We grow attached to our home appliances, and most families will try to preserve their stove, fridge or washer / dryer combo so as to save money and not give up the trusty old machines.
There comes a time, however, in every appliance’s life, when the homeowner is facing the question that may have been nagging at him or her for years. Should I put this machine out and upgrade to shiny new one with a 2 year warranty. Our recommended answer to this is – not today.
In addition to the obvious reasons of monetary savings and the fact that the 20 year old stove will likely outlive the new one, three times over (they really don’t make them like they used to), there is another reason to call the appliance repairman instead of the junk removal company.
The environment.
This is a question that a homeowner faces every time a stove or refrigerator breaks. And the right way to go about it is to call the appliance repair specialist, if repair is still possible. It may seem like a good idea to go for replacement if you can afford it, but from an environmental perspective – repair makes much, much more sense.
Let’s Examine the Numbers
Americans throw out 9,000,000 refrigerators every single year. Yes, the landfill owners manage to recycle some of the parts but mostly, they just don’t bother. This leads to piles of the decaying machines just standing there and releasing toxic gases into the atmosphere we breathe. Proper recycling facilities are not feasible for those appliances, and the result is an enormous ecological footprint. A footprint we can reduce – by repairing the appliances instead of throwing them out.
Keep in mind that the 9 M number refers to refrigerators only. A comparable amount of washer / dryers, stoves, dishwashers and A/C units are discarded annually as well. This makes over 60,000,000 appliances per year.
To emphasize this point, this means that over the course of 5 years, the number of appliances dumped into the landfill will roughly equal the population of the United States of America. That’s how much we throw out. And some of it is not really junk yet.
The Awakening – New Sustainable Appliance Ownership
In a growing effort to be more environmentally friendly, many consumers across the country look to purchase energy efficient, long lasting appliance units, but the truth is that even those machines sometimes malfunction and break down. To keep drawing benefits and energy savings from your machine, you will need to contact a qualified appliance repair specialist. Those professionals observe industry development and have an acute understanding of these appliances and their operation.
Another good approach that can help preserve the environment when it comes to appliances is to adhere to the manufacturer’s specific instructions. The manual provided by the supplier will usually include guidelines that will not only make the machine run more efficiently but will also help extend its lifecycle. For instance, it will indicate how much to fill a washing machine or a dishwasher, or how often to provide preventative maintenance to a fridge.
Being a responsible consumer in our day and age means getting yourself informed and making the right environmental choices. For both your benefit and everybody else’s. A well cared-for appliance will both serve you longer and better, and reduce the amount of trash we put in the landfills and pollution in the air.
For Lack of a Better Option
We are still far from the times when appliances will be produced in a way that makes them virtually indestructible. We dream of a time when broken parts can be simply removed without any harm to the rest of the appliance. When casing will be completely rust-free and rubber pipes will never dry up and crack. Alternately, we’d love to see a world where any, and every, discarded appliance is taken apart and re-used for building other things, without even the smallest bits going to waste.
The reality is, however, that we have neither option available at the moment, and will just have to make do with appliances that are more efficient than 10 years ago but are not yet immortal, and with a recycling system that is also far from perfect. While the world is slowly working its way to perfection, we should all do our part and recycle whenever and whatever we can, in a common effort to reduce our eco footprint as much as possible. Besides, you know that the new fridge will not be anywhere near as comfortable as this one!
It’s never too late to let a good, old trusty appliance go, but it can be too soon. Appliance repair simply makes sense.
This post was contributed by AJ Appliance Inc – specialist in repairing of all major household appliances.
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