5ywjdPumpkinPrincess
8337
474
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Aug 24, 2026 11:43 PM
5ywjdPumpkinPrincess
8337
474
15
LeMegachonk
I had a washing machine from the 90s in my rental. A couple of years ago, the plastic tub started to crack and it could not longer be serviced, so they replaced it. I'm on the third replacement, all of different makes and models. Don't get me wrong, these new machines work phenomenally, far better performance-wise than anything I've used before. But they fail in dumb ways that my landlord doesn't want to deal with even under warranty.
barefootguru
TIL https://obsoletemedia.org/washing-machine-punched-card/
LiterallyAWizard
Still works, and also uses more power than every other electronic device in your house combined
quietwalker
If I remember right, this was used for tracking usage more than operation? Like, you had to use the punch card because then at the end of the month the super could find out who used it and how many times and just charge you based on usage rather than put a coin op on it?
JovanD
No, the punch card was the actual washing program.
EscalatorCongestion
in the post war 50's it never occurred to American manufacturers to make anything other than "military grade" hardware... Be it a washing machine or an automobile. long ago I did a training on Industrial Grade and Military Grade engineering - Young engineers loved that training.
TheobromineAddict
Schulthess Maschinen AG is a Swiss company, still in business. https://www.schulthess.ch
MrFancyPanzer
My parents had an Electrolux freezer from the 70s that worked until just a few months ago, it was probably fixable but my parents got a new one.
Arcanum3000
Fixable is questionable, since it almost certainly used freon.
MrFancyPanzer
I think it was the motor that stopped working
relsky
Their power bill dropped by a few grand.
pres465
And gained an actual ice maker.
sochilln
ENIAC has entered the chat
MaintenanceGuyHere
Those punchcards don't look that old. Im guessing product support, i miss when companies would back their products
Psycopaz
I hate the "old shit just worked" bull that these posts always generate. Yeah the good shit still works decades later, the crap broke long enough ago that people forgot about it!
MaddogDelphi1997
It probably does but it also possibly uses more electricity than the more modern washing machines.
Isorikk
Probably louder than my neighbor's truck, too
AbsolutelyNotBacon
"BeT iT StiLl WOrKs" that washing machine was approximately $7000-$9000 (inflation adjusted) when new btw. People tend to forget the main reason why people used to fix their appliances instead of replacing them is because they used to be VERY expensive. And the one in the image was on the high end. Cheap washers started at like $2500.
cousteau
Remember that the first punch card operated machine was a loom.
EmperorCartagia
The 1950s saw great appliances because of WWII. Combat engineers got out, used their 100% GI Bill to go to actual Engineering School, and then designed things with the philosophy of "make it tough enough to airdrop/survive a crash landing, and get shot at" without a bunch of penny pinching MBAs tut-tutting about material costs or using planned obsolescence to try and guarantee repeat purchases.
Now everything's plastic and designed to fail once the warranty's run out.
kraeftig
Works, maybe. But also they're probably paying a premium for a washing machine in their surely labeled "newly renovated!" rental
egoAristippos
What you don’t even need to install an app (giving someone your personal data for free) nor a login (one of dozens you will forget right away) to get your clothes washed?
Tarmaccian
Clearly we need to reinforce the wing tips, since that’s where all the bullet holes are…
ByThePowerOfSCIENCE
btw, that bomber story has been distorted to death by the Internet. Not even the mil types were dumb enough to think that a/a fire would prefer certain spots in the plane. They _asked_ a mathematician Abraham Wald for recommendations, and he knew what he was working with starting with "the planes that didn't come back must've taken more hits in the _other_ places".
Type17
My mum had a Hoover Keymatic in the 1970s - came with two thick plastic cards with various indents around the four edges, and on both sides. It was considered very advanced for the time, as most washing machines only had a few possible settings, but it had a total of 16 possible programs.
Knifesmith
I had a maytag washer that lasted 26 years, and finally and sadly was given away because the place we were moving to came with a bright and shiny new samsung washer.
Yeah, I've already had to repair the Samsung, less than 1 year into having it.
zeacorzeppelin10
I did not know there were washing machines that had Punch Cards
Type17
Have a look for the Hoover Keymatic deluxe - my mum had one in the 1970s (in Ireland - it was a UK/Irl model). Came with two thick, square cards with indents on the four edges, and on both sides, for a total of 16 programs.
AbelardSnazz
We had one of those! I liked to pretend I was in Star Trek, feeding programs into the computer!
