Another Example of Our "Disposable" Society

Pops15 · Jun 30, 2010

MossRoad said:
Lead poisoning in children caused by lead house paint(good old American made house paint) is a well documented fact. Don't dismiss it if you live in an older home with flaking paint. This happens a lot in inner-city homes that have become rental units.

I remember when lead poisoning was caused by leaded gasoline. :confused2:
Flaking paint isn't the culprit nearly as much as lead dust.....or so they say.
Blood lead levels have dropped 84% since the early 1980's according to the EPA but the low IQ and violence problems supposedly caused by lead paint are as bad as ever amongst "inner city non-Hispanic black children" as the EPA calls them. I'm certain the parents "lifestyle" factors aren't considered as to why that group of kids continues to have the same problems even though blood lead levels have dropped so dramatically.
The EPA found it a tough sell with the inner city kids problems. They've now changed tacts and are saying more affluent groups are seeing elevated blood lead levels because white people are remodeling their homes.

Yes, there are legitimate concerns about lead paint but the EPA's new rules are ridiculous.

keegs · Jun 30, 2010

Pops15 said:
I remember when lead poisoning was caused by leaded gasoline. :confused2:
Flaking paint isn't the culprit nearly as much as lead dust.....or so they say.
Blood lead levels have dropped 84% since the early 1980's according to the EPA but the low IQ and violence problems supposedly caused by lead paint are as bad as ever amongst "inner city non-Hispanic black children" as the EPA calls them. I'm certain the parents "lifestyle" factors aren't considered as to why that group of kids continues to have the same problems even though blood lead levels have dropped so dramatically.
The EPA found it a tough sell with the inner city kids problems. They've now changed tacts and are saying more affluent groups are seeing elevated blood lead levels because white people are remodeling their homes.

Yes, there are legitimate concerns about lead paint but the EPA's new rules are ridiculous.

Pops...I've read here and there of speculation about a correlation between the reduction in juvenile crime rates some years after the federal mandate to begin removing lead from gasoline. I don't think there's ever been proven causality but the reduction in urban violent crime (and I assume that includes juvenile crime) has been dramatic since the mid nineties.

jinman · Jun 30, 2010

Bird said:
Dan, we bought new Maytag washer & dryer from Sears, and after a little over 3 years, the washing machine was dead and they wanted more to fix it than it cost new. So we went back to Kenmore by Whirlpool.

Bird, did you let them pick up the old washer when they delivered the new one? There is a whole cottage industry of people who buy trade-in appliances and refurbish/resell them. Last year, our Maytag/Amana topload washer started leaking from the tub seal for the 2nd time. I told Kathy we should look for a new one, but she wanted to see what we could find used (gotta love her!). I looked on craiglist and found a used appliance dealer near Haslet, TX. They seemed to have lots of stuff, so we took the pickup and drove down there.

The owner told us that he bought trade-in appliances in lots of 50 from all the box stores and others. He has a crew of 4 guys who fix and do multiple tests of appliances before putting them on the market. Most washers sell for less than $150 and a side-by-side refrigerator is typically $250 or less in good shape.

Well, we found a Bosch frontload washer and asked him the price. He said $200. Kathy asked if he could give us a discount since we were there with cash and a pickup for an easy sale. The fellow said he couldn't lower the price because his wife had said not to sell it for less. Then, Kathy asked him if he could give us a discount on the ice maker door solenoid we were also buying. I was shocked when the guy threw the solenoid in for free with the washer. I told Kathy I wanted to take her with me the next time I bought anything. What a deal!

So, we got the Bosch frontload washer and it has done well for a year. The refrigerator icemaker door is also working perfectly. I was ready to junk that refrigerator, but the door made it tolerable.

My point is that we sometimes think we are throwing something away, but it actually gets recycled by somebody who makes a good living like the fellow at this used appliance store. :thumbsup:

BTW: We told the guy we could bring our old Maytag washer to him and drop it off easily since Kathy's mom and dad live in Haslet. He just laughed and said Maytags didn't move very well and they were hard to fix. Knowing that, your washer may have ended up on the scrap heap if you traded it in.

tulenutn2o · Jun 30, 2010

keegs said:
Pops...I've read here and there of speculation about a correlation between the reduction in juvenile crime rates some years after the federal mandate to begin removing lead from gasoline. I don't think there's ever been proven causality but the reduction in urban violent crime (and I assume that includes juvenile crime) has been dramatic since the mid nineties.

I guess the rampant rise in gang related activity in recent years does not count then? As an accountant once told me, "we can make the numbers appear however someone wants them to appear." Says it all.

Bedlam · Jun 30, 2010

Jinman, :thumb sup:Thats a great story. I will have to research around here. I think a well refurbished is probably as good as a new one ,give the problem we all seem to have with the new ones.
Also got a chuckly out of the 'discount' part. If he threw in the solenoid, it seems that his story about his wife(SWMBO) is more plausible.LIL:laughing: apparently she had no control over the solenoid. :thumbsup:

dmccarty · Jun 30, 2010

Bird said:
Dan, we bought new Maytag washer & dryer from Sears, and after a little over 3 years, the washing machine was dead and they wanted more to fix it than it cost new. So we went back to Kenmore by Whirlpool.

During my research the Kenmore front loading washing machines were made by Whirlpool and Fridgider around the time we bought ours. Both brands had their problems. Some of them seemed very similar.

When our Maytag fridge's compressor had problems a few years ago, thankfully just barely still in warranty, I looked at Bosch. I have to go look and see if Bosch is anymore reliable than Whirlpool, GE, etc.

It really does seem that these things are just made to fail in 10 years or so. If you are lucky....

As part of my Rationalization that we got our money out of the washer.....

If we paid $1,200 for the washer and it lasts 10 years that works out to 33 cents a day. I would guess we do one or two loads of clothes a day so we got our money's worth out of the washer. :laughing: Back in the city the washer saved us $25-50 a month in water bills. The savings in the water bills paid for the washer that is for sure.

But I think I should have gotten more that 10 years out of the thing.

Later,
Dan