How Long Do Appliances Last? Typical Lifespans by Type
Every repair-or-replace decision leans on one number: how long the appliance was supposed to last in the first place. The figures below come from InterNACHI's estimated life expectancy chart, a reference home inspectors use, along with the habits that move each appliance toward the long or short end of its range.
| Appliance | Estimated life (InterNACHI) |
|---|---|
| Refrigerator | 9 to 13 years |
| Freezer | 10 to 20 years |
| Dishwasher | 9 years |
| Washer | 5 to 15 years |
| Dryer | 13 years |
| Electric range | 13 to 15 years |
| Gas range | 15 to 17 years |
| Microwave | 9 years |
| Range hood | 14 years |
| Garbage disposal | 12 years |
| Central air conditioner | 7 to 15 years |
| Heat pump | 10 to 15 years |
| Furnace | 15 to 25 years |
Source: InterNACHI, Standard Estimated Life Expectancy Chart for Homes. Actual life depends on use, maintenance and installation.
Kitchen appliances
Refrigerators typically run nine to thirteen years. The long end belongs to units whose condenser coils get cleaned occasionally and whose door gaskets still seal; the short end belongs to fridges packed against the wall in hot alcoves, running their compressors hard against poor airflow. Dishwashers average about nine years, and hard water can shorten that by scaling heaters and clogging spray arms. Ranges tend to outlast refrigerators and dishwashers, at thirteen to fifteen years for electric and fifteen to seventeen for gas, mostly because their failures arrive as replaceable parts: igniters, elements and sensors rather than structural collapse.
Laundry
Washers run five to fifteen years, a wide range that load habits partly explain, and dryers about thirteen. For washers, the lifespan killers are chronic overloading and imbalance, which hammer the bearings and suspension. For dryers, the killer is airflow: a lint-restricted vent forces longer cycles at higher heat, aging the heating system and thermostats every single load. A dryer with a clear vent path can last years longer than the same machine breathing through a clogged one.
Heating and cooling
Furnaces commonly reach fifteen to twenty-five years, central air conditioners seven to fifteen and heat pumps ten to fifteen. The heat pump works year-round, which is one reason its range sits below the furnace's. Filter neglect is the universal shortener here; a starved system runs hot, long and hard.
Using these numbers
The ranges become useful the day something breaks: an appliance in the first half of its expected life almost always justifies repair, one deep in the second half needs the quote weighed against replacement - the 50 percent rule our cost guide walks through, alongside the typical repair ranges for each appliance. And whatever the age, the diagnosis comes first: a firm quote before any work means the decision gets made with real numbers.
If something in your home is signaling the end of its range - longer cycles, new noises, uneven results - a diagnostic visit answers the question properly. We service all of it, from refrigerators to furnaces, across D.C., Northern Virginia and nearby Maryland.
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