Good appliances make cooking more manageable, but they can also increase the value of your home and help with lowering your hydro bill. There are numerous appliances and brands to choose from, like Butterfly Group, which makes it difficult to determine your money is being spent well on new appliances. Should you buy the most expensive, the state-of-the-art machine with all the bells and whistles, or something more economical?
Whether you are looking to purchase a washing machine or microwave, shopping for appliances for your home is overwhelming. Especially with all the items appliances feature that you’ve never heard of, choices of color, size, manufacturer, energy efficiency ratings, rebate availability, and cost. There are companies like Home Microwaves that have done a lot of the hard work for you, so selecting a microwave is as easy as visiting their site and comparing the brands and prices.
However, for some of the more essential items, you’ll find five appliances that you should not “go cheap” on when buying:
1. Clothes Dryer
Today dryers come with a wide variety of settings, cycles, touchpads and some offer more features than you will need. If you are hoping to save money, consider essential dryers that have knobs instead of electron features, they still serve the same purpose of drying your clothes. Consider splurging on stabilization features, it means having a quieter dryer and if you use the dryer a lot, a steam feature could save you money in the long run, since it reduces wrinkles, saving on ironing and dry cleaning. If you do a ton of laundry, you should consider getting a larger-capacity dryer to help overcome the number of loads.
2. Oven Range
There are lots of considerations when looking to buy an oven, such as do you want one or two cavities, or built-in or free-standing. It will cost extra for a built-in oven because the cooktop is bought separately. Do you entertain a lot? Double-wall ovens are great for cooking Thanksgiving dinners. However, you save money with single-cavity ranges that are considerably less expensive than built-in units.
3. Water Heater
Usually, people need to buy a water heater because their current water heater broke. However, if you can hold off a few days, do your research on water heaters because it does use of 17 percent of the energy in your home. Energy star water heaters might cost more at the beginning but will save you considerably in the long term. Typically, people replace their water heater with one like what they had before, but if the number of people in your home has lowered because your kids have moved out, consider getting a smaller water heater to save money. Before purchasing, look for rebates online that are available for water heaters.
4. Refrigerator
When it comes to purchasing a fridge, you need to consider how much storage you need. French door refrigerators and top freezers can hold a variety of full trays and pizza boxes, that a side by side cannot. The more bells and whistles on the refrigerator mean the higher the price tag. Remember to pay attention to the fridge measurements to make sure it will fit appropriately in the space with the door open 90 degrees.
5. Dishwasher
Dishwashers need to meet a minimum performance level and when you spend more on one it is because you are paying for items such as energy efficiency, upgraded filtration, additional washing racks or arms, and noise reduction. If you want a more subtle dishwasher that doesn’t drown out conversation or interrupt sleep, then you need to spend more on a washer that has a stainless steel interior. Stainless steel is quieter than plastic, but it also seals better, which helps with the smell.
Bonus: An Iron For Quilting
Having a good iron when you’re a quilter is so important. Make sure you don’t skimp when it comes to an iron for quilting.
The Takeaway
When it comes to purchasing any appliance, you need to do your research and have an idea of colors and material you want. You can anticipate to pay more for stainless steel, and lots of features, but it all depends on what you want and what your budget says you can afford.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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