HowlingRollercoaster2
Yeah I'm wondering how it works?
zeacorzeppelin10
The only video I can find is a descriptionless video of how it works and just a demonstration of it working with the parts.
https://youtu.be/WQK5q19EKIk?is=XeCB3_nHp_NJJ5yU
cousteau
My guess is, the punch card goes through a reader using a motor, and the machine spins, floods, flushes, or heats depending on whether each track has a hole or not. The reader might be mechanical or optical.
HarbingerOfThis
While a funny meme, and while there is real inshittification to increase sales, everyone should also look up "survivor bias".
Svartsinn
Now companies engineer a defect in their product and slap an arbitration clause on the box it ships in so you can't sue them when their product predictably fails in a specific way! https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/consumer/lg-refrigerators-failures-update/3465620/
blaghart
idk if you know this but you can just fix your washing machine and/or dryer. They literally sell the parts individually and they're quite cheap.
TheobromineAddict
Not really. The computerized control board is almost always between 1/3 and 1/2 the cost of an entire new replacement. Really annoying because I believe most appliances could run on a $60 Arduino.
blaghart
I just replaced the control board and heating element on mine and it was 700 bucks cheaper than a new washer...
NickRivieraMD
you can get em used on ebay usually. You'd need an arduino and a bunch of components.
barbarian818
Even an Arduino would be overkill. There have been no truly new features really in decades. A BASIC stamp could operate it. Older machines just used what amounts to an electric clock and a few relays.
znuff
There's been dozens of new features, the fuck you mean?
barbarian818
Things like shot of steam, low water use etc have been a thing in the commercial industrial space for a long time.
Eldibs
Survivor bias. You only see the old ones that survived, but not all the ones that didn't make it.
r0b0tc0rpse
That may be part of it, but truthfully we have cost-optimized everything into oblivion. Not only were they made better, they were less complex, so fewer things to go wrong. As they mentioned, electronic control boards are prone to failure, a mechanical computer like this will probably outlast civilization.
Eldibs
Depends on the electronics, too. Some are quite robust and basically live forever if they aren't mistreated, and some are doomed to die sooner or later. For example, CPUs and motherboards for desktop computers. A well-treated CPU will basically live forever, but motherboards die quite frequently. This is why the CPU in my server cost me basically $30 (when it released it was an $1850 CPU), but getting the motherboard for it cost as much as buying a new modern one.
r0b0tc0rpse
That's going to come down to the capacitors, chokes, or maybe some of the ICs... but the quantity of components means lots of opportunities for failure.
Eldibs
In my experience, it's mostly capacitors. Capacitors suck, except in RAM for some reason I am not knowledgeable enough to know.
r0b0tc0rpse
there are different kinds of caps, cheap ones fail
FireSolvesProblems
My parents washer and dryer were from 78, they died three months ago.
chevymonster
My condolences on your loss. Do the appliances still work?
DOcelot1
My LG top loader lasted 10 years before needing a small service.
barbarian818
My LG top loader lasted 18 mths before it needed a new transmission. The unbalanced load sensor is too forgiving. It will happily beat itself to death. And it locks the drum until 10 s after full stop, making it impossible to see the imbalance and fix it. And since day 1 it's had this known glitch where it turns on the drain pump in the middle of the night. There is no fix because the "new" control boards are really just NOS.
DOcelot1
Ouch. Well, mine is still going strong
kranchan
The whole "old stuff was better" isn't entirely true. Much of it is just survivor bias.
rbudrick
Yes, but nothing made in the last 20 years works 10 years.
PithyCommentBelow
Not better. But often simpler, focusing on core functionality. And often were repairable.
yeahhedugit
Refrigerator compressors were much better 30 years ago.
astrangehop
That old "survivorship bias" bit isn't entirely true. Sure, the filter of time is absolutely a thing, but on the other hand we just didn't build things to be just above the line for breaking. A brass desk lamp that's cast 3/8 will withstand the test of time, a gooseneck steel one has a 1/16 flange that bends. A log cabin might be 250 years old because of good workmanship, drainage, and maintaince, but it's also not held together with glue. Etcetc. Plus the popular brands of yore were good...
astrangehop
Like some LG washers are fantastic, and some die within two years.
zylokun
So the survivors are all from 60 years ago or older, always survive better than their brethren, and don't have any of the modern problems with them. They are better. Get overbit
AbsolutelyNotBacon
And everyone keeps forgetting how fucking expensive appliances used to be. People say they don't like how everything is made in china or india nowadays but they sure love not paying two months wages for a fridge. Just look up any appliance prices in the 60s or 70s and throw that number in an inflation calculator.
