r/nostalgiai • u/CarrotMuch1399 Nostalgia Trip Leader • Jun 20 '26
Vintage Tech ☎️📻📠📟📷 Remember?
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u/Primary-Hotel-579 Jun 20 '26
My parents' clothes dryer lasted 35 years.
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u/mayumia Jun 20 '26
Same as my parents except they still have that same dryer. They got it when i was like 10yo and now im 45 and its still going. We did have to replace the heating element a couple times but thats about it.
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u/1111_infinity Jun 20 '26
I don't remember them lasting forever. I remember people fixing them when they broke. Most people now, throw them away when they break. I have an LG Smart washer and dryer that I got fifteen years ago because I fix it when it breaks.
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u/bunny5055 Jun 20 '26
That's because parts and labor to fix the fridge was about $50 when a new one cost $200 so you fixed it. Now they charge $1000 parts and labor for a fridge you got on sale for $750 with 0% interest for 24 month.
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u/1111_infinity Jun 20 '26
You can buy most parts online for less than $20, and use YouTube (or AI) to tell you exactly how to fix it. I agree that hiring a third party company is not as affordable as it used to be. But if you know how to use a computer you can fix it yourself for extremely cheap.
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u/Honest-Scar-4719 Jun 20 '26
My 30+ year old dryer broke on me, one of the thermostats crapped out. Using YouTube I fixed it for about $70, but most of that was because I needed to buy a voltmeter to diagnose it first.
Repair man wanted $300 for diagnosis, parts, and labor.
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u/Jonnyflash80 Jun 21 '26
That's how I repaired two fan failures on my Samsung convection oven, and the defrost element on my Samsung fridge. Both are now over 15 years old and still going.
If people would just take the initiative to try to learn how to fix things, they would save so much money.
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u/TorumShardal Jun 20 '26
Using AI is kinda bad idea, because you don't know what you're doing, and it sucks at common sense.
Especially, do not trust AI to check if a part will fit your device.
And read/watch the guide fully before you follow it. Make sure you can understand and perform all reqired steps.
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u/1111_infinity Jun 21 '26
I've literally told ai the model of my device and it has successfully provided me a link to buy the correct part. It's never gotten it wrong. Which ai do you use?
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u/TorumShardal Jun 21 '26
Sigh.
I am really glad that you haven't encountered situation where "Part for Thing (2020)" was incompatible with "Thing (2020)", because "Thing (2020)" had a dozen revisions nobody quite understands.
I am glad you haven't encountered guys who bought big cooler that would never fit their case becasue chatgpt, clauge, gemini, deepseek or any other confidently told them it will fit.
I'm glad you haven't burned the board by powering it through backup line instead of main one, because claude was sure it was ok.
You have to understand that any model will be right sometimes, wrong sometimes. You have to know where to check.
Ask AI if you're not sure.2
u/tin_dog Jun 20 '26
I got the cheapest washer I could get 15 years ago and never had a problem. German engineering, built in Italy, less than 300€.
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u/SomeEstimate1446 Jun 20 '26
Have a side by side from the 90’s still in my kitchen being used. I keep waiting for it die so I can get a new one.
It will not die….
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u/agitated--crow Jun 20 '26
That's the secret. When you wait for something to intentionally die, it will seem like forever.
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u/Remote_Independent50 Jun 20 '26
My parents had to replace all these appliances, multiple times while I was living there. Its not that they lasted forever. Its just that stuff now only lasts 5 years or so then breaks. Making you think the stuff that lasted 12 years, lasted forever
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u/jadedshibby Jun 20 '26
They did last forever if you could wrench on em a little bit. That is until they intentionally quit selling parts for them a few years ago. I had a whirlpool washer and dryer that I fixed maybe 3 times over 25+ years. Just junked em last year because I couldn't get the parts I needed at sears anymore.
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u/Sterling_Fox4680 Jun 20 '26
Everything now has planned obsolescence in it, parts and stuff that will wear out and make it “easier” to replace the whole unit instead of repairing it. Things used to be repaired in home and it was made so you didn’t need an engineering degree to do it.
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u/Honksu Jun 20 '26
That was before somone got idea to make them break every 3 years, so ppl would buy a new one.
