Appliances Use Fragile Plastics in Key Parts
A common design strategy in the industry places low-quality plastic components in the areas that receive the most force. These strategic failure points condemn the appliance to a limited lifespan, even though its motor and electronics continue to function. 🛠️
The Achilles' Heel of Your Washing Machine
It's no coincidence that the door handle, the detergent drawer latch, or the start button breaks. Manufacturers choose weak materials for parts that the user handles constantly. This design ensures that, after a certain number of cycles, something fails and forces you to act.
Immediate consequences of the breakage:- The appliance becomes inoperable or very uncomfortable to use, despite its main function (washing, cooling, heating) remaining intact.
- Obtaining the original spare part is usually a slow process, and its price often does not justify the repair compared to the value of the equipment.
- The user is pushed to buy a new model, generating more waste and expense.
It's the eternal game where a two-euro plastic handle decides the fate of a three-hundred-euro appliance.
How Obsolescence is Accelerated
This practice is not a defect, but a calculated feature. By creating a predictable weak point, manufacturers control the product's lifecycle. The technological core can last decades, but a cheap and accessible component acts as a programmed fuse.
The mechanism of accelerated obsolescence:- Design to fail: Materials and geometries are selected that cannot withstand long-term stress.
- Difficult and expensive to repair: Spare parts are scarce or their cost approaches that of a new product.
- Perception of total failure: The consumer believes their equipment "died," when it only needs a minimal part.
A Problem for Your Wallet and the Planet
The end result is that you replace appliances that could still function. You pay more in the long term and generate more electronic scrap. Knowing this tactic is the first step to demanding more durable products and seeking repair alternatives. ♻️