My Fridge and Stove Are Ugly. But Now I Know That’s a Good Thing.
In this edition of The Recommendation, our appliance expert dishes on why having a more basic fridge, dishwasher, or oven might be a good thing. Plus: How to make your home appliances last longer.
Like a lot of people who rent instead of own, my kitchen appliances are basic in every sense of the word. My fridge? It’s hideous — off-white and unrefined, without an ice maker or even humidity-controlled crispers. My matching gas range is equally barebones. It has no temp display, no light, no oven window. My stovetop is basically just four open flames.
I have always wanted models that were a little bit easier or more precise to use, or perhaps just better-looking — as Wirecutter’s appliance writer, I am often surrounded by the shiniest, fanciest new things.
But that all changed after I spent nearly six months figuring out why appliances seem to die so much faster than they used to. And I now think of my old-fashioned kitchen suite in a newly rosy light. It turns out that the stripped down-but-sturdy appliances in my apartment are uniquely capable of one thing: surviving. Ugly as they are, they have what it takes to avoid the pitfalls of the vast majority of appliances sold today.
Most modern stoves, fridges, washers, dryers, and dishwashers are absolutely stuffed with soon-to-be outdated computerized components and extra features. And they are now so low-priced — compared to any other point in history — that it is nearly as expensive to repair an appliance as it is to replace it. And that’s if you can even find somebody who really knows how to fix it. Likely this doesn’t shock you, especially if you’ve battled a busted ice dispenser or dishwasher control panel.
In my reporting, I found out where to cast the blame: on our lust for increasingly high-tech features; on the ongoing appliance price wars; on government efficiency regulations that continue to change; on our avoidance of regular maintenance or reading manuals. But we can also blame our own nostalgia. Many people have a memory of some ancient, avocado-green washing machine or refrigerator chugging along for decades at their grandparents’ house. But even then, decade-spanning durability was uncommon.
Maybe more important, I also found out what you can do to make your appliances last just a little longer — more on that below — and it’s not just buying the most barebones appliances around like mine. (To that end, I do have one big request for appliance manufacturers: Can you please, please, please just make these budget machines in cool colors again?)