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u/KyddCotten Jun 20 '26
Appliances and relationships were treated the same way at one point. When it broke you didnt throw the whole thing away you worked on fixing it so it runs smoothly again.
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u/Gingercopia Jun 20 '26
It's all the digitizing and electronics that's been added. My aunt still has the same food processor that I remember first using in the early 90s. Still running strong.
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u/KellyzKillaz Jun 20 '26
Not sure how you got a pic of my washing machine 🤣. Got the matching dryer too. Couple of bucks in parts every 10 years or so, good as new.
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u/Independent-Expert89 Jun 20 '26
Just like the water heater. It lasted 35 years and it was still under warranty. New one sucks the heat dose last long😭
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u/drkmon714 Jun 20 '26
Survived decades just fine without appliances having wifi or other smart features. I just need a fridge to keep my stuff cold, not freak out every time the internet goes down because it doesn’t know how cold it is without something on the internet telling it
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u/El_Galant Jun 20 '26
I think the whole 'right to repair' that was taken away from the US consumer is what has really accelerated the process of post 2000 electronics, appliances & equipment not lasting as long. Either you can't procure the parts to fix it yourself, or they make it so you have to pay them to fix it for you.
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u/OrneryLetterhead8609 Jun 20 '26
I miss our old regular washing machine. The new sense feature makes washing clothes and entire weekend event. What use to take two to four hours for our household now takes an entire weekend into the late night hours. Ugghhhh…😫 Thank God we still have our old dryer. 30 years strong.
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u/TestSubjuct Jun 20 '26
My dishwasher. $150 base unit from 1998 that came with the house. Loud as hell and sometimes the dial "sticks" when trying to start the dial but it will not die. I've already gone though a oven.
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u/HighwayRegular604 Jun 20 '26
The first appliance my parents bought after they married was an ugly maroon-colored refrigerator (Frigidaire?). That was 1968. Yesterday, I fetched ice cold sodas out of it for a bbq at their house. Damn thing is older than I am by 2 years and has never had an issue or needed service. It lives in their garage now (I mean, it's maroon after all), but it just keeps working.
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u/StormInformal6761 Jun 20 '26
I’ve always had appliances without smart features.
They broke all the time, my last place I went through three washers.
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u/err404 Jun 20 '26
Surviver bias. You only see the ones that are still running because they are still running. You don’t see the ones that failed. Higher end modern appliances can last a long time as well.
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u/pitaP88 Jun 21 '26
I just had to replace my dryer last year. I miss Winston. Yes I named my dryer Winston. I could throw any size load of clothes into that dryer, crank it on, and it dried with the fires of hell. I never had a damp shirt or blanket that wasn't dry or towels that were still wet on one end. Everything was dry.
New dryer? I'm changing settings, trying to find the highest temperature, and it doesn't even get that hot. Small load of clothes. Half the time still damp.😭
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u/MintyFresh771 Jun 21 '26
I just like having physical buttons. Is that too much to ask? I don’t need an app or a touch screen to operate a microwave.
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u/TawnyTeaTowel Jun 21 '26
Oh look, another misrepresentational post comparing appliances that cost a months wages vs ones that cost slightly more than a sandwich.
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u/Jangofettsbrother Jun 24 '26
You remove the motherboard and smart features youll have a standard mechanical appliance. Itll use the same amount of energy.
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u/TawnyTeaTowel Jun 24 '26
The fuck has the amount of energy they use got to do with anything?
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u/Jangofettsbrother Jun 24 '26
Isn't that what your sandwich bit is about?
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u/TawnyTeaTowel Jun 24 '26
No. Cost to buy. People go on about how some appliances are still running after decades but conveniently forget how much they cost in the first place, and that if you spend the equivalent amount these days you get the same, if not better, quality.
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u/Jangofettsbrother Jun 25 '26
They work better because they're simple mechanical machines that can be repaired with standard parts. A modern appliance is outfitted with motherboards designed to failed. Good luck repairing a burned motherboard. Thats assuming you dont just rebuy appliances every time one fails.