Banzai51
I was a kid in the 70s/80s and my Parents, Aunts, and Uncles all bitched about how appliances were not built to last and harder to repair. Planned obsolescence was thrown around quite a bit. To hear everyone now talk about how those things were tanks is hilarious.
cousteau
What is true is that things weren't designed to break, they were designed to last (as much as possible within the budget). Inheriting stuff from your parents was common. (Some of it was crap though.)
AK90
Not to mention the fact that they were woefully inefficient, especially fridge/freezers.
Mack1986
"My 40 year old garage fridge still works" yeah and costs more electricity to run the just buying a new fridge
Detrimentality
I've always hated this argument as it's got the "stop buying a coffee a day and you can buy a house" vibes. An old fridge at the high end would use 1200kWh/yr where as new one is 500. That's a savings of like $150/yr or 10 years to pay for itself.
kranchan
Efficiency often pays for itself pretty quickly.
JayEnfield
A popular mechanics mag I have from the 1950s laments how the new appliances are all impossible to repair and not built to 1920s standards.
wizardofaus
The old stuff that wasn't good died and was sent to a landfill.
khora
The old stuff that survived sucked electricity like a space heater and off-gassed brominated flame retardants.
BestofUwU
The old stuff was thicker so once cold it stayed colder longer but with older compressors and refrigerant it took longer for your fridge to get to the desired temp especially after loading a bunch of warm groceries. The new stuff gets stuff colder faster and might run more times a day to cool temps but never for extended periods of time like the older stuff did. You get energy savings and you don't hear your fridge as much. I remember our lights used to flicker when the old fridge kicked on.
OhIfIMust
My grandma still had one of the lockable ones that kids could get stuck in.
And no, I never got stuck in it.
Cebrail
It's mostly much more sturdy, because it was made with long-lasting materials.
It's almost also incredible ineffecient and if it breaks, nearly impossible to repair.
Like the eternal "My fridge is from the Jurassic Period and still works". Yes, it does. It also uses the same amount of power as 24 new fridges and prolly leak various metals.
PirateArrrgument
The bias comes from the fact that so much of it survived functionally to this very day. The stuff that ended up in landfills was because the families were Boomers and were upgrading to keep up with the Joneses. Most of the machines that ended up in landfills worked fine up to the day they were discarded, and salvaging dated but functional machines is why junkyards were profitable.
DarkZalgo
My dude, the only reason you don't hear that about new stuff is because they haven't fucking existed long enough. I just bought a house two months ago and it had nothing but 20-30+ year old appliances. Sure they technically worked but they were all fucking awful. The first thing we did was replace every last one of them because we couldn't stand it for more than a week.
PirateArrrgument
They were left behind because those specific ones were awful, I imagine. If they hadn't been they almost certainly would have been taken with the previous owners. Again, a form of survivorship bias. Still, adjusting to a new (to you) machine is always annoying and troublesome.
DarkZalgo
It wasn't just some specific ones, it was all of them, and it wasn't just annoying, they were just shit dude. The washer could barely handle 3/4 of a load without banging against the wall and made our clothes smell, the dryer needed multiple cycles to dry and emitted a random loud buzzer while drying, the microwave didn't cook properly, the oven/stove didn't heat evenly and took forever to heat, the fridge froze shit and didn't keep other stuff cold enough and had issues with the ice maker.
DarkZalgo
They all technically "worked" in that they performed their intended function, but they were just awful at doing it in every sense of the word.
duhqueenmoki
idk, don't we all still have an old fridge running in the garage that's been running since the 1950s with no sign of stopping? (or our parents have one?)
znuff
Put a kill-a-watt on it, and prepare to be horrified.
EstellaOsoka
It isn't that they were better. It is that they were reliable and simpler. The fact that most appliances cost more to repair than replace is pure bullshit.
AbsolutelyNotBacon
Appliances were magnitutes more expensive back then. Simple washing machines in the US in the 60 started at an inflation adjusted $2000. The one in the post was probably closer to $8000. Of course people used to pay $250 to fix their $2000 machine. Now you can get a whole new one for $250.
Trunkmonkay
If you think things were more reliable, you weren't around to experience how shitty things were. "Appliance repairman" was a literal fuckin job that was a major necessity because of how utterly unreliable appliances were.
If things were more reliable, nobody would have replaced their shit with new shit.
EstellaOsoka
Dude, been around this world since 1972. I remember making simple repairs to my car, washer and dryer, and coffee makers. Fridge worked like a champ for over 20 years before it was damaged in a tornado. These days you can't change a simple thermostat on your car with having an engineering and computing degree. Not to mention taking half the engine compartment apart to get to it.
