@mark - THANK YOU!!! I love that they are even doing videos like that, but people that actually care about seeing them DO NOT want them sped up. The whole point is being able to accurately see what's going on, to be able to see the exact spray patterns and how the jets are aimed and what speed the arms rotate at.
Also, I think the question of "what is a reasonable lifetime for an appliance" is an excellent question that I feel can be different for each person. In my way of thinking, I think an excellent appliance would run flawlessly or near flawlessly (with minor repairs, like maybe a wash arm bearing) for 10-15 years. Some people may argue more, but my reasoning for that timeframe relies on a few factors. I think my aunt's WP PowerClean is the best example I have; excellent machine, excellent performance, build quality, design, etc. It is a MOL model bought in 2003 when the house was built, and has been running nearly every single day, sometimes twice daily, and has had no issues to speak of until very recently that it's begun making a horrible rumbling and sometimes failing to drain. My assumption is that the drain impeller may be chipped or broken or that something is caught in the chamber preventing the check ball from opening, etc. That's basically 13 years with no problem. Now, of course the machine can be easily repaired and can last for another 5, maybe 10 years, but at the same time, the design is showing its age. It's a magnificent dishwasher still to this day, but it was also designed alongside detergents at the time that had phosphates and worked properly with a 10-12 minute main wash. Detergents aren't designed for that now. All of us here know very well how to make a "vintage" machine do its job just as well as a modern designed one, but 99% of the rest of society don't care, my aunt being one of them. So in my honest opinion for her, it may be time to let the beast rest because she could care less about making sure to use heavier cycles or options to compensate for the time the detergent needs to work. That said, in 13 years, will my current modern WP still be "designed" to work with whatever chemicals we're using in 2029?
The other factor that comes to mind is that most people, myself included, get the itch for a "new" gadget even if the one they have works perfectly fine. If I have my dishwasher or washing machine for 10-15 years before a malfunction, I'll probably be MORE than ready to have something new and up to date regardless of how much I loved the previous appliance.[this post was last edited: 3/6/2016-00:54]
