Let’s face it: Home ownership has its share of ups & downs. One minute you’re flying high as you kick back with your feet up on the porch swing and the next minute you’re covered in muck that your dishwasher just spewed all over you in an angry, I’m-done-with-this manner. While it can be a bit unnerving to tackle home repairs yourself, doing so can save you a boatload — especially when it comes to your appliances.
Do-It-Yourself Home Appliance Repair
With the average cost of new refrigerators today, it’s not surprising that the more adventurous folks among us will happily try to fix the fridge themselves. If you’re on the fence when it comes to do it yourself (DIY) appliance repairs, think about how 10 minutes of work can save you a cool grand or two.
Wait, save $1000 with only 10 minutes of work?!
That’s right! The easiest, most effective repair of a refrigerator that’s losing its cooling power is to pop off the grill covering the cooling coils (usually underneath the fridge) and take a dust buster or wet rag to them to remove the dust bunnies. Furthermore, sometimes all is takes is a quick glance at the temperature control dial or power cord — you’d be amazed how many people end up paying pricey service visit fees simply because they didn’t do a quick once-over of the appliance prior to making the call!
Trust the Experts
The refrigerator is just one example of how an easy fix can save you hundreds or thousands. But what about a more complicated repair such as fixing the oven or range? In cases like this, you’d want to rely on experts who are professionally trained to repair all types of appliances such as Repair & Protect, a great resource for hiring trusted professionals to assist with repairs and reading tips to help you decide if you can go it alone or need to hire an expert.
When in doubt, farm it out — there’s no sense in attempting a complicated repair if you don’t know what you’re doing because you’ll most likely just end up costing yourself more money in the end!
Educate Yourself
Once you’ve decided if you can fix the appliance on your own and you’re ready to tackle the repair, make sure to educate yourself about what best practices you should follow as well as any safety precautions to take. From searching YouTube videos to reading online tutorials and enrolling in workshops at your local home improvement store, there are many ways to gain the necessary knowledge to make appliance repairs yourself in an effort to save money.
AARP has a great appliance guide that lists some of the more common easy fixes for your appliances.
Tap Your Network
If you’re unsure of the specifics required to tackle a repair and can’t afford to hire a professional, consider reaching out to family members and friends who might know a thing or two about fixing appliances. When Len did this for his water heater replacement, he saved $400! You can also borrow tools and materials from others in an effort to reduce your overall repair bill.
Have you ever attempted a DIY appliance repair?
Photo Credit: ideowl
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When we bought the house in 2007, it was 3 years old. The refrigerator with the bottom freezer came with it. We’d never had the bottom freezer before.
It has turned out to be a pain in the butt. I clean the back of it every year especially the fan along with other visible parts.
However, it still loses temperature or gains it because the fridge gets warