In this thread How much do you value your dishwasher?
Patty O’Furniture makes this statement:
While if I had to get rid of one appliance I own the DW would be on the short list, but it is far from the most useless, just the one that would cause the least extra work if gone, and the one that you can compenstate with it’s loss through use of paper plates and the like
I vote for the trash compactor. They never make any sense to me. Well perhaps if you had to lug your garbage a long distance, but then again it’s not reducing the weight, just the volumn of trash.
We have a trash compactor. We use it. We like it. Then again, we go through a lot of garbage.
What I don’t use is the electric can opener. Granted, it’s useful to people whose hands can’t grip strongly enough, etc., but for anyone who’s able-bodied, it’s an absurd appliance that takes up valuable space on the countertop. So, it’s the most useless appliance in my household. YMMV.
I just spent 1 minute trying to get mine to work on a can of peas before puting it down, getting out my “manual” can opener and opening it myself in 5 seconds.
My husband (then fiancé) insisted that we register at Target for an ice-cream maker, over my objections that it was a stupid, stupid idea.
Years later, when I expressed my frustration after another lame attempt at making some frogurt, he said, “Well, getting the ice cream maker was your ideal.”
Hmm…for most people, the elctric can opening is high up on the useless list. As someone else said, for those with arthritis or other joint problems I’m sure it’s a lifesaver, but for the average person it’s not needed, and they often harbor bacteria because they often are never cleaned.
We don’t own an electric can opener, smoothie maker, ice cream maker, or trash compactor. But we did get a deep fryer for Christmas last year. It has never been used. (And yes, we DID ask for it!)
Out of what we have, I use the blender least of all. I can think of one time I’ve used it since we moved into our house (May of 2004).
Out of the major appliances, I would have to say the oven. They are very useful and essential to some things but you can get by without an oven Ok. My family and I are living in a Residence Inn for 2 months during house construction and our suite doesn’t have an oven. No big deal. Just plan around oven foods. You can buy them ready-made anyway.
Another vote for the blender. I inherited my grandmother’s blender in 198x, and it sits on our kitchen counter with the cover over it. It has never even been plugged in.
We have all three, but never use them. We find doing dishes by hand to be theraputic, and I can do more with the foor processor than I can with the blender. I think the only time we use it is for frou-frou drinks in the summer.
Man, I wish I had a deep fryer, a bread maker, and an ice cream maker! I’d totally use all those things, and whip up inventive new meals all the time. As it is, I use my blender instead of a food processor because I don’t have one, and occasionally mix up drinks in it too.
We didn’t have a dishwasher growing up in my parents’ house, so I find that since we have one now, it makes me lazy, when I used to be just fine washing dishes as I created them.
It may be non-essential, but it’s far from useless. Of course you can live without it if you try, but you can say the same thing about frying pans (just plan around stir-fry and sautee foods), coffee makers (just use instant coffee), toasters (just avoid toast), tea kettle (plan around hot drinks), etc.
Anyway I notice the OP said household appliance, not kitchen appliance. I vote for negative ion generators.
If it’s kitchen appliances, I vote trash compactor. I can’t use mine (primarily because it’s broken ) because where I live the garbage company sorts recyclables, so if I compact my trash, they can’t recycle it. So even if it worked, it would be useless.
For household appliances, I vote vacuum system. I don’t know what it’s called, but there are these outlets all over the house, and I can plug a hose into them to vacuum. Never used them.
) because where I live the garbage company sorts recyclables, so if I compact my trash, they can’t recycle it. So even if it worked, it would be useless.