to fix it ourselves, otherwise it would have been expensive.

Agree with other posters about buying cheap and replacing more often. I doubt a Miele bought today would still give 20+ years of service.

[GoodyGoodyGumdrops]

My Miele has also worked out at £100/year, including the engineer's visit.

[paddlenorapaddle]

I'm slowly changing everything we have to miele and neff I've had enough of replacing things that don't ruddy well last we had a hot point for a short time lasted just under 4 years
I had a Dyson that went in under 3 years I'm switching to a miele Hoover

[GoodyGoodyGumdrops]

Ah, now my Dyson, that has been a surprise. It's been going strong for 14-15 years. Various bits have been replaced, none particularly expensive.

I would actually like to replace it, as it's really too heavy for me now that we live in a house with stairs, but I just can't justify the expense!

[Daisies123]

Our Miele is looking like a bargain then - it works out at £71 a year so far and haven't had to call out an engineer to it yet.

[rabbit123]

I can top that. Our Miele was £599 in 2008. No repairs so far touch wood, it works out at £66.55 a year.

[namechange20050]

I have a whirlpool which is 11 years old! Bloody thing is indestructible. I have a husband with a physical non and a toddler so it's on all the time. Best thing was I paid £60 for it from a friend who was moving house and leaving it behind! It's never gone wrong in all that time (tempts fate...)

[e1y1]

THIS is interesting. It explains that machines are designed to last an average amount of cycles (as opposed to a set time lenght) and the amount of cycles is actually quite low.

[VeryPunny]

And if you go down the cost/year calculations, your Miele machines look like a rip off compared to our £200 Hotpoint which lasted 13 years and was about £16/year. You could spend £220 on a brand new washing machine every 4 years and pay roughly the same amount.

I get the idea that it's nice to have things last a long time from ease of use and not-putting-things-in-landfill perspective, but it's not the cheapest way of doing it.

[rabbit123]

It's not just about longevity though - our Miele washes better, rinses better, spins better, is quieter and quicker than the Hotpoint we had before it.

[DixieChick77]

our £200 Hotpoint which lasted 13 years

Would a 2017 Hotpoint last 13 years though, that's the question...

My Samsung Ecobubble died exactly a week after its guarantee ran out If the idea is for you to then buy a new one, they're fools. I'll never buy a washing machine from them again.

[madmoon]

Our hotpoint ultima was bought June 2014 ( I only remember as I had a baby and a meltdown when the original broke😊)
It does 2 loads most days except Friday where it will do 3 maybe 4 because of school clothes .
We have 6 children and 3 dogs plus oh and myself.

[landspeeder]

Ours is a 12 year old Hotpoint and runs as good as it ever did, it has never needed any repairs. Washes and rinses just as well as my neighbour's Miele (neighbour had to use our machine when she was waiting for repairs). It has probably done fewer cycles than the typical machine though as we only do about 2-3 loads a week (we don't wash our bedding and towels nearly as much as some on here, plus we re-wear some items of clothing too).

[BikeRunSki]

I know a Miele that is at least 30!

[ThouShallNotPass]

My washing machine repairer says that the majority of machines he fixes are around 6 years old. When I worked out how old mine was I realised mine was 6 too. It's like they get just past that point then they start breaking down. They don't make em
Like they used to.

[flapjackfairy]

I bought a miele as i have disabled kids and can regularly do 4 or more loads a day. It lasted 6yrs! The engineers had repaired it 3 times whilst under warrenty (5yrs). The engineers said no one had ever killed one that quick but i am the kiss of death to an electrical appliance and as i said v heavy use.
I have a bosch now which has fared a bit better but beginning to flag now !

[Ginslinger]

I had a Miele for 19 years - it was fantastic.

[thatdearoctopus]

My previous Bosch lasted around 14 years I think. And the matching tumble dryer about 18.
Sadly I replaced that dryer with one of those cheap crappy ones from whirlpool that are causing house fires!