The cheapest appliance you will ever own is the one you already have, as long as it works and does not cost a fortune to run. Knowing how to make appliances last is mostly about a few regular gestures written in the owner’s manual, and about knowing when to stop: when an old machine has become more expensive to keep than to replace. This guide covers both, with the lifespans to expect, the maintenance that matters, the running costs to measure and the two tests that settle a repair quote.
How to make appliances last: know what to expect first
A reasonable plan starts with realistic lifespans. The most widely cited reference is the National Association of Home Builders’ Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components, based on a survey of manufacturers, trade associations and researchers (NAHB study):
| Appliance | Average lifespan (NAHB) |
|---|---|
| Gas range | 15 years |
| Refrigerator | 13 years |
| Clothes dryer | 13 years |
| Washing machine | 10 years |
| Dishwasher | 9 years |
| Microwave oven | 9 years |
Chart
How long major appliances last, on average
NAHB Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components. Use and maintenance change these a lot.
Source: NAHB, Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components (2007)
Two cautions. The study dates from 2007, so treat the numbers as orders of magnitude. And the NAHB itself notes that the life of an appliance depends to a great extent on the use it receives and on maintenance, and that many are replaced long before they wear out because newer models become more desirable. That last point is worth sitting with: a large share of appliances are replaced while they still work, which is the most expensive way to replace anything.
The maintenance that matters, machine by machine
Every owner’s manual has a maintenance section, and most of it takes minutes. The gestures below are the ones that come up again and again across makes and models; your own manual has the exact steps and intervals.
Refrigerator: keep the condenser coils clean. Dust on the coils, under or behind the fridge, makes the compressor work harder and run longer. A condenser coil cleaning brushaff. and ten minutes once or twice a year keep them clear. Check that the door seals close properly; a seal that lets cold air out makes the whole machine work harder.
Dryer: empty the lint screen with every load and keep the exhaust vent clear along its whole length. A clogged vent makes the dryer run longer for the same load and is a fire hazard. A dryer vent cleaning kitaff. reaches the parts of the duct you cannot see.
Washing machine: clean the drain pump filter, on front-loaders often reachable through a small panel at the bottom, as the manual describes, and leave the door open after use to let the drum dry. Do not overload it; the manual gives the capacity.
Dishwasher: rinse the filter at the bottom of the tub regularly. A clogged filter is a frequent reason dishes come out dirty, and cleaning it costs nothing.
Everyday use that adds years
Maintenance is half of the story; the way a machine is used every day is the other half. A few habits come up in almost every manual. Run full loads rather than half loads, but never beyond the stated capacity: an overloaded washer strains its bearings and suspension, and an overstuffed dryer runs longer. Use the amount and type of detergent the manual specifies; too much soap in a high-efficiency washer leaves residue and extra suds that the machine has to work around.
Give appliances the space the installation instructions ask for. A refrigerator pushed tight against a wall or boxed in by cabinets has nowhere to shed its heat, and the compressor runs longer to compensate. A washing machine that is not level shakes itself harder with every spin. Checking both takes minutes, usually once, and it is among the cheapest ways to add years.
Warranties, extended warranties and service plans
The manufacturer’s warranty comes first. Before paying for any repair, check whether the appliance is still covered, with the model and serial number from the rating plate and the date on the receipt. Opening the machine yourself can void that coverage, which is why nothing should be unscrewed until the warranty question is settled.
Extended warranties and service plans are a separate purchase, and the same arithmetic applies to them as to everything else on this site. The price of the plan is a bet that repairs during its term will cost more than the plan. Given the lifespans above, most major appliances are well within their expected life during a typical extended term, and a machine that is maintained is less likely to need the plan. Read what it covers, what it excludes and whether there is a deductible, and compare its price with the kind of repair quote the table in the repair article would still justify.
Keep the model number and the receipt
The least glamorous habit may be the most useful one: keep a record of every major appliance. The model and serial number, the purchase date and the price, and the receipt, in one folder or one note on your phone. It settles warranty questions in a minute, lets you order the exact replacement part, and gives the repair calculator its most important input, the age of the machine, without guesswork.
