Market and Investment

One of the major decisions in furnishing your home is buying big-ticket items such as a washer, dryer or refrigerator. As with all purchases, you don’t want to pay more than you have to, but at the same time, you don’t want to compromise on safety, convenience and reliability. For this, comparison-shopping as well as a realistic assessment of your needs is the way to go.

What features are you looking for in an appliance? What size and capacity can your home accommodate? Washers, dryers and refrigerators with state-of the-art features are all very well, but do you really need those? As you go up a model and more features are added, you can expect the price to go up also.

Make sure that the appliance you are getting fits the space you have allotted for it in your home. Before going to the store to make the purchase, measure that space between the countertop and the wall for the refrigerator, or the dimensions of that cabinet that will house the washer and dryer. Doing this will save you the hassle and expense of going back to the store to replace a wrong purchase.

Capacity is another major consideration, and depends on the use that the appliance will get. For instance, a couple with no children can get away with an appliance with smaller capacity, unlike couples with a growing family, who would most likely need a bigger space. Efficiency and energy costs are related to capacity and needs to be considered also.

For instance, a dryer needs to have twice the capacity of the matching washer to be efficient (i.e. clothes tumble more freely and dry faster). It is a waste of time and energy to split a single washer load into several batches because the dryer cannot handle it otherwise. For refrigerators, one that is too big to be kept filled is just as bad as a small one where you have to do constant rearranging to make things fit. The first wastes energy and the second wastes your time.

Aside from the price, ease of use and maintenance is another selling point for an appliance. Read the manual - it should be available from floor models - and decide if you can live with that brand or model, considering how it operates and how it should be cared for. An authorized factory service that is readily available in your area for that appliance is a plus.

Read and understand the terms of the warranty, since it may cover only certain parts of the appliance instead of the whole. Check if it includes labor costs, as well as the period covered by the warranty. The terms differ by brand or model of appliance.

See if you can get discounts or if there are ongoing promotions. Some dealers offer discounts if you buy one or more appliances of a particular brand, such as getting a washer dryer combo or a refrigerator and another appliance. If you are getting your appliance online, check if there are mail-in rebates available and compare the savings you get with buying the appliance from a store.

Ty Hammell is a dispenser of home appliances and equipment including refrigerators and blue ray DVD players. He also understands a lot about popular washer and dryer combos and provides information about what to look for when buying these items.