Trunkmonkay
"I need a degree to change my car battery battery!" Is not an insult to how modern cars are made, genuinely a you issue.
And again, constantly needing to repair your car, washer, fridge, dryer, etc is not an argument for how reliable they are. Old garbage had to be easy to fix because it constantly needed to be fixed.
EstellaOsoka
Did I say car battery? No, I said a thermostat. You know the one that can either lock open or closed? The one that regulates how radiator fluid moves from engine to radiator and around. Every machine needs maintenance. Reliability is based on how long those major parts last and how often you need to perform maintenance upkeep on things like drive belts and gaskets. The items not meant to last and should be easily replaceable when needed.
BestofUwU
Did people forget that the "Maytag Man" was a repairman? The joke was that he was the loneliest guy in town because everyone else was getting work and nobody called him.
Xenarion
Appliance repairman was a job because it was cheaper to repair than to replace. Mass production costs have gone down, and at the same time devices are made harder to repair.
Trunkmonkay
Nope, it's because appliances broke down all the goddamn time. An appliance back then cost the same as an appliance today adjusting for inflation and devices can be harder to repair because they don't need to be repaired as often. If appliances were as reliable as you think, then nobody would have bought new appliances.
Tell me you weren't there without telling me you weren't there.
Xenarion
I've repaired both old and new machines. Old ones are much easier to repair. Part of it being because new machines are more complex, part because the replacement parts are over half the price of the full machine, and part because they are manufactured to be purposefully harder to repair.
drousnavat
Unlike the fuckass Samsung I paid 900 for that's computer died after 25 months with a 2 year warranty.
MithrandirGi
They should ban products with less than 5 years warranty
GrandmasterSpank
I only buy 2nd hand stuff. Plenty of 60...70..80 year old people die or move to a nursing home and then leave behind old appliances. Their 40-50 year old children dont need a 2nd dryer, washing machine or fridge so they bring it to the junkyard or one of those "trash stores". The fewer computer/display/touchscreen there is on the machine, the better. My latest find is a Siemens Extraklasse TK washing machine from from 1995, it still has the 4x dampers and only cost 50 bucks :D
bippityboppitybuttsex
If you are looking for a bullet-proof old school washer/dryer, I got a Speed Queen and it came with a 7 year warranty.
HalfADozenBearCubs
During COVID shut down (more a minor speed bump in the Midwest) i tried to buy a speed queen from a dealer. Even refurbished models had a 3-5 month wait list and were $1500-$1800 minimum. New, I haven't checked in a few years but I never saw one for under $2500. But yes, they are the gold standard for commercial/big family use. If you can afford it.
bippityboppitybuttsex
I mean, they are nowhere near $2500 (unless you buy a set...)... they aren't cheap, but they aren't super spendy (esp if you want to buy the last washer and dryer you are ever going to buy).
https://www.abt.com/brand/speed-queen
wejustdontknow
Is that the one that plays a goddam aria when the load is done?
DJThuglifeSupreme
Our LG does that. Annoying as fuck, especially trying to do laundry while the little one is napping. Practically like the ice cream truck coming down the street
TheyCanCome4You
You can turn it off in the settings
wejustdontknow
Not on mine. Trust me, I've looked and read the manual and contacted Samsung. The only way to stop it is snip the speaker wire.
StarscreamAndHutch
Yeah. Fuck samsung appliances.
ironymus
I got a repair man for my 13 year old Bosch dishwasher. The operator didn't even ask how old my machine is. They took my order and sent the repair man.
In the end it was only the valve that was half way stuck with limestone deposition.
cousteau
Yeah, they do design things that way. Bet it had wifi though.
AncientTerror
same here
bakerguy1337
We buy some used/refurbished non smart washer and driers like every 10+ years. Foir around 250 each.
BestofUwU
Korean companies namely LG make the majority of profits by selling large quantities of inferior models to 3rd world countries to sell them repair parts. They actually lose money on their "luxury models" which are decent but overpriced. That should tell you everything you need to know about their "mid-grade" or normal consumer items(just slightly more reliable than trash). You literally get what you overpay for with a Samsung or LG.
LenneSamunai
https://media4.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPWE1NzM3M2U1YjlteDZ4dXVzZXI0eXNnc3B2YmZldzhwbW1rYndwM25jbjhqbDV1aCZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/WxDZ77xhPXf3i/200w.webp
Minoes
if (months old > 24) {break down}
SavageDrums
That those assholes get away with a 2 year warranty is one of the many, many ways that capitalism sucks balls.
