{"id":321383,"date":"2026-03-09T22:29:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T22:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/321383\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T22:29:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T22:29:08","slug":"herald-readers-on-the-household-appliances-that-have-stood-the-test-of-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/321383\/","title":{"rendered":"Herald readers on the household appliances that have stood the test of time"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our F&P clothes dryer was purchased in 1973. The only clothes dryer we have owned. Not an energy-efficient model, but now we are retired and just the two of us with time to hang washing outside, the dryer doesn\u2019t get the workout it used to. <\/p>\n

\"HeraldHerald reader Tony Fowlie’s 1973 Fisher & Paykel clothes dryer.<\/p>\n

John<\/p>\n

We have a Panasonic Genius Dimension 4 Combination Microwave we bought in 1988. <\/p>\n

This microwave has never failed and is fully functional. It is a true combination in that it microwaves while using the oven\u2019s combined functions simultaneously, not like many of the current combination microwaves that will alternate between microwave and convection cooking. <\/p>\n

It also has all the automatic cooking functions you could think of that work better than current expensive combination microwaves. Due to it being a little larger than the microwave cabinet in our Auckland home, this microwave was transferred to our holiday home near Whang\u0101rei about 25 years ago, where we spend half our time. So it is well used, even today. <\/p>\n

They certainly don\u2019t make microwaves like they used to. <\/p>\n

Rob Bishop: <\/p>\n

Got married in 1971. My wife had purchased our electric juicer in 1965. Year after year, it has juiced an incredible amount of citrus varieties. 60 years old and it\u2019s still going strong. <\/p>\n

\"HeraldHerald reader Rob Bishop’s 1965 electric juicer.<\/p>\n

Geoff Genner:<\/p>\n

Our Kenwood mixer was a wedding gift in 1986 and we replaced it in about 2020, roughly 34 years old! <\/p>\n

Susan Brosnahan:<\/p>\n

My husband joined the navy when he was 17. With one of his first pay packets, he bought his mother a Sunbeam mixer. She had 9 children and did a lot of baking. <\/p>\n

By the time my husband and I got married, she decided I would need it to feed our coming family and gave it to me. <\/p>\n

My sponge cakes became well known in our farming community. <\/p>\n

Now, after being married 58 years, it is still working well and has never been repaired. <\/p>\n

My husband is nearly 86, so that means the mixer has done nearly 69 years\u2019 service. <\/p>\n

\"HeraldHerald reader Susan Brosnahan’s Sunbeam electric cake mixer. <\/p>\n

Carol Drake <\/p>\n

Had an American Maytag washing machine. Sold it because it was too big when we moved. It was 21 years old, along with the dryer. Amazing machines, wish I still had them. <\/p>\n

H Moore: <\/p>\n

Not sure how old our freezer is. I bought it – second hand – in 2002. And it was old then. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s bomb proof, tough as old boots. <\/p>\n

Solid metal (plastic-coated) baskets, no flimsy plastic shelves like the modern ones. And bigger inside than it appears. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s used all the time, from full to half full, never empty or near empty. Not just meat but garden veg, leftover sauces, creams, bread, everything and anything. <\/p>\n

I dread the day it does fail. <\/p>\n

\"HeraldHerald reader H Moore’s freezer has stood the test of time.<\/p>\n

Kathy:<\/p>\n

I had a 50-year-old Fisher & Paykel clothes dryer that is still running. Just a basic on\/off, hot\/warm\/cool functions but does the job of finishing off the clothes when still damp from the clothesline. <\/p>\n

\"HeraldHerald reader Kathy’s 50-year-old Fisher & Paykel clothes dryer.<\/p>\n

Stephanie Devcich:<\/p>\n

We got married in 1979. The following year we bought a second-hand vertical deep freeze. It is still our main freezer. I replaced the seals about 15 years ago. <\/p>\n

\"HeraldHerald reader Stephanie Devcich’s freezer has lasted since the 1970s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Our F&P clothes dryer was purchased in 1973. The only clothes dryer we have owned. Not an energy-efficient…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":321384,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[542,82959,37364,9442,138,17438,305,134,10938,27892,45124,55706,15415,359,302,424,6187,5338,3193,111,139,69,1118,90,4993,6289,147,17218,145,765,1361,223,2044,14905],"class_list":["post-321383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-access","tag-advances","tag-appliances","tag-better","tag-business","tag-easy","tag-have","tag-health","tag-herald","tag-household","tag-improving","tag-infinite","tag-information","tag-internet","tag-its","tag-life","tag-lives","tag-makes","tag-medicine","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-on","tag-quality","tag-readers","tag-science","tag-stood","tag-technology","tag-test","tag-that","tag-the","tag-time","tag-whether"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}