Have you got any old items that you still use often?

I still have and use pretty regularly the very first microwave oven we ever had. (won in a raffle for $2 - cheap!) It must be thirty years old and is as reliable as the day it was made. I've gone through two newer models since. Plus it's so simple. Put the food in, turn the knob for however long you need and press a button. The microwaves now you almost need a degree to be able to use them.

ANd the old blender whose age I wouldn't like to guess. I will use it before the newer one because it is so much easier. The newer one is attached to a food processor so makes it a pain to drag in and out of the cupboard for a quick job.

It seems like things are also easier and cheaper to replace than to repair too.

(imagine the oldest voice you've heard) They just don't make 'em like they used to!

Funny that you should start this thread today, since my ancient breadmaker gave up the ghost this afternoon. It's kind of sad to see it go.

My kitchen is pretty old, over twenty seven years. I had it in my last house and then I moved here and hated the kitchen which was already here. My ex sold our family home and the person who bought it was going to rip the kitchen out and ditch it, so when I said I would like to have it he said provided I paid for the removal it was mine. I had to replace the oven eventually but that is all, the rest of the kitchen is fine. In particular I like my kitchen sinks, I have two full sized sinks and draining boards, the whole thing is huge, six feet wide (1.8 metres) - and you just cannot get them like that now, these days they are tiddly little things. I am as happy with the kitchen as I was when it was brand new. I chose it back then and would choose it again.

My microwave is also pretty old, it is just 500W and was bought for me by my mother-in-law. My food mixer is an old Kenwood bought when I first got married over thirty-two years ago. It fits into a special cupboard in my kitchen, I don't have to lift it, it is on a sprung platform with a cutout which fits exactly - it is actually designed for that model Kenwood.

Then my Carmen heated rollers, I have had them for forty years and they still work.

How can you use a microwave with just a time switch on it

Never seen one of them, I like being able to put into a certain temperature and fiddle with it

I remember the old Kenwood Mixers, alas, I don't have one . . . and the Microwaves with just one knob . . . had one of those too . . . but, my Mum has a Pressure Cooker that must be 40 odd years old . . . the damn thing hisses and spits and we never dared walk into the kitchen when Mum was using it . . . she still has it to this day and still makes beaut soups and stews etc using it . . . I've looked and looked for one just like it, but have never found one that even comes close!

And yes, these days electrical goods are throw away items . . . when I went to buy several household items earlier this year (washing machine, dishwaser and a television) they offered only a 'replacement' warranty on all items, nobody wants to repair anything these days!

I fogot my pressure cooker, a Prestige Hi Dome, exactly like the one my mum had. A bell shaped weight on top with three rings. Mine is about 32 years old, her one must be more like 50 years old and was working just fine.

They look like this one.

Oooh Sue, that's way more flash looking than my Mum's . . . I wouldn't be surprised if my Mum's is older, mmm, she may have got it from her Mum!

(I really miss my Mum's Pea and Ham soup tho' . . . talk about melt in your mouth and the delightful 'auromas' emitted by that Pressure Cooker that used to just fill the house . . . mmm)

I have a blender I got at a garage sale for one dollar that I use about three to four times a week. It's like my mother's so can't be less than twenty years old!

Despite TW's excellent advise on my microwave oven...my mother and I found the problem...the latch came undone when we jostled it to clean it up...and we can now hear the screw or latch piece shaking in there...it's dead to us unfortunately.

A pressure cooker from SEB used to be the number one bridal gift in France. Most of the older generation cooked a lot of things on that. THey probably used it twice a day. I had one that was over thirty or so, perhaps older in France. I miss it!

Sorry to read that you didn't win with the microwave oven. If it's a quality one, maybe get a microwave oven mender to take a look at it.

We have the same pressure cooker Sue. It sits in our loft unused now. Too good to throw away. My parents also had the same model. They* were supposed to be held under the cold tap to reduce the pressure when cooking time was up but that was no fun. We used to take great pleasure in lifting the weights up using the prong of a fork and making it sound like a steam train.

EDIT: By 'They' I don't mean my parents

I also have a Kenwood Sue. Mine is 30 years old - unfortunately mine does not fit so nicely into a cupboard, just stands on the counter (getting in the way most of the time). To date I have never had it serviced or replaced any parts (cross my fingers). The other appliance I have that is just as old is the old fashioned toasted sandwich maker. It was a wedding present from my brother-in-law. It has two removable plates which can be flipped to make waffles. They stopped making them and made those silly 'snackwich' things, but I see they have brought them back.
None of my other appliances have lasted.
They dont make them like they used to!

OOh I forgot one other wedding present I still have. The Salton hot-tray. It has been used about 5 times in the last 30 years - thats why I dont remember it.

My stuff usually seems to break down soon after the guarantee runs out.

However, the refrigerator that I had to throw out last year had served me for almost 25 years, and I also hung on to my old-fashioned rotary dial telephone for longer than most people: I finally had to get rid of it in 2001 when I decided to get an internet connection.

Well the good news is that the breaking of my breadmaker involved the beater bar - a replaceable part which has already been ordered. I hope that it is that simple, and that there isn't something more sinister at work, that caused the beater bar to break and will also cause the new one to break!

A word of caution about old machines. My father finally remodeled his house, after almost 30 years, replacing every appliance except his washer and dryer (which weren't brand new when he moved in). Sure enough, a few months later he had a fire in his dryer that spread to the insulation in the wall behind and filled his house wtih horrible smoke. He was lucky to get out alive since he was having a nap when it caught.