Another way in which modern life is rubbish: I have two steam cleaners because I have bad allergies. Neither of them are currently working.
But I can’t find a small appliance repair shop nearby that will repair them. Am I supposed to just throw them away and get new ones? It wasn’t always that way.
But I can’t find a small appliance repair shop nearby that will repair them. Am I supposed to just throw them away and get new ones? It wasn’t always that way.
Comments
Printers for example often break due to plastic fatigue of something like a paper pick up. a part that would likely cost pennies to make, but isn't available anywhere other than an other broken device.
They haven’t worked up the nerve to try charging us a subscription to use our vacuum cleaners yet, so this is the next best thing.
I’m sure they’ll try again, though.
All been downhill since
Also, Elon.
Don't get me started 😅
More environmentally friendly? Idk prolly i'm just a cat who fixes radios.
The shitist product you will accept at the maximum price you will pay!
https://communityrepairnetwork.org.uk/find/
1; everything is so cheap these days. Your grandparents fridge costs them a months wages so repairs were worth it.
2; less stuff to repair and higher operating costs means we’re all charging more making fewer repairs worth it
It’s absolute bullshit and angers me so much. Bad for people and the environment.
It's generally the scale that clogs up the steamer that destroys this type of device.
Works for Irons too
I'd fill it with vinegar. Probably calcium build-up which melts in weak acid.
Even if the charge is only $100, when Walmart and Target have new vacuums for that price most people will just buy a new one anyway
My 2018 super turbo fan needed a repair last month and it is working as new (but when you ask those workers about TV, they say it is trash, cause it's not worth to fix)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCza3-GSSwf/?igsh=cW9ob284Y3FzOHFl
Someone fixed my KitchenAid blender for free last year.
https://www.repaircafe.org/en/
Even if you did know how to fix it good luck finding a place to buy parts anywhere local, or sometimes even anywhere at all.
And the more micro-controllers involved, the more chance it just becomes e-waste. So much gold, rare earth minerals, helium etc go to junkyards.
"I don't know how to fix a VCR."
"Neither do I, but we can't make it any worse, can we? What do you think that does?"
Great memories of great times.
Are you rebelling against the very consumerism which keeps society from collapsing into a chaotic nightmare of goods which last, pride in life things other than personal purchases, and affordable actual value for money?
You'll doom us all with that sort of talk.
I watched a bunch of videos and fixed it myself. Parts (wire and a faston terminal) cost $7.
We're on our own on about every level.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WDuI1fCm-H4
I do remember that you could pay a premium and get stuff that would last. Now even expensive stuff is disposable - just shinier.
My in-laws got a vacuum as a wedding present in the 60s and still use it. It was definitely built to last. Occasional issues over the years but my father-in-law is very handy with replacing power cords and belts.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebus_cartel
We used to make stuff to fix them, and then fucking Lee Iacocca gave us "planned obsolescence" ...
This is a $600 device! Why can’t I PAY to have it serviced and maintained?! I don’t want a new one!
But yeah, consumer culture has gotten a tad out of hand with expendables lately.
Similar problem with shoes, if you have a good shoe repair in your area, they are gold!
Building things to break is not only expensive; it creates gargantuan amounts of waste, demands constant manufacture and harvest of resources. It's hell for us and the planet.
I agree that this is a huge problem!
Yes, you are supposed to buy a new one. It sucks.
The older ones can be fixed at a reasonable price; for most newer models: it's cheaper to replace them.
and because he uses it regularly, it breaks--but instead of sending it in for repair or getting a part from the maker, he sends it in and gets a whole new one
we were both wondering what happens to the old one--do they just toss it?
I would rather bring it to a shop and pay some dude to do it for me, but that's not a thing, mainly.
They are a great idea.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/yLEdiiUmd9srm9iTA
"All our customers think this is a crap product, oh well"
Technology in 1970 resulted in engines needing to be "rebuilt" with less than 100,000 miles. It is relatively common for engines to go more than 500,000 miles today.
Fuel economy is also 3-5X better today.
https://oldcarmemories.com/what-it-was-like-to-buy-a-new-car-in-1970/
The point I made was that all vehicles (including those built by GM) are vastly superior today.
BUT YOU ARE RIGHT!
There ... is your ego soothed now?
Efficiency considers how much larger and heavier cars have become in the last half century and how much smaller the engines have become.
Add in hydrid / battery power and my factor might be closer.
Hydrogen power will be even more efficient!
Just not in a location, where I can do that.
My 2021 BMW M5 (268CID/600hp/4345lbs) gets 22.9 MPG (in the 5 months I have owned it). And the BMW is AWD.
1972 Civic 1550lb, 59hp, 26.7mpg
2022 Civic 3028lb, 158hp, 36mpg
2025 Civic Hybrid 3252lb, 200hp, 49mpg!
Note weight of Civic has doubled and size is about 50% larger!
https://www.automobile-catalog.com/make/honda/civic_1gen/civic_1gen_2-door/1972.html#gsc.tab=0
You can have an incandescent giving off ~candle light for a century, running at the high-per-lumen ~10W the whole time. Most going to heat.
Or you can have it bright, a lot visible, but replace it every 5 years.
But the other companies didn't like competition, so they made a cartel to control it.
Computers can last a decade or more if upgrades kept up with old compliance standards and removed code bloat from new versions of software.
Ultimately it's a physics problem. Over the stove lights last ages because they're dim and inefficient.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-26/macquarie-dictionary-word-of-the-year-2024/104648884
https://youtu.be/j5v8D-alAKE?si=cXDotWjAFDFB0qeU
I think there's some survivorship bias as well, since you still have the 20 year old appliance that works and forgot about all the broken ones.
https://www.treehugger.com/how-planned-obsolescence-began-4856701
https://bsky.app/profile/poptart2nd.bsky.social/post/3lf6qp325fs2y
The cost of manufacture dropped to below the cost of repair, which made repairing many things economically unviable.
If it costs 30 bucks to make a new one, and a repair guy charges 20 bucks an hour to do repairs, most repairs aren't worth it any longer.