Repair bills happening at regular intervals tells me load shedding is wrecking all the home appliances. Tonight the repairmen just left after working on the freezer and he thinks it is either the auto defrost kicking in due to being off for up to 150 minutes 3 x per day or the control board is fried. He is coming back in the morning to see which one it is.
When I was growing up it was installed in me never to use credit as it was always better to buy something outright. Obviously the bigger items like a car and a property would be done via loans but trying to pay cash for everything else not having accounts was always the priority.
Over the last few months we have had the electronics malfunction on the washing machine and on one of the freezers we own. They have been repaired and now they are broken again. Yes they fall under the repair warranty but the reality is the home appliances are taking strain from the constant load shedding we are experiencing. Today the schedule is 4am-5am/12-2.30pm/8pm-10.30pm which is absolutely crazy considering this is spring weather.
(source](
)https://twitter.com/CityPowerJhb/status/1569030927812001793/photo/1
- CityPowerJhb
We are block number 5 and only find out what the schedule is on the day and even then the schedule is not always adhered to.
Electrical appliances being turned off and on up to 4 times every day just cannot handle the varying electric currents as there are surges every time this happens. You can claim on insurance, but then that only means your monthly payments will rise along with your excess.
I have mentioned in a previous post I have refused to replace the outside floodlights as they all blew within a few weeks of being replaced due to the electricity surges during load shedding. Certain items we turn off automatically if we know ahead of time, but things like the microwave are starting to make weird sounds when being used. The appliances are definitely feeling the strain as this is not normal and something has to give way.
Over the weekend when these items went on the blink again we had 4 outages within one day and another one which lasted about 2 minutes which I think was where the damages happened. This got me thinking why not rent the household appliances for now instead of buying replacements. It does make financial sense as the items you will own after 3 years anyway, but any repairs or replacements are covered on the rental agreement.
These days one call out and repair would set you back roughly what you would pay for 1 years rental anyway without the hassle of worrying. Unfortunately the modern home appliances are not made like they used to be and the number of washing machines and tumble driers I have gone through in the last 10 years is quite alarming. I have estimated I am replacing these items every 3 years anyway so what is the point of owning one as you have already paid it off and have had to pay a callout for an estimate on the repair even if you decline the quote.
When I move country they will just collect the items and the agreement is cancelled making it hassle free. This goes against all my beliefs in how I spend, but this is the only way to actually save money right now under these conditions.