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u/J-seargent-ultrakahn Jun 21 '26
Too much electronics in them now. More complexity means more points of failure
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u/GeneralAssumption943 Jun 21 '26
After buying “smart” appliances and them breaking after a few years, I now try to buy the “dumbest” appliances I can find when I need one.
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u/k1200lti Jun 21 '26
🤣 That's my 29 year old washer, and 35 year old fridge (garage). Yes they still work!
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u/Kaarel314 Jun 21 '26
I remember them being loud, taking a lot of power and not doing as good of a job.
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u/remember5544 Jun 21 '26
My parents have a Sanyo microwave that was made in 1990, that is still working
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u/Odd-Consequence-2519 Jun 21 '26
They were built so well that a repeat customer wasn't really a thing. So the corpos came up with the idea of planned obsolescence in order to ensure constant money flow from increasing sales.
But they went too far. Shit now breaks way too often and too soon. Now, customers are demanding the right to fix it and corpos are balking, using scary sounding language about - how it voids warranty; is too dangerous; expert skill required; blah blah blah.
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u/Amestopmodel Jun 21 '26
My girlfriend has a fridge in her basement, it was there when she bought the house. It works great, built in 1981.
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u/MoneyPresentation610 Jun 21 '26
My parents had a wood grain Whirlpool washer and dryer, they got in the 80’s and it lasted them to the mid 00’s.
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u/Few-Particular-9509 Jun 22 '26
What the large appliance makers do now is called "Planned Obsolescence".
Planned obsolescence is a business strategy in which a product is deliberately designed or manufactured with an artificially limited useful life. The goal is to ensure it becomes obsolete or non-functional after a set period, forcing consumers to purchase replacements rather than repairing the item.
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u/ChrisBegeman Jun 22 '26
I have an upright freezer in by basement that my grandparents bought in 1976. It is still working fine.
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u/rulerofthemind Jun 22 '26
My grandfather moved into a mobile home in 1990. He bought a hot point washer and dryer at that time. They ran without any problems until 2015
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u/ARPA-Net Jun 22 '26
I remember when they didn't had smart features - and still btoke after two years...
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u/Dinglebutterball Jun 22 '26
I still have a “dumb” washer, dryer, and fridge.
I’ve had to replace the motor, belt and jumper the door switch on the dryer. Had to replace the water lines on the washer… and the fridge just works.
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u/Arob71739498 Jun 22 '26
My Aunt had the same refrigerator for 20 years small water leak on the right side but Ice Cold for 20 years
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u/GrouchyBus2742 Jun 24 '26
I own not a single appliance with 'smart features.' Too expensive and who in their right minds wants a TV on their fridge or apps on their Washer/Dryer?
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u/throndrise Jun 24 '26
My dishwasher is so old that the white plastic is turning yellow. Also, my oven is from 1968 and is yellow and still works.
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u/saytownchief Jun 24 '26
My stoopid fridge is constantly trying to connect to my phone or the TV, like who the fuck bought this electric puppy?? Fuck! Then my toaster burnt my dick!
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u/Square-Formal1312 Jun 24 '26
A lot of them “work” forever but that really means should’ve been put out of it’s misery or completely refreshed decades ago
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u/ExamAccomplished3622 Jul 10 '26
Related note: When my trusty Kenmore dishwasher died, I bought a “smart” one with digital settings. One of the is for “1 hour wash.” Mysteriously, it takes over 2 hours.
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u/DjScenester Jun 20 '26
They also hogged power like crazy. All about the energy efficiency
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u/CatsEatGrass Jun 20 '26
Energy efficiency has been a thing since the ‘70s.
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u/agitated--crow Jun 20 '26
But energy efficiency has improved much since the 1970s. I need you to understand this.
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u/CatsEatGrass Jun 20 '26
But what good does it do if you have to replace the whole thing every few years instead of every few decades? How is gross contribution to landfills a win for anyone?
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u/atkinsonda1 Jun 20 '26
They still do, just don't buy the stuff you dont want. We just replace our stove, microwave and fridge all with now smart features. So yeah I can remember all the way back to last week. But the lasting forever BS is just that.
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u/ThoughtGuy79 Jun 20 '26
My parents' garage fridge has outlasted two kitchen fridges.