You may be hearing the term “white goods” for the first time if you are in the process of setting up your first home. But what exactly are “white goods,” and do they imply that everything you purchase for your new home must be white?
Not; the phrase “white goods” just encompasses the broad category of major home electrical appliances. Those curious about “white goods” should keep reading.
White appliances are what?
In the United Kingdom, all major home electrical appliances are referred to together as “white goods.” The following are examples of white goods or large appliances:
Appliances that perform the function of a washing machine
Dryers (both vented and non-vented, as well as condenser and heat pump varieties)
Refrigerators
Freezers
Fridge-Freezers
Dishwashers
Stoves, ovens, ranges, and other cooking appliances.
Conditioning systems
Microwaves
All the things mentioned above are either too bulky to transport easily or require a permanent installation, as they must be wired in, plumbed in, or vented.
Many of your questions about “white goods” should be answered after reading this essay.
And that’s pretty much it: white goods are just enormous electrical gadgets that can’t be moved from one room to another. They are almost all large appliances that cannot be easily relocated.
White Appliances: What’s with the Name?
You might be wondering why appliances like refrigerators, freezers, and stoves are categorized as “white goods” since they come in a rainbow of colors.
No one has ever heard of a fully equipped, color-coordinated kitchen before. Large kitchen appliances were all white whether you liked it or not.
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Fast forward to the present day, and the original phrase has stayed, such that even your red refrigerator is now considered a white appliance.
What Are Other Names For White Goods In The UK?
With so many color options, it’s no surprise that retailers and manufacturers have coined new terminology to describe these gadgets. Some of these are:
Home Equipment
Heavy Equipment
Household Electronics
Major Home Electronics
Home Appliances of a Giant Size
Massive Electronic Devices
Home Equipment
What is the American term for white appliances?
“white goods” in the USA.
Large Home Electronics
Home Equipment
Home Electronics
What Do Kitchen Appliances Get Called Up North?
The Canadian term for “white goods” is;
Home Electronics
Home cooking aids
Home and Kitchen Electronics
What is the Australian Name for Kitchen Appliances?
The singular form “whitegoods” is more common in Australia, although the plural “whitegoods” is still in use. Also used by them are the terms;
Home Electronics
Appliances for the Home
What Do Kitchen Appliances Get Called Down Under?
The terms are commonly used in New Zealand;
Whiteware
Domestic White Goods
Appliances
Devices for Doing Laundry
Home cooking aids
What About Bathroom Furniture?
Because of their predominately white color, plumbing fixtures such as toilets, bathtubs, bidets, and showers could be mistaken for white products as well. The terms “plumbing fixtures” and “bathroom fixtures” are used instead to describe these products.
Most plumbing fixtures merely need to be plumbed into the water supply and drainage system, but white goods often require some type of power (gas or electricity) to operate.
Furthermore, plumbing fixtures are not reusable elsewhere. Depending on the state of your refrigerator/freezer and stove, this may be a bit of a challenge, but it is doable.
While bathrooms and other plumbing fixtures would be a nightmare to relocate and put up somewhere.
Brown Goods: What Are They?
Here’s where things get murky; we know now that “white goods” refer to major home equipment. However, this limits us to using smaller electronics like TVs, computers, and the like.
The original televisions and radios came packaged in brown wooden or bakelite cases, hence the term “brown goods.” Over time the hue of the casing changed, but the term persisted.
What Objects Qualify as “Brown Goods?”
Radios
TVs
PCs
Toasters
Drip Coffee Makers
Induction Cooktops
Player DVDs
Lamps
Robotic Vacuums
This can be perplexing because certain items labeled as brown goods can also be classified as black goods. Things that were originally sold with a black frame fall into this category.
Black goods might include everything from a computer to a stereo system or even a television. However, in a broader sense, brown products encompass any portable electrical device that is relatively tiny and light.
