Honouring the cogs in the machine: the humble Appliance Spare Part

Imagine a life without domestic appliances.  Okay, if you live in a small village somewhere in a the third world then it probably isn't too hard, but for us pampered westerners we would be lost without the conveniences that our domestic appliances give to us in the cut and thrust of modern society.

Let's quickly take a moment to reflect on some of the benefits that these white goods give to our daily lives

·        >Fridges and Freezers allow us the luxury of buying food in that will last longer, without the 'inconvenience' of having to shop for it on a daily basis.

·        >Cookers and ovens allow us to prepare that food in more ways than our forebears would even have dreamed possible.

·        >Washing machines and spin dryers allow us to clean all the greasy stains from that elaborate cooking, as well as many others, making our clothes generally more pleasant and longer lasting.

·        >Small appliances, such as microwaves, toasters and kettles allow us to prepare things so much quicker, without having to constantly watch over them.

Now, I know there are literally dozens of benefits to owning domestic appliances, many more than I can list here, and if you have thought of any that aren't listed above, then well done.  The point of this article though, is not to unashamedly praise the benefits of our appliances, but to look deeper under the covers and look at the very cogs that keep them running.

Appliance spare parts are often taken for granted when it comes to the working of the many machines that adorn the modern home.  Quite often the only working parts we come into contact with are the dials, and more often than not this is now just an LED screen.  When one of the lights starts flashing on that screen though we start to panic because we have, unfortunately, lost the art of analysing faults and ultimately repairing the problem.

The very modern attitude, when something goes wrong with one of our domestic appliances, is to get the catalogue out or go round to the local showroom and look for a replacement, because after all the goods are so cheap and the call out fees are so high, surely it makes more sense.  Quite often the problem, it would turn out, is only a simple one and a minor repair with an affordably priced spare part would do the trick.

Consider this for a moment; if one of your children became sick you simply wouldn't abandon them and look for a new one would you?  Careful diagnosis or a visit to the doctor would inform you as to what action to take whether it is rest or a specific type of medicine.  Okay, I admit the example is quite extreme and I am in no way trying to relate the importance of a domestic appliance to that of a sick child, but why should the logical process be any different.

The appliance repair and spare parts industry has grown massively over the last few years, just as the choice in the appliances has for one simple reason.  The manufacturers respect and admire the very working parts that go into their machines and have worked hard to get to a situation where appliances are more reliable, available and affordable.  The old saying, ‘they don't make things like they used to' is very much true, but quite often for the exact reverse reason the saying was invented for.

In the past if you couldn't repair an appliance with simple tools and a bit of elbow grease, then you were certainly doomed to purchasing an often expensive replacement.  We now, luckily, live in a time when machines are composed of many working and interchangeable parts – the fact that we work those parts to the limit and even harder than before is even more testament to their importance as cogs within the machine.

One such example of how the industry has evolved is the surge of new companies springing up on the internet specialising solely in domestic appliance spare parts. In the past the only way you would get access to a spare part would be to call at your local dealer and probably wait weeks for it to arrive.  So much has the industry changed that you even get sites online specialising in specific manufacturers like this Bosch, Neff and Siemens spare parts website. 

Nowadays we are swamped with choice, some of it admittedly better than others.  However, if you devote a small amount of time to searching online, you will undoubtedly find a good domestic appliance spares website on the internet – one that offers not just great prices but good customer service and advice too.

So the next time you are pressing the buttons on the front of your washing machine, or turning the dial on your cooker, spare a thought for the bits that work behind the scenes and underneath the metal.  Even though we can't see them, they are still working tirelessly to make the appliance work. If for some reason, every now and again they cannot continue, for their sake don't sacrifice the machine but instead reward their hard work with a replacement part, so that their legacy will continue.