Ihow Long Has Your Washer and Dryer Lasted?

I hope I am not jinxing myself here... 16 years but they are the old style top loader. I'm going to go find some wood to knock on ;-)

My gas dryer is an old Kitchen Aid that came with the house and is probably more than 20 years old. (The matching washer still worked too but it used a ton of water!) I had to replace the belt once in the seven years it's been mine. My washer is a HE front loader by Bosch. I've had no trouble with it but it's maybe only five years old. Part of the reason I chose it was because it didn't have a lot of bells and whistles, the cycle selection is a dial and it has maybe 5 buttons on it.

our first washer and dryer set last almost 20 years. the one I have now is a front load washer and dryer we got it in 2005. I can't wait for it to totally die so I can buy another regular washer. I hate hate hate the front load.

My first set were traditional - the washer lasted about 4 years, dryer 6. We replaced the pump on the washer after only 2 years (I think it had to do with a rough move from apt to house) and the dryer element was replaced twice.
After that we got the HE kind and I have had those for 7 and 5 years respectively.
LG brand. I think the lady was just giving you a worst case scenario.
My In-laws had one mis matched set for almost 19 years and their current set for around 10!! you just have to be willing to fix them and not replace to get them to last that long:)

Y.:

My first set in this house was about 7 years WITH US - they were used and the old owner left them. The dryer was an OLD Lady Kenmore in Avocado Green - that should tell you how old it was!! (smiles).

This set now was purchased in 2004. We have the Sears Warranty on it and have them come in every year for it's annual check up. Probably got a good 10 more years left on them!! Appliances like washer/dryers should last at least 10 to 15 years.

We have had three sets of washers and dryers since we got married and none of them wore out. (And that's saying a lot since we had 8 kids and my wife used cloth diapers for the first four kids.)

We bought all of the washers and dryers used and the most we paid for them was $50 each. I would say the average age of the washers and dryers were 20 years when we got the next ones. We sold the "old" ones for $25 each for the next family and they worked fine when we sold them. One family used our old ones for about 10 years before they said they wore out.

We replaced one part on two of the washing machines and spent less than $50 on the parts.

The new machines are really nice and have all kinds of bells and whistles, but the prices are horrible. I'd rather buy a used machine from one of these families than has to have all the most current features and benefits on their machines. I'd much rather pay $50 that $500+. But not all here agree with me. Many have criticised my frugal ways. I'd just rather spend my money in different ways than to help buy the Kenmore CEO a newer, bigger yacht.

BTW, there is a mattress manufacturer and sales company in our area that advertises that if your mattress is 8 years old, its time to replace it. Our first mattress lasted us about 30 years and got it used when my MIL and FIL divorced. It was their bed for their entire marriage. We bought a queen sized mattress and gave our old mattress and bed frame to my oldest child and he and his wife are still using it. We bought our current mattress and box springs used from a neighbor. I'm sure we will use it until they carry me out feet first.

If someone told me a new washer and dryer would only last 5 years, I'd head for the exit and buy a higher quality machine elsewhere.

Good luck to you and yours.

Mine are from the mid-1990s (were left by the previous owner) so they are 15 years old. I think that was typical for older appliances - they don't make them like they used to.

I would call an appliance repair person and ask what she or he would recommend - because they fix things all day, they know what is durable. The guy who fixed my dryer a couple of years ago said to keep it and the washer for as long as possible because they were well made. Same thing for my fridge, which is also 15-20 years old.

My washer was messed up from the beginning thanks to deliveery guys that really did not care about how they handled it. We had it fixed but should have insisted on a new one. That one lasted I think 4 years, maybe only 3. Then we got a newer one and still have it 5 or 6 years later. Our dryer justs died out with the heating so we have to get a new one--11 years almost. My brother jsut bought new HE washer and dryer for my mom and he was told that since the new ones have to be high efficiency, they do not last as long as the older ones. Plus if you have the machines in the basement as most older homes do, they last even less time.

We're going on 6 years with the LG front-loaders with no issues whatsoever. We clean them monthly and the hubs cleans-out the dryer vent regularly, but aside from that they're low maintenance. My parents have had their set for at least 15 years. They aren't high tech or fancy, but they're still running and washing!

Ours are gas, but have an electric panel I assume somewhere in there!

We have Maytags with electric touch panels -- they are 10 years old and work just fine. One of the LED lights in the timer on the dryer burnt out last year (so one piece of the 8 is missing), but other than that they both work good as new.

Ours are 11 years old now. They don't have an electric panel. I believe they are Frigidaire? Anyway, my MIL always buys the super high-end models w/ electric panels and constantly has to have the repairman out. Our heating element of our dryer blew out a couple of months ago finally and the repair man said that the washer and dryer are both made very, very well. I believe we spent around $500 each 11 years ago? So not super expensive models, but very reliable.

The older machines did last for years and years.... the newer stuff (front loaders with all the electronic computer boards and such) I don't think has really been saturated in the market to really KNOW how long to expect many of them to last.

We had or "old style" washer for probably 15 years (?) before I eventually replaced it. Hubby bought it before we were married, and eventually the agitator had a piece break off---the rest of the machine was still working fine-but since it was so old, and the replacement agitator was like $75 or something, we just went ahead and bought new, instead of getting the part and then something else on the machine giving out (since it was already pretty old).

Our front loader with electronic controls, we have had for 5 years, probably, going on 6? Still works just fine.

Our old one lasted for over 20 years. We ahve had our new washer for 7 years but the dryer not even a year. But from what I understand if they are not building them to last like they used to!!

I'll tell you a funny story about my current set.. They are 6 years old now. They are 3 years past the warranty agreement I paid for. They've each been fixed once sometime in year 4. This year the washing machine started randomly not spinning out. It got so bad for awhile that every load that went through would be sopping and I'd have to go down there and re-spin it.

THEN, the dryer started this horrible high pitch squeal at a time when I didn't have any plan for the machines and no money. I started praying over the machines every time I used them. They have worked for 3 months with DAILY prayer. At times the dryer sounds like it might wake the dead. Then it will sound normal gain for awhile.

In November I bought a plan to cover the house and all the applicances. I started praying they would work for months longer so that the company does not feel that I tried to cheat them. I've now paid 4 monhtly premiums and they are still going and the washer is spinning everything dry and has been for a few weeks.

I read that 10 years is the MAX to expect them to work. But I've been told by repair men that they can be fixed pretty reasonable until the parts can no longer be bought.

12 years - Maytag top loader and matching dryer. Cleans and dries like a charm to this day. I also need to go knock on some wood...

Our washer was here before DH moved in. It's an ancient Maytag. Probably 20 years or older. The dryer was a replacement about 7 years ago. It's cranky already. It's a Whirlpool. It works, but the bearings have already had to be replaced and the light wore out. I don't know how modern Maytags last, but I think that many modern appliances are not built for decades of use anymore, on purpose. We are happy with the Maytag overall. Fewer bells and whistles, but less to break.

We had a new washer and dryer when DH and I married. The washer needed parts but keeps working. The dryer died and we replaced it a few months back. They don't match but they are both white. My inlaws bought them, even the new replaced dryer. We got them from Sears and again from Sears. My parents have their original 37 year old dryer and it's still working. My dad replaced parts over the years but it's built to last. However, they replaced 3 washers over the course.

We got our washer when we got married (18 years ago) and replaced the dryer after our son was born (11 years ago). Needless to say, they are not energy star or pretty, but they have lasted. They don't have an electric panel though.