More unbearable technology
3 months ago
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Do you feel today's laundry technology just won't last?
Comments (13)I think nowadays washers are pretty much designed to last 5 years. The extended warranty people won't sell a warranty that lasts longer than 5 years from purchase date, and they know their business. They've no doubt got it all graphed out and five years is where the average expenses involved in keeping machines going starts to climb steeply. Right now I'm waiting on delivery of a Bosch frontloader. Old top loader machine is six years old, the five year warranty has expired. Getting someone to look at it would cost AU$110 before they even dropped their tool kit down next to the machine. I could open it up myself and tinker with it, but I've a fair idea what is going wrong and it would need a moderately priced and somewhat fiddly to install new part and since I'm not terribly good at such things there's a chance I'd balls it up so bad as to make it not repairable at all. A large machine is also difficult to handle when doing repairs, and both my partner and I have had back injuries in the past. And quite frankly, the old machine was OK but it had it's problems. New machine cost AU$745 delivered. I get AU$200 of that back from the city because they run a rebate scheme for buying high efficiency water using appliances. In every year of use I'll probably save about AU$100 on my water bills. And it's a nicer machine in general, with a better choice of cycles. And I get to buy a five year extended warranty for it for just AU$99, thus securing myself from most unexpected expenses associated with the machine, an option I no longer had for the old machine. What happens with the old machine? It gets taken away by the delivery guys and delivered to an appliance reconditioning center that will look at whether it can be repaired and resold economically. Since this occurs at their timetable rather than as a call out, they can do this rather cheaply. Maybe it gets fixed up, maybe it gets broken down for parts to fix other washers, maybe they pull all the stuff that can be sold as scrap out of it and junk the rest. I would prefer that the expected lifespan of a major appliance was ten years or more, but that's just not how things are any more....See MoreUtility / Laundry room unbearable hot
Comments (11)Good advice above. I work in hvac and have some suggestions. For now, make sure all lighting is cfls. They throw off much less heat than incandescent. Keep window coverings closed to eliminate solar gain. Consider a bathroom type ceiling fan to exhaust some heat. They are not all that expensive. If you have not yet used the government energy tax credit then see if it can help with costs for adding insulation. Adding insulation is the best way to help. The warm ceiling tells you that. Is there standard attic space above. Do you have attic vents to help the heat escape. Do any adjacent rooms backbup to this room with AC vents. If so the you may be able to easily add another vent to get more conditioned air into the space....See MoreBlinded by the technology and shiny bits
Comments (1)I think the information age and our over thinking things (I'm the world's worst) can be just as detrimental as it can be helpful. What DID we do 30 years ago when all we had to go on was word of mouth? Two of your choices rated very high! Nothing is made to the standards they once were and now we have a front row seat to any and all problems that people have with any product. Good luck!...See MoreNYC - Unbearable Heat in Basement Apartment
Comments (10)(Jan 4, 2016) Christopher said: wrap parts of the fins in aluminum foil. DON'T DAMAGE THE FINS. Do it bit by bit until you get the desired result. The foil stops the circulation of air through the fins. Moderator replies: Christopher & Sharon: Christopher's idea is attractive but unless your heating baseboards have a removable front panel you won't have access to wrap the fins to reduce air movement through them and thus cut the heat output. On a standard heating baseboard the convection current (warm air rises) that occurs up through the baseboard draws cool air from the floor up through the finned copper tubing where it is warmed before exiting at the top opening of the baseboard. To reduce baseboard heat output in a room or area within a heating zone, a standard step that is effective to simply close the hinged top cover along the basboard. By interrupting the air movement you significantly reduce heat output. Blocking air air entry at the bottom opening of the baseboard ( such as by carpeting ) has the same effect....See More- 3 months ago
- 3 months ago
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