Keep that dumb washing machine from the 90s, I can almost guarantee you that a new washing machine is not meant to last as long. Maybe 6-7 years if you are lucky.
The article says that a washing machine used to last 20 years, and now only lasts 10 years. However, it also says that machine usage has doubled, from four to eight times a week. So, the new machine lasts the same number of cycles, but the number of cycles is reached much faster.
An article from 2025 is pulling data from a 2003 study that compares usage from the 1960's to what I assume is 2003, right when He and CPU controls were starting to become popular.
My 1990's Whirlpool lasted for 25 years before a barrel support rusted out. It had a mechanical timer and did a good job cleaning my clothes. Now I have this awful HE LG thing that I ALWAYS use the bedding mode otherwise it just mashes the shit out of everything destroying my clothes. HE feels like a conspiracy by big clothing to sell you more clothes, destroying the environment while fooling you into thinking you're saving it by conserving water.
There's an easy fix for that, put your clothes in these 'washing bags' that was always good to prevent wear but sounds like that might be what you need
Mashing the shit out of it is what actually washes your clothing without high temperature and minimal amount of detergent. I can't stand top loader washers that are ubiquitous here in NZ - they are so useless.
We’ve had a few scares. Last year, it didn’t stop filling and caused some flooding across a few rooms before we caught it. Earlier this year, the plastic on the knob mount was so brittle it snapped off. We’ve been servicing it, and we’ll keep it going as long as we can.
Miele from my grandmother still running here, 1988 machine! No defects, still pristine inside.
No guarantee though that today's Miele is the same quality.
They are. Bought a washing machine more than a decade ago, still going strong, and a dishwasher more recently and it was every bit as solid as the rest.