Add the date and cost of each repair to the same record. After a few years it tells you which machines are reliable and which one has been costing you every winter, which is exactly the information the “first breakdown or third?” question needs when the next quote arrives.
Before the repair shop: two tests for any quote
When something does break, the decision comes down to a quote and the price of a comparable new model. Consumer Reports’ rule of thumb is not to spend more than 50% of the cost of a new product on repairing an old one (Consumer Reports), usually applied once the appliance is past half its expected life. A second test turns both options into a cost per year of service: the quote divided by the years the machine has left, against the new model’s price divided by its expected life.
Both tests, with a calculator and a table of the highest quote worth paying at each age, are in repair or replace an appliance. The same reasoning about quotes applies to the car, where the cost per mile of a car is the equivalent of the price per year of service. The short version: early in an appliance’s life, even an expensive repair is worth it; near the end, even a small one may not be.
Before paying, it helps to know what failed. Many common faults are electrical and simple to confirm with a continuity test on an unplugged appliance: a heating element, a thermal fuse, a door switch.
Best for: checking a fault before paying a quote
Digital multimeter with continuity beeper
- A clear continuity beep is the only function you need here
- An entry-level model is enough for household appliances
- Also tests fuses, cords and outlets around the house
- Lets you ask the technician to show the measurement
The catch: Always on an unplugged appliance. Under warranty, open nothing: call the manufacturer first.
Current price and availability on Amazon
As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra, and it does not change the verdict: when the numbers say a purchase never pays for itself, that is what you will read.
Getting to the part is often the obstacle, since many panels use Torx or security screws; a security bit setaff. is what lets you see what failed.
What an old appliance costs to run
The second reason to replace a working appliance is its running cost, and it is the one people guess at instead of measuring. An old refrigerator or freezer can use far more electricity than a new efficient model, and what that costs depends heavily on where you live. The EIA’s June 2026 figures put the U.S. residential average at 18.34 cents per kWh, from 13.11 cents in Nevada to 52.72 cents in Hawaii (EIA).
The calculator below, also available on its own as the appliance electricity cost calculator, gives the monthly cost of any appliance from its wattage and hours of use, at your state’s average price. For refrigerators and freezers, which cycle on and off, the yellow EnergyGuide label or a measurement gives a better figure than the wattage on the rating plate.
Mr Deal's calculator
What does an appliance cost you per month?
Pick an example or enter the wattage on the appliance's label, how long it runs, and your state. The price per kWh is your state's official residential average.
Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, average residential price by state. Thermostat-controlled appliances (heaters, air conditioners) cycle on and off, so full wattage is a ceiling: a plug-in monitor gives the real figure.
To know what an old machine really draws, measure it. A plug-in electricity usage monitoraff. between the outlet and the appliance, left on for a week, gives real consumption, compressor cycles and standby included. Scale it to a year, compare it with the EnergyGuide figure of a replacement, and the difference in dollars joins the repair-or-replace decision.
Signs an appliance is near the end
Some signals say a machine is approaching the point where repairs stop making sense, and they are worth watching before the breakdown that forces a rushed decision. Repairs that come more often, each one on a different part, are the clearest. So is a machine past its expected lifespan that starts running noticeably longer to do the same job: a refrigerator whose compressor seems never to stop, a dryer that needs two cycles for one load, a dishwasher that no longer heats properly.
None of these is a verdict on its own. Each is a reason to measure, to check the maintenance points above, and to look up the price of a replacement calmly, so that when the next quote arrives you already know both numbers the two tests need. Replacing on your own schedule, when prices are reasonable, costs less than replacing in an emergency.
Appliance prices this year
Replacement is also a question of price, and this year it moved in the buyer’s favor. The Bureau of Labor Statistics measured prices for major appliances down 1.9% over the twelve months to August 2026, while consumer prices overall rose 3.4% (BLS). A slightly cheaper replacement tips close calls toward replacing, which is why the repair calculator asks for the price you actually found rather than assuming one.
