When buying a major kitchen appliance, you want it to last for decades. You certainly don't want to start replacing worn-out parts within five years. Yet that was the situation one homeowner faced due to a poorly-made pump filter from their KitchenAid dishwasher.
What's happening?
The original poster shared their experience in the r/MildlyInfuriating subreddit. "Kitchenaid at its best. A 5-year-old dishwasher out of commission because of a poorly made part," they said.
Their photo shows the part in question, a mangled black cylinder, lying next to a red apple for scale.
"This is the pump filter on a Kitchenaid dishwasher bought new in 2021," they explained. "Our previous dishwasher lasted 17 years with little maintenance issues. What is more infuriating is the filter (a piece of plastic with a sheet of metal in it as thin as a soda can is $175 on Kitchenaid's website. I bought for $107 on a parts supplier's site. Enshitification!"
Humorously, in reference to the apple, they added, "I didn't have a banana."
Why is this broken part important?
In the past, Kitchenaid had a reputation for building extremely durable appliances. Buyers would invest significant amounts of money in these presumably high-quality products, hoping to get a mixer or a dishwasher that would last for the life of the kitchen.
Now, however, that major investment buys much flimsier products that have to be repaired or replaced within just a few years, costing consumers a ridiculous amount of money and generating an unreasonable amount of waste and pollution.
Worse, this appears to be a purposeful strategy on the part of the manufacturer, which clearly knows how to make more durable products.
Is KitchenAid doing anything about this?
According to the KitchenAid website, products like its stand mixers are "a friend for life." However, it only guarantees them for five years, and only guarantees they can be repaired for 15 years. It does not seem to be making any moves to extend the life of its products beyond that point.
However, the company does express that it is committed to recycling and will collect old appliances for proper disposal.
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What's being done about deteriorating products more broadly?
It isn't always possible to determine in advance which products will need to be replaced prematurely and which ones will last you for a lifetime. However, you can increase the useful life of many of your belongings by choosing reusable items over disposable plastic ones, as well as learning how to mend and repair your belongings.
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