What It Means
Appliance lifespan is the number of years a household appliance typically keeps working before repairs stop making sense and it gets replaced. Consumer Reports calls published figures a general guideline, so use them to plan for a single machine, knowing it may fail sooner or run longer. In 2009, citing a study by the National Association of Home Builders and Bank of America, the magazine put a refrigerator at about 13 years and a dishwasher at about 9.
Try It: Years Left and Saving for a Replacement
Pick an appliance, enter how old yours is and a rough replacement cost. Lifespans are Consumer Reports' 2009 figures; the cost is your own example.
Under half the guide figure. Keep up the cleaning and filter jobs in the manual.
Past halfway. A monthly amount set aside now spreads the replacement over the years left.
At or past the guide figure. It may run for years yet, but the full cost could land any month, so the monthly number shows the whole amount.
How It Sounds at Home
- "The fridge came with the house, so it's got to be at least ten years old."
- "Is it worth fixing a nine-year-old dishwasher?"
- "Let's start putting a little aside for the dryer."
The Breakdown
How long appliances last, per Consumer Reports (2009)
| Appliance | Typical lifespan |
|---|---|
| Compactor | 6 years |
| Dishwasher | 9 years |
| Microwave oven | 9 years |
| Freezer | 11 years |
| Dryer (electric or gas) | 13 years |
| Refrigerator | 13 years |
| Gas range | 15 years |
These are some of the rows in the article, which drew on the National Association of Home Builders/Bank of America Home EquityHome equityThe part of your home you own outright: its current value minus everything you still owe on loans secured by it. See more "Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components". That study also put a thermostat at 35 years, the longest-lived item it listed. For the full table, see the Consumer Reports article.
Worked example. Your refrigerator is 8 years old. Against a 13-year figure that leaves about 5 years, and you've used about 62% of its expected life. If a replacement would cost about $1,500 (an example price), setting aside $1,500 รท 60 months = $25 a month means the money is there if it fails on schedule.
What the result means. The years-left number is a planning horizon. An appliance can outlast its figure by years or fail well before it, so the monthly amount is a cushion, and a machine past its figure is the one to watch most closely.
Good to Know
Consumer Reports calls these life expectancies a general guideline: the model, the brand and how well you treat an appliance can make it last longer or wear out sooner. The figures date from 2009, so treat them as a rough guide for a machine bought today. Before you budgetBudgetA plan for a set period, usually a month, that lists the money you expect to receive and how you'll spend or save it. See more around a replacement, check the warranty and the maker's manual for the care jobs that keep it running, such as cleaning filters and coils. Writing down the purchase date when you buy an appliance makes this calculation easy years later.
FAQ
How long does a refrigerator last?
About 13 years, according to the figures Consumer Reports published in 2009 from a National Association of Home Builders and Bank of America study. Yours could last longer or shorter depending on the model and how it's cared for.
Which home appliance lasts the longest?
Of the appliances in the table, a gas range lasts the longest at about 15 years and a compactor the shortest at about 6. The study's longest-lived item overall was a thermostat, at 35 years.
Why do appliance lifespan figures vary so much?
They're general guidelines across many machines. Consumer Reports notes that the model and brand you buy and how well you treat the appliance can push its life above or below the published number.
Do It in Buhata
Vault (Plus) and Maintenance (Household X)
Record each appliance's purchase date and receipt in Vault (Plus) in Buhata, and add its filter and cleaning jobs to Maintenance (Household X) so they roll forward each time you tick them.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Home warranty
A service contract, bought for a set term, that pays toward repairing or replacing covered home appliances and systems, usually with a fee for each service call.
- Home inventory
A room-by-room record of what you own, with photos, values and receipts, kept to prove a loss to your insurer after a fire, theft or storm.
- Sinking fund
Money set aside in small, regular amounts for a known future cost, so the bill doesn't land on a single paycheck.
- Dishwasher filter
The screen at the bottom of a dishwasher that catches food and grit, which makers say to rinse every 3 to 6 months, or about every 2 weeks with daily use.
- Fridge water filter
The replaceable cartridge that filters water for a refrigerator's dispenser and ice maker, usually changed about every six months.
Sources
Consumer Reports, "By the Numbers: How long will your appliances last? It depends" (March 2009), citing the National Association of Home Builders/Bank of America Home Equity "Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components"
Last updated .