How long should things last?

[ponytug]

^^^
Did the flashlight still work?

That was my first thought, too! The old batteries were zinc- carbon, non-alkaline, so dead, but they hadn't leaked. Two new D-cells, and "TaaDaa"! It worked.

It is on the backup shelf pending time to put an LED bulb in with a few more lumens.

All the best, Peter

 

[MossRoad]

That reminds me. The house came with the original appliances. Say mid-80s. The dryer always had this clunking sound that I chalked up to out of round / old bearing. After we had had it for fifteen years, one of the thermal sensors went, so I bought two new ones, and opened it up to replace thermal sensors. Piece of cake, ten minute job. The icing on the cake was a D-cell flashlight that someone had left inside the dryer for me.

No more clunking! I do wonder how many decades the flashlight was in there.

We also always leave the washer and dryer doors ajar.

All the best, Peter

A year ago I was watching a service tech replace the detergent dispenser system on a one year old front load washer. He dropped a screwdriver down the front of the machine so it was in the bottom right front corner of the machine as you face it. He had to disassemble half the machine to get to that corner to fish it out. Added a good hour to the job.

Fast forward to last week, different service tech, that same detergent dispenser went out again, and, they had to change the bellows (big rubber ring) that acts as the door seal and gasket as well (mold). The guy removed the top, and about 5-6 screws and the entire front of the machine lifted off. I noticed easy access to the area where the other tech dropped his screwdriver. Would have been a 5 minute job.