Love how we have all accepted the designed-to-fail stage of capitalism to such a degree that my plumber can warn me to my face "this water heater is not going to last as long as your old water heater" and I just shrug and sigh and he just shrugs and sighs

I’m sorry G. We’ve been there with the water heater and in the last two months with the washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, and stove/oven.

JEEZUS. Like, we know things are no longer made to last, but the out-in-the-open statement is still...disheartening.

💯 I just replaced mine, lasted 15 years, and plumber said I was very lucky. 8-10 for the new one. And, apropos absolutely nothing, please, please write another Alif book! 😆

We got the same warning when we bought our fridge.

I remember learning about planned obsolescence in sixth grade, I’m 68 years old. This has been going on for a long time. 😡

And is more expensive than the old one, in so many circumstances.

We're *really* lucky to have a store that sells appliance parts in our town. We had to replace the thermostat in the fridge to keep it running a while longer and not paying for labor was huge. We're lucky in that regard, to have access to real people who can help find the right parts in-person.

I told my in-laws I want their old-school Maytag top-loading washer when they die. It still works and it's in the will.

The owner of the appliance store we liked closed his doors because of this. He said he spent more time doing repairs than selling things and he was sick of it, so he quit.

On the sort of bright side, it means an opportunity to replace with heat pump water heaters as people’s old ones die? 🤷🏻‍♀️ and get rid of gas…