I can well remember the story of an old Sears refrigerator that they carted all over Wyoming to Laredo Texas when my Dad was in the Air Force back in the 50's. Then they packed it to Richmond, Kentucky and used it for years. Later, it was installed in a apartment and it might still be there! It's over 50 years old! They don't make them like they used to! I was up for the task when a friend mentioned the ugly pink refrigerator in an apartment they bought at auction and were renovating. "Let me see it... I need a picture of it's ugliness for my story!" I said. Off we went to check it out. Sure enough....it sho was ugly! Can you imagine a marketing sales meeting at Frigidare where they discussed the latest line of colors and someone suggested pink? Who would vote for that? The whole reason of my story was really to discuss why appliances are not made like they used to be? They are breaking down after a few years and the parts are sooo expensive! Why is that? It's almost cheaper to buy a new one. That's the whole idea! Nothing is made well anymore. If it were made sturdy like a tank there would be no need to buy a new one unless it were pink and you change the decor. Here's more of the discussion and why we are almost forced to buy new appliances. REQUEST A KENTUCKY RELOCATION PACKET! Finding a new Kentucky home with VA Loans has never been so easy! Just click on the links below. LEXINGTON KY RESIDENTIAL HOMES FOR SALE RICHMOND KY RESIDENTIAL HOMES FOR SALE Lizette Fitzpatrick- Principal Broker at Lizette Realty. For more information on Kentucky Horse Farms and Lexington KY real estate click on Lizette.us. Copyright 2011 by Lizette Fitzpatrick *Why Throw Out That Ugly Pink Refrigerator?*
Ahhhh... "those were the good old days," my Mom and Dad used to say.
Lizette,
LOL, that antique may be worth some money to a retro collector!
You figured it out. They are NOT as good as they used to be. We are a throwaway society now. Part of this is caused by companies with American names now using crappy (yes, crappy) parts NOT made here. Our participation in world commerce is strictly as a consumer now, sadly.
We no longer make much of anything.
It was probably gleaming like a pink Cadillac in it's day!
Boy! Don't get me started on appliances... We remodeled our home in 2006, buying all new appliances - and not low end ones. Fast forward to 2011, our washing machine and refrigerator both went out within the same week! And we replaced the dishwasher about 6 months ago! I'm thinkin' I like that ugly old pink fridge...:)
Lizette, funny.
I bet some macho guy in that sales meeting thought pink would sell better to the ladies who would use them, or some chauvinistic idea like that. Maybe I better quit watching Mad Men. LOL
What a beautiful refrigerator, Lizette!
Some comments from me on the new "Green, Energy Efficient Appliances" and Water Saving Toilets, etc.:
New Washing Machines (especially those Water-Saver Front Loaders) have to be run 3 or 4 times to get the clothes clean.
Toilets have to be flushed at least twice, sometimes 3 times.
Dishwashers? Effective this past July 2010, Cascade and Electrolyte no longer contain Phosphates... so your dishes will not come clean. (Some people go to Commercial Restaurant Supply Stores; the detergent they sell is exempt, it will clean your dishes).
Shower Heads? Yes, it is a violation of Federal Law (no joke) to take them apart and pull out the filters, or drill holes in them with a Power Drill to increase water flow, but many people do it anyway. It beats the feeling of being rained on that the Water Saver shower heads give you.
Go with the Old. It was prettier, better, and much more efficient :)
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I will concede: new Refrigerators are more energy efficient... But I could drive a Kia instead of a Full-Sized Car... it comes down to personal preference.
The money you save in repairs on that old refrigerator will be a fraction of the additional cost of electricity to operate it as compared to a modern, energy-efficient refrigrator.
Check out the Energy Star Refrigerator Retirement Savings Calculator at www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=refrig.calculator .
A 19.0-21.4 CF upright refrigerator with the freezer on top (like the one shown in your post) made before 1980 (that is as far back as they go) and electricity costing 11.1 cents per KH (kilowatt-hour) - the national average - costs $245.87 per year to operate. A comparable Energy Star-rated refrigerator costs $45 per year to operate.
So that wonderful old refrigerator that never needs repairing uses an additional $200 EVERY YEAR in electricity. After 5 years the old refrigerator will have cost you $1,000 more to operate than a new, Energy Star-rated refrigerator. That's a LOT of repairs.
Mom bought a used international harvester freige in 1955. It still worked when I sold the house in 1998 after she passed away!
Hmmm....I'm learning a lot reading your comments! Thanks guys!
But Bruce #7, how much energy is spent in making a new refrigerator every 4-5 years to replace that energy star? I could go off on this subject. But, I won't. Products are given guarantees and made to last just that long. Think about your furnace heat exchanger for a minute. Steel from the 40's and 50's is still good today. Exchangers from the 90's are all cracked.
Lizette - You could always consider donating the old appliances to the Smithsonian. It might fit in quite nicely beside Julia Child's kitchen.
I see some great comments up there that could be posts! Very interesting.
To echo Glenn, I would say that "planned obsolence" is false economy and there is a lot of reasons why the government would be interested in supporting a false economy.
I also remember harvest gold and avocado green appliances. Those I grew up with. And you are right, they do not make them like they used to.
Oh, I like it! I would actually like one of those small, rounded corner style ones... but that's just me. We just can't win, it is a conspiracy.
Pink will be coming back in style again... just do not know when :)
your friend in Charlottesville
Lizette, I see lots of pink and lavender and lime green. Nice.
<< But Bruce #7, how much energy is spent in making a new refrigerator every 4-5 years to replace that energy star? I could go off on this subject. But, I won't. Products are given guarantees and made to last just that long. Think about your furnace heat exchanger for a minute. Steel from the 40's and 50's is still good today. Exchangers from the 90's are all cracked.>>
Glenn,
Would you keep driving a 1947 DeSoto as your everyday car even though it gets only 6 mpg or would it make sense to park it and get a modern car that gets 30 mpg?
Would you keep a 1950s furnace that on its best day was 60% efficient (and after over 50 years is probably operating now at closer to 50% efficiency) or would it make sense to upgrade to a modern, energy-efficient furnace that operates at 95% efficiency? (Stated another way, would you rather 50 cents of your heating dollar going up the chimney or would you rather 5 cents of your heating dollar going up your chimney?)
Lizette, you readers seem to focus on energy efficency and not that things aren't made the way they use to be. How much better for our pockets and the enviroment if the new "energy efficent" appliances were made as well as appliances were in the past? I don't think that being energy efficent forces the manufacture to make lower quality, do you?
Hey Liz, that is awesome!! We have on in our garage and Adam, being very handy will fix it up so we can still use it :) Summer fun time :) when it's fixed up I'll post a pic of it :)
Liz - And to go with the pink, gold and pea green appliances were the pink, and baby blue toilets and tubs.