It’s the Monday morning after a big day in the kitchen. I’ve got a big dishwasher and I’m not afraid to use it – the day before, it ran five cycles.

But when I go to empty the dishwasher, it’s blinking. Bad sign. We’d just celebrated the fifth birthday of my beloved Bosch top model dishwasher, the one which pops open to let the steam out, the one with the third shelf for flattish toddler bowls and tongs. On average, it runs full, three or maybe four times a day. At least it did.

As it turns out, says the repairman, it would be a waste of money to fix it.

Some dishwashers last longer than others. But it’s not all about the brands.Credit: Getty Images

Guess how many dead dishwashers, fridges and gas heaters end up on our streets, abandoned by once grateful owners? Every year, about 400,000 tonnes of large appliances enter the market. If my luck with dishwashers is anything to go by, those same large appliances will eventually end up either on the street or on the back of the van which brought you your new dishwasher.

How do you pick? Is five years normal? Chris Barnes, senior project officer at consumer advocacy group Choice, tells me my old Bosch had a pretty good workout. Cost per cycle might have meant someone else’s dishwasher lasted 10 years. He runs his dishwasher once every two days but then it’s just dealing with one person’s dirty dishes. We’ve got a population of six and sometimes........

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