hn_throw_250903 (u/hn_throw_250903)

Liftyee · 6 months ago

Not criticising the article or the decision to buy a new washing machine (20 years is a long time), but just noting that the old machine was likely fixable. If spare parts are even still available, that is. Whether it's deemed worth fixing is another matter.

This must be the case for so many discarded appliances these days, especially underengineered ones with common issues.

Also, not using the QR code protocols properly is a pet peeve of mine. I recently scanned one that was just a URL in plaintext (no web link protocol). If I was on an iPhone or using a simpler QR scanner, it would not work at all.

hn_throw_250903 · 6 months ago

As someone who just replaced the bearings on a washing machine motor (carbon-commutator), I uhh… agree?

The old machines are absolute workhorse beasts and they can work indefinitely as brand new with some maintenance here and there.

However my expectation of people doing this are basically zero. So this is an anomalous post. By the time you write a blog post complaining about how a machine has a required IoT thing, you could have fixed a handful of issues short of soldering in new relays or triacs on the control board.