I was just getting started on a blog post the other night when I noticed a foul odor coming from my dishwasher.
A grease tray for my George Foreman grill had slipped out of the trays and next to the heating element, which was dutifully heating up as a load of dirty dishes was about to be washed. The heating element melted a nice hole along the side of the tray, rendering it unusable.
I opened windows, turned on fans and began searching on the net for replacement trays. I like my George Foreman grill and use it often. It wasn't until I was looking for grease trays that I realized how old it was. I couldn't find the right kind of trays anywhere online.
How long have I had this grill? I wondered. 10 years? It still works great. Why get rid of it?
I finally found some trays online that looked like they could do the job, so I checked on pricing. For two trays, plus shipping, I'd have to pay nearly $40.
Out of curiosity, I looked at what new George Foreman grills cost. I could buy basic models for about that same price. I was left shaking my head.
My options were to buy replacement trays or buy a new grill for pretty much the same money. What would YOU do? It's a no-brainer.
But the grill I have now still works fine, and I could spend that money on credit card debt instead. So that's what I'll do. I'll put foil over the big hole in the tray and see if that does the job.
Still, I found myself wondering if our "replacement" mentality on products these days is wise. Yes, the economy depends on people spending money. But money's tight these days, and folks need to be careful how they spend it. That means making things last....patching holes in clothes.......doing without if necessary......until conditions improve.
Yet when the market makes perfectly good products obsolete simply by not manufacturing replacement parts, it makes that balancing act far more challenging for those facing tough times. Rather than improving conditions for common folks, it only makes things more difficult for them.
There's something inherently wrong with that.
Yeah, we have specifically not bought an XBox even though there's some stuff exclusively on it that we'd like, just because they're basically disposable game units. I think that crosses the line into "defective" more than "obsolescence," but the fact that XBox owners take this as just part of the price of owning one comes from long years of being trained that way.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, though, I trashed my Foreman grill, after a similar incident. Except it was the grill itself, and it was a stove burner instead of the dishwasher. I was going to keep using it, except apparently it melted the case onto the grill's own elements. Not good. I did dig into my utensil drawer, and come up with one of the grease trays, so I sent you a picture on Twitter. It's yours if you want it.
I could always give it a try, Karen. Thanks for the offer. I think I'll fold some aluminum foil to cover the hole and see if that works.
Delete