Electrolux fridge retires at 77

London’s metro newspaper recently reported a story about an Electrolux fridge that is 77 years old and still being used. She bought it “second-hand for £7.50 in 1969, and it has a manufacturer’s stamp showing it was made in 1931″.

When Electrolux heard about it they offered her an energy-efficient replacement free of charge. Electrolux are quoted as saying she should notice a drop in her electricity bills, more storage space and much better temperature control and longer food storage.

They also said the new fridge is much lighter weighing about 38kg. The 77 year old fridge weighs a whopping 150kg. They certainly built them like tanks in those days.

It’s a shame that modern appliances are considerably better in every way except build quality. However, products were overly strong in the past. This was as much to do with the materials available than a desire to make things like tanks. I’m sure if they had the ability in the past to make products much lighter they would have. Things have long since gone past the tipping point though and many products are just flimsy.

Electrolux are one of the better brands these days producing an acceptable quality in the mid price range. Miele are one of the few remaining companies making products that can be genuinely described as really high build quality (especially their washing machines). Of course this unfortunately makes them “too expensive” to many consumers who have become used to artificially low prices created by big drops in build quality from many of the household name manufacturers.

Related: These links are to previous articles on my Washerhelp site. They aren’t about fridges but the build quality issues covered apply equally to all white goods.

• Are new washing machines not made as well as they used to be?
• Are new washing machines only built to last 5 years?
• Do washing machines have built-in obsolescence?
• If I buy a more expensive washing machine, do I get a better washing machine?
• What’s the difference between the basic and the top model of a range of washing machines?
• Miele build quality review