Whether you are buying a new house, or budgeting for your current home, it’s important to know the age (and lifespan) of your major appliances. Why? As homeowners, we depend on our appliances to run smoothly. And when they unexpectedly break down, fixing of replacing them causes frustration and added expense. To minimize these surprises, here’s 4 ways to determine age of major appliances.
Backstory
When we bought our house over 10 years ago, ideally we should have researched the age of the major appliances. But we didn’t. There were SO many other pressing things to do!
Of course, soon after we moved in we realized that the refrigerator needed replacing. This frig that came with the house worked, but barely kept food items cold. Plus the shelving was broken and honestly, too small to adequately fit our needs.
So we bought a new frigerator. An expense we didn’t budget as part of moving expenses. Sigh…
Luckily, we haven’t had to replace any other kitchen appliances (I don’t count the garbage disposal). Knock on wood…..
But we are going on 10 years of living here. And those major other kitchen appliances – oven, stove, dishwasher – are aging.
Eventually they will break down and need replacing. It’s inevitable. And I fear it’s all going to happen at once. And potentially blow a one-income family’s budget fast.
4 Ways to Determine the Age of Major Appliances
So to get ahead of the game, I learned 4 ways to determine the age of major appliances.
Note that the date could be the manufacture date or the installation date. In most cases, these dates will be somewhat similar.
1. Previous Homeowners
An ideal time to determine appliance installation dates is during the home buying process, whether it be from a property disclosure statement or seller’s agent.
Most homeowners have a general idea what year they replaced a major appliance. At one open house, the homeowner had left a binder out that documented all major home improvements. It listed home renovation dates, including installation years of major appliances. This binder was amazing.
2. Age of Home
How old is your house? Is it fairly new? If it’s under 10-20 years old, there’s a good chance your appliances are original to the house construction year.
Similarly, if you know the year of a relatively recent major kitchen renovation, chances are the major appliances will have the same installation date.
Not sure of renovation dates? Check with your town’s building inspector and see what they have on file for your address.
3. Instruction Manuals
Did the previous owners leave a stack of instruction manuals for the appliances that remained in the house when you moved in? Ours did. I was pleasantly surprised!
Most owner’s manuals have a date listed on the front page or back page of the manual. This is typically printed next to a publication number on the manual. If not, there may be at least some information that can at least narrow the manufacture date to a range of years.
To make the installation date more easily assessable write the purchase year right on the front page of the manual. (If handy, I also staple the receipt to the front cover). And make sure all your user guides are kept together organized in one place.
4. Serial Number
The last (and most accurate) way to determine the age of a major appliance is through its serial number. (Note that the serial number is more important than the model number in determining age).
Using serial numbers only works on appliances manufactured since the 1970s/1980s (sorry vintage appliances!). This is when manufacturers started coding serial numbers to document the exact age of manfacturer right on the appliance.
Where to Find Serial Numbers
Every major appliance has a serial number supplied by the manufacturer. Usually this serial number (along with model number) is printed on a label that is affixed to the appliance’s interior (inside to protect from damage).
Luckily, most major manufacturers provide homeowners with the exact location of these labels. Below are links directly to manufacter websites that tell you exactly where to find the label.
If your appliance isn’t listed above, the best place to look first for the label is just inside the door.
How to Decode a Serial Number
Once you have found the label, the next step is to decode the serial number to determine appliance age. Here’s a few resources to help:
Personally, I love Appliance 411’s database. The website’s antiquated design looks basic, but it’s deceiving. The database they have created to decode serial numbers is impressive.
If that doesn’t work, try this link to Cannons Appliance, which contains a list of major appliance brands with an overview of their serial number systems.
Some appliance manufacturers outline their serial number system right on their website. For example, the first 2 letters at the beginning of GE’s system tell you the manufacture month and year.
Which brings me to another option for decoding the serial number – simply reach out to the manufacturer, provide the serial number and request the manufacture date.
What Next?
Once you figure out the age of major appliances, here’s 2 things you should consider.
1. Write It Down!!
Document your appliances’ ages so you don’t need to go through this process again. You can write the date right on the cover of the user manual. Or perhaps (subtle hint here….) rely on 1 of these 3 ways to track appliance maintenance in one easy place?
Is My Appliance Old?
Next step? Detemine if your appliances are near (or over) their expected lifespan. It’s time to figure out how much longer that appliance will function.
Luckily, I’ve made that simple to do. (You’re welcome…?)
Check out this Replacement Appliance Cost Calculator I created in Google Sheets (which you can make a copy and save). This calculator tells you which appliances have met (or exceeded) their life expectancy, and sets a budget for replacement costs.
Let me know what you think!
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