Arcanum3000
Yeah, don't buy Samsung. If you want similar features and price, go LG. Still not going to be world-class durability, but it's pretty decent and better than Samsung.
vaiperu
Same, and I saved up and bought a Miele for 1500 and extra 300 for a 10 year warranty extension.
JohnSmithterms
Yup my samsung died after 5 years .... 2nd time this has happened. Eat ... the .... rich
HearMeFart
My Samsung's touch control stopped working three months after the warranty ended. They had to swap the whole mainboard to fix it, which cost about half of what a new machine would cost.
cokebot9000
My Samsung bricked itself with an over the air update. They needed to replace the entire. fucking. machine..
cokebot9000
I realize I am 2% at fault for connecting it to the Wi-Fi
petrovpoo
Depending on which country you live in, consumer laws can come in to play on warranties vs expected life of a product.
SergeyPrkl
So, it was replaced with warranty? expected product lifetime is way longer. Oh but you no Europe?
Toqom
But a new one and return the broken one as defective lol. When I worked at CompUSA that's what I did for people when they brought in their broken shit. Returned it to the company, no receipt needed.
PickleRiiiiiiiiiiiiick
My Samsung washer/dryer are going on 10 years. Only needed to replace the agitator in the washer. Did it myself, part cost like 7 bucks.
Orionsdick
Right on schedule
Raventhief
Look how clever those companies have gotten.
Elonth
IF an appliance connect to the internet with a 2 year warranty. And said appliacne electronics fail right after the warranity runs out from your purchase that wasn't an accident or a quality issue. That was a malicious intentional failure if not outright kill switch.
drousnavat
I bought a used one from 1994 that works perfect. Why the FUCK does a washing machine need internet connection and a fucking 200 dollar circuit board in it anyway?
Bobbobbobobbananafanafobob
So they can make the same circuit board design and bluprint once and then solder on cheap components for the entry model and quality components and extras for the premium models without having to pay for different manufacturing designs.
Also, leaded solder lasts forever compared to modern stuff but is horrible for everyone.
Raventhief
So it'll break down 30 days after the warranty expires and they can charge you as much as it costs to build for repairs.
tentacularfleshscape
Digital rights management laws let them stop people from fixing shit if it's computerized, and the chips can reject aftermarket parts/be remotely bricked by updates
do7rkb5n
Maybe we should learn how to bypass this stuff
diepgat
Never buy samsung for kitchen/washing/bathroom appliances.
Siemens, Miele, Bosch, and maybe whirlpool are the ONLY brands that can make washers (and dryers) that dont shit the bed in less then 2 years. They usually have 5+ years of warranty and parts will be available for the next few centuries. you can expect these things to work for 20 years easily.
Evenmoreuselessname
My LG set has been going for 11 years no troubles so far?
dorpjorp
100% this answer plus www.appliancepartspros.com/
mybrothersmario
Fairly costly, but Speed Queen is also makes solid washers and dryers.
justareallylongemailaddress
Never buy Samsung. Got it.
ElbowDeepInAPoliceState
Samsung absolutely can make them last longer, they design them to fail. Miele, whirlpool and bosch all do it too. Don't know about siemens, but I'd be shocked if they weren't also in the designed obsolescence racket
Whatdoyousaytoanicecupoftea
My fucking Samsung washing machine demands i run a "deep clean cycle" every month or so. 90 degree for 2 hours. Manual states that not doing it voids the warranty. You just know the fucker is recording the number of times...and IF I got a "qualified" Samsung engineer to fix it when it breaks down...this will be the first thing they check.
ontarioOT
My folks have had a Miele dishwasher for like 25 years. Still runs like a champ.
diepgat
Miele's entire schtick is that their devices last long enough to be heirlooms. My Siemens dryer and my bosch washer are both 15 years in use now. New ones come with 5-10 years of warranty so I don't think these brands do planned obsolescence. WHirlpool could be on team planned obsolescence but they also give 5 years warranty and keep parts available forever like the others do, and that doesnt really fit with planned obsolescence.
ElbowDeepInAPoliceState
Having a 5 year warranty means they're built to last that long, and only that long, planned obsolescence isn't a specified timeframe. Spare parts availability right now doesn't confer to future availability. Modern home appliances last about 3/4 to half as long as they used to, on average.
diepgat
Well like I said, parts are in fact available for decades for these brands. And my devices had 5 years of warranty and are now 15 years old. Planned obsolescence was already a thing in the early 2000's so it's not like my stuff predates it. These brands arent showing any signs of planned obsolesence. Whirlpool maybe, Never owned one myself but most consider it on par with brands like Braun or Siemens. Miele devices just go on for 30 years or more. Some Euro brands really are just that good.