Protecting what is inside: power outages
For refrigerators and freezers, the appliance is only part of the value: the food inside is the rest. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is precise about outages: a refrigerator keeps food safe for up to about 4 hours if it stays closed, a full freezer about 48 hours and a half-full one about 24 hours (FSIS). The practical rule is to keep the doors shut and resist checking. A refrigerator and freezer thermometeraff. tells you afterwards whether the food stayed cold enough, and it confirms day to day that the fridge is at 40°F or below and the freezer at 0°F, as the FDA recommends. A well-filled freezer also holds its cold longer than a half-empty one, one more reason to store the batches from meal prep packed tightly.
The freezer: an appliance that must earn its keep
A freezer is the one appliance whose value depends entirely on how it is used. Kept full of food bought on sale, it pays for itself within a year; kept half empty, it only adds to the electricity bill. The article on whether a chest freezer is worth it runs the numbers by state, and it is worth reading before replacing an old freezer as much as before buying a first one.
Small appliances: a different logic
Small appliances are rarely worth a technician’s visit, and repair is often not offered. For them, the question is less “repair or replace” than “is this worth owning at all”: a coffee maker that replaces a daily bought coffee pays back in weeks, as the coffee maker break-even shows, while a gadget used twice a year never does. The same test applies before buying any of them.
The same logic beyond the kitchen
Keeping a working machine instead of taking on a new payment is the same decision whether the machine is a dishwasher or a car. The article on whether an electric car is worth it shows that replacing a paid-off car that runs well rarely pays, for the same reason replacing a sound refrigerator rarely does. The guides to saving money on gas and saving money on groceries apply the method to the two other big lines of a household budget, and the guide to doing it yourself covers the everyday services an object at home can replace.
To see how appliances and electricity weigh in your overall cost of living, the personal inflation calculator breaks it down line by line, and every calculator on the site is on the page of savings calculators.
Frequently asked questions
- How long do major appliances last?
- The National Association of Home Builders' Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components gives average lifespans of about 15 years for gas ranges, 13 years for refrigerators and clothes dryers, 10 years for washing machines and 9 years for dishwashers and microwave ovens. The NAHB stresses that life expectancy depends heavily on use and maintenance, and the figures date from 2007.
- How can I make my appliances last longer?
- Follow the maintenance in each owner's manual, which is usually simple: clean refrigerator condenser coils, empty the dryer lint screen every load and keep the vent clear, clean the dishwasher filter and the washer's drain pump filter, and avoid overloading. Small, regular gestures keep machines away from the repair shop.
- When should I replace an appliance instead of repairing it?
- Consumer Reports advises not spending more than 50% of the cost of a new product on repairing an old one, a rule usually applied once an appliance is past half its expected life. A second test compares the repair's cost per remaining year of service with the new model's price per year of its expected life. When both tests say replace, replace.
- Are appliances getting more expensive?
- Not this year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics measured prices for major appliances down 1.9% over the twelve months to August 2026, while consumer prices overall rose 3.4%. A cheaper replacement tilts close repair decisions slightly toward replacing.
- How much does it cost to run an old refrigerator?
- Measure it: a plug-in electricity usage monitor left on for a week gives its real consumption, which you can scale to a year and multiply by your price per kWh. The U.S. residential average was 18.34 cents per kWh in June 2026 according to the EIA, from about 13 cents in Nevada to more than 52 in Hawaii.
- How long does food stay safe in a refrigerator during a power outage?
- According to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, a refrigerator keeps food safe for up to about 4 hours if it stays closed, a full freezer about 48 hours and a half-full one about 24 hours. Keeping the doors shut is what protects the food, and the money spent on it.
Who wrote this
Baptiste S.
Founder and writer · bs-media
I am not a financial adviser or an economist. I keep the books of an ordinary household, and I got tired of tip lists that never put a number on anything. So I work the other way round: I start from the expense, find the public data that says what it really costs, work out how long the object meant to cut it takes to pay for itself, and publish the result — including when it says to buy nothing.
- I start from public data — federal fuel prices, the Consumer Price Index, Energy Star ratings — and I say where every figure comes from.
- Every calculation shows its assumptions. If your usage differs from my example, the calculator gives you your own break-even point.
- I say when a purchase never pays for itself, including the best-selling product in its category.
- Credit, investing, insurance and public benefits are out of scope and referred to the competent body.