Bad design?

I tell myself that the hot water inside the dishwasher will do its work and as long as i don't lick the grimy corners then no harm done.

The hinge on the door and around the seal is truly DISGUSTING

I think the worst thing I have bought is the tinopener....advertised as for those with hand problems (having just broken my wrist)....which came in a plastic pack that almost defeated me to open.
I ended up holding it down with one elbow and pulling with a pair of pliers with the good wrist!

I complained about this one, and was told on the phone in a return call that they were going to have a meeting about this - whether anything happened as a result, I have no idea.

I complained about lip salve that was completely unopenable without a sharp knife. They replied with a sales pitch about how wondeful their new flavoured range was, and how they had considered all aspects of the packaging. Included with the reply were nice-smelling samples of their new range - which could only be opened with a sharp knife ............

I had to have two stitches once when I tried to open the stiff plastic packaging holding a sharp knife, with a sharp knife. It had defeated the kitchen scissors, teeth, can opener...........

When I spotted this topic about bad design it was right next to TEENAGE SEX. Refering not to teenage bodies I suspect but to teenage minds.

A very short plumber fitted a new basin in our downstairs loo but it wasn't until the job was done and dusted that I realised that anyone over 5ft 3ins has to stoop to wash their hands!

It's been great for the grandchildren though ...

The plumber who fitted our bathroom put the bath mixer tap with hot tap to the left, the basin with hot tap to the right.

I have to think before using either of them.

Back in the sixties my Mum bought a dinner/tea service by Midwinter. It was designed, no less, by the Earl of Queensberry (?spelling); however, the lid of the teapot fell off into the teacup every time it was used so Mum wrote a letter to the afore mentioned Earl explaining its design defect and received a very nice letter back along with a new teapot; she wrote again saying she didn't think he'd quite got the point, so he sent another teapot - 3rd time - yep, another teapot at which point she gave up .
Our new loo is a back to the wall variety. So to secure the loo seat which seems to jiggle off its perch with monotonous regularity, I have to sit on a stool in front of the loo, Lift up a nifty little cap, wrench a couple of thingies off with a pair of pliers, hang onto the screw which is then revealed lest it disappear down the S bend, tighten up another thingie, return screw, having put down pliers and picked up the Phillips screw driver which has been clenched between my teeth during the operation, tighten and Bob's yer Uncle until the next time. Definitely, definitely designed by a man with no brain.

I always have loo seat adjusting to do after visits from the GCs. I think they must wriggle.

I can just picture you Gally.

Hope new baby is doing well. Congratulations to all.

flower . Harriet doing well - as we 'speak' she is being adored by what appears to be 2 dozen noisy children and Mums and Dads around for supper - I have taken refuge in my garret for 10 minutes, to regain my hearing not to mention equilibrium!

I have more than once, when staying overnight in (sometimes fancy) hotels, been defeated by the bath tap/shower arrangements! When faced with a whole lot of taps and levers, I never seem to be able to work out the right combination of temperature, water pressure, and whether or not it is going to run a bath or give me a shower! I travel in the course of my work, so short of calling reception to send someone to explain it all to me, I usually give up and do my best in the basin.

Same here!

DS, in whose house I have been cat-sitting, had to ring me up to find out how to use their new kitchen tap! Mind you, to be honest, I had to get this priceless piece of information from the builder who was working on the house.

My SiL installs many kitchens and bathrooms and always gets so cross with me when I point out that no matter how beautiful and well installed they are if they are tricky to clean and use they are badly designed!! However he did install the worktops at a height more suitable for me (5'1") rather than him (6'3")

What about those stupid little levers that you get at the back of taps nowadays that are meant to work the plug up and down e.g. in a hand basin? They always break or go wonky and never work properly. Silly idea if ever there was one. jeni I feel better knowing I'm not the only one.

Dear daughter has one of those square, long sinks with a tap that lets the water out like a long waterfall. Very stylish, but would take a lot of water even to cover the base of the basin (not good with a water meter) and I have never mastered the very stiff lever above the tap, so either a dribble or a downpour! And she also has one tap over the kitchen sink which you have to pull one way to turn on the water, and back or forwards to adjust the temperature. After two years of visiting, I have never got this right first time. An awful lot of modern design if style over substance.

On the subject of toilets and bathrooms, I almost had to stop visiting my son's home as I couldn't access the toilets in his new-build house. They are quite low as are so many nowadays. I suspect the vast majority are designed and selected by men, who of course don't need to sit down as often as we ladies do.

Grannyknot I have yet to find a shower that I can operate first time! I have to remember to put my glasses on to fathom all the taps etc, then take them off and put them down somewhere, then I can't easily see the markings on the taps etc.....

I find the safety clip on my grandsons buggy really hard to open and close, by the time I get it clipped shut he's climbed out, it's infuriating and it hurts your fingers!

Lilygran childproof pill jars, and some pill strips are terrible for my arthritic hands but my grandchildren open them no problem!

I hate the doors of shops that are push or pull as when I am on my own in my wheelchair I can't do either and sit waiting like a lemon until someone comes along to open it for me.

My biggest hate is whoever designed some disabled loos? The rooms are either:

Too small to get into let alone turn round and access the loo or they are jam packed with junk not needed immediately like buckets, mops, brooms, chairs etc

The loo is so low in some places and no bars to help you up.

The sink isn't the right height for a wheelchair user

The taps are a nightmare as hands like mine can't turn them and there is always someone who has such strength they have turned them off tight. some of the taps are ones you put your hands under and the water starts - that is OK sometimes. One I met recently is a knee operated tap which is OK if you can use your legs!

The size of the basin. What can I say who likes those tiddly little things that you can't get your hands under?

The driers are always so high. I have soaking hands and then have to stretch up to reach the drier, towel machine or whatever.

Who for heaven's sake designed the loos? Not someone who uses a wheelchair.

ariadne agree! Glasses on to turn taps on If you're lucky), glasses off and in the shower, glasses needed to adjust temperature or turn off! NMARE as my friend would say (she uses text speak out loud and talks in capitals). And grannyinmypocket I babysit for a woman sometimes and she has a double decker pushchair that I can't manage to open, always have to ask the staff at the nursery. I had a 'buggy' that looked like a folded umbrella when my kids were small and I could flick it open with a baby on the hip and a toddler by the hand. I think you still get them but they are non-u nowadays.

burgundy the legal requirements for accessible loos are very clear! I know this from having two installed at the school where I worked. It was a nightmare.. the space was tight and the required measurements /colours/styles for handles, floor space etc precisely specified. They all had to pass the scrutiny of the disability officer at the council!!

How I hate the shops where the top shelves are too high for me to reach. I'm 5'2", not an unusual size.

Now I'm retired, and not usually in a big hurry, I take delight in finding a shop assistant to reach the goods down, hopefully someone who is also vertically challenged, so they have to find themselves a stool.

burgandy tell me about it! And the mirrors are above the sink and far too high! I complained about the one in the tribunal! The mirror is too high, and I couldnd manage the door catch! I complained and they altered the catch, but not the mirror. I used to design them for my examination centres successfully, so why don't they ask?