I have a Sears Coldspot chest freezer that I inherited from my parents. They bought it in 1974. As far as I know it has never had any maintenance done on it. It still runs like a champ.
56 years here.
We have a GE refrigerator in our basement that the serial number indicates was manufactured in August, 1956. It has been in continual use for as long as I can remember (about 1966), and I have no reason to think that it was not in continual use from the time it was originally purchased in the 1950s.
It makes me appreciate the miracle that is a frostless freezer.
It’s probably avocado as that was a 70’s color for appliances, not that it can’t be pea green.
Almost forgot…the first microwave oven I ever bought, ca. 1980, still works fine, and is in frequent, daily use. It only has two power settings, full and “defrost”, so I won’t mind if it craps out and I have to buy a new one with more options. But it seems like foolish fiscal folly to do so until then. And a new one would be MUCH harder to use; this one only has a simple timer dial and a 2-position power setting.
A GE refrigerator, 45 years and still running.
I hadn’t even thought about phones. Last year for my birthday I got a 1950s model 500 rotary telephone from my husband. It saved my bacon quite literally a couple of times when the power went out in our area and all of the neighbors were asleep or otherwise oblivious. I’m the only one in our general area who could call the co-op to restore power.
I’d like to have a vintage Touchtone wall phone for the garage (newer phones freeze out there) and another 500 upstairs, and I’ll get rid of my worthless modern phones for good.
We have a chest freezer from the early 70s. Still works perfectly, never serviced. We have a Cuisinart food machine from the late 70s, maybe 35 years old and in daily use. Unfortunately the bowl is slowly disintegrating and seems to be unreplaceable.
Modern fridges seem designed to fall apart with cheap plastic parts that fail and are extremely expensive to replace.
I have my Grandmother’s Hamilton Beach stand mixer, including original bowls. It’s at least 50 years old and works like a pro.
The floor lamp behind me is 70+ years old, with the original oiled paper shade. It was rewired about 30 years ago. I have a picture of my mom, as a toddler, being read to by the lamp.
Mine was a gift from 1977.
Still works!
Sharpe Carousel microwave bought in 1975 and in daily use since them. Only repair was replace a burnt out light bulb about 10 years ago.
And our electric skillet we inherited from my parents. It was purchased a year or so after the War. WWII that is, so it must be well over 60 years old. And we have an electric fan that my wife’s family bought in 1918. Still works, though it is retired from active duty.
That’s about all I can think of. I don’t believe in throwing things away just because they’ve got some years on them.
I have a 60’s Hobart 5qt mixer ( now kitchen aid but not the same quality ) I got of ebay 10 years ago. This was purchased when the kitchen aid pro died after 2 years.
Meflin
I have a beehive blow dryer that my mom got when she was 16 that I still use (for my dog). Mum is 67.
I’m almost afraid to mention it for fear of jinxing it – we have a cheap-@ss Goldstar microwave that is at least 20 years old and still working fine. When we bought it we figured that if it could creak along for five years, we’d’ve gotten more than our money’s worth…
My mother’s electric mixer still works, it has to be 56/57 years old. One of the bowls got dropped and broken this year.
She finally got rid of her old Electrolux canister vacuum not too long ago, it was still running fine and was close to 50 years old. She still used it downstairs where it was tile and area rugs. The salesman took it when she got her new vacuum, he was impressed with the condition it was in.
Not really an appliance, but we have a Hunter window fan at our cabin in Kentucky that was installed when the house was built in the 50’s.
I should take its picture and send it to the Hunter folks as a testament to their quality.
Our Kenmore washer hearkens back to the '70s in its Harvest Gold glory. I can’t remember the last time it needed maintenance. It’s still going strong. Ditto the c. early 1980s dryer, which is not harvest gold but still does the job.
Wall oven and drop-in stovetop (both electric) – both have to be as old as the washer. Both Kenmore. Both still work great.
We have probably one of the first microwaves ever made. It’s a probably a foot-and-a-half square and was installed in the wall over the oven. It’s either Kenmore or Amana. I could cook an entire dinner in it if I wanted to.
As a neighbor says, “Why get rid of it if it still works? They don’t make things like that now.”
The building manager told me the non frost free GE refigerator I have in my apartment at least 50 years old. It needs to be defrosted, but it’s still going strong.
The apartment is rent controled and I pay the electric bill. I’ll probably die before the refrigerator does.
50 years of frost buildup? Is there room for food, or do you just chip off the ice and sell it?
I think I “win”. I have my grandmother’s Model K5A Kitchen Aid from 1941. Still works like a charm, variable speed and all. I did ask my SO to replace the cord last year, as it was scarily frayed, but it did work just fine. Actually a great teaching moment - he taught my son how to do it, and it was pretty cool to see the “head” all opened up. It’s packed with this disgusting looking thick grease that looks like cake batter; apparently the original stuff, still working just fine.
Holy…that’s 71 years. That’s pretty amazing.
I wish I were older so I could win this. I’ve had the same iron for 15 years. Was in high school when I got it.
My parents could get a decent score at this game, though. They’ve had the same fridge for something like 20 years, the same KitchenAid mixer gizmo since before I was born (got it in mid 70s), and the same oven since 1968.