5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Buying A New Appliance
Here’s how you can make sure you’re buying the right appliance for your need - so you don’t end up on Carousell trying to sell them later
When it comes to buying a new household appliance, you either love the excitement, or hate the hassle of all the decisions you have to make.
You could be replacing something you’ve used for years which is on its last legs, in which case it’s a bit like looking for love again after a breakup – you kind of know what you want, but there’s no harm shopping around to see what’s new on the market. Or maybe you’re simply looking for a better way to save time and effort on cooking and housework.
Whatever the case, here are five useful questions to keep in mind before you hit the search button or the stores. Save yourself from getting distracted by the bells and whistles, and some heartache and money along the way too.
It seems so elementary, but believe you me, it can help keep your focus razor-sharp when you might otherwise get distracted by the myriad of things you never knew a toaster could do.
At its very core, basic appliances like refrigerators, rice cookers, vacuum cleaners, ovens, and coffee makers are supposed to keep food cold and fresh longer, cook rice, bake and roast, suck up dirt, and make coffee – respectively. Today, a refrigerator can also dispense water and ice with the push of a lever, a rice cooker can bake cakes and be used as a food steamer, a vacuum cleaner can be an air purifier and an oven can be a microwave - or vice versa.
While it’s not at all a bad thing that one appliance can do more than it’s supposed to, ask yourself if you really need that extra function, or you may be paying more for functions you just won’t use much.
It may seem contradictory to the above, but if space is a constraint whether in your store room or kitchen counter, it would be wise to look for appliances that do double duty. Yes, a basic microwave is very useful – but if yours is like the Panasonic 4-in-1 Combination Steam Oven that can roast a chicken or steam a fish as well, you can save the space needed for a separate steam oven.
Limited counter space? Install a tankless water dispenser with piped-in water like the Hydroflux H23 Water Purifier, and you won’t need a hot water flask or a kettle anymore. If you have no space in your yard for both a washing machine and a dryer, then a machine that combines both functions would be a great choice. Gadgets like the Magimix Food Processor has different attachments which can do everything from chopping vegetables to mixing cookie dough - think of all the counter space you save!
For every appliance you buy, think about how often you might use it, then where you’d need to place it to access it easily. If you can access your appliances easily, it also maximises the chance that you would use it efficiently!
When buying an appliance, always be mindful who its primary user(s) will be. A microwave with a simple one-touch reheating option is probably better for the tech-avoidant elderly than one with a variety of options. A dishwasher sounds like it could make dishes easier but loading it properly is a skill that needs to be learned.
Any appliance that isn’t used correctly is both pointless and a waste of money. So before you buy the latest, most advanced model of any appliance available on the market, think about who the users will be.
Think about it – every gadget and appliance you purchase will need to be cleaned at some point in its lifespan, whether it’s to maintain its efficiency or simply for hygiene purposes. So it makes sense to consider how easy an appliance is to maintain and be cleaned, before you put your money down.
This is why ovens like the Electrolux 72L Built-in Oven with Grill Function are designed with an easy-to-clean enamel interior, and the Dyson V12 Detect Slim vacuum cleaner has an easy-to-empty dust compartment.
The easy-to-clean feature is perhaps even more important for food preparation appliances. Anyone who’s struggled with getting chia seeds out of the rubber mouth of a blender, or the black mould that builds up in your kids’ water bottle straws, would understand. Why not look for food jars with wide mouths and covers that can be washed without special sponges, such as the Tiger Vacuum Food Jar, or a food processor like Magimix which has transparent parts to help you ensure every bit can be efficiently cleaned?
Most of the time, we buy a household appliance either because it fulfils an immediate need (such as a baby bottle steriliser) or we are replacing something that is damaged or old (such as an air-conditioning unit that’s not energy-efficient). An item’s shelf life may not cross your mind, but is worth considering for cost as well as environmental reasons.
Some appliances can double up for a different use – for instance, a steam oven can also sterilise baby bottles, a water dispenser with preset hot water temperatures now eliminates the need for an electric flask. This is probably why manufacturers try to make appliances that serve more than one function.
While fast fashion and fast food may be here to stay, we can make more conscious choices about our household purchases to ensure they go the distance for our needs. Have you thought about what happens to your old (or damaged) washing machines, ovens, coffee machines and so on? Upcycling the parts, or repairing and restoring old items, is something many major brands have already thought about and are putting real efforts behind.
Nespresso, for instance, not only helps collect your old machine when you buy a new one, it gives you a discount on the new machine and also encourages you to collect used pods and return them to the shop for recycling.
Also, take a closer look at the build and quality of materials used for the appliances – this should give you an idea of how well it is made and could offer an indication of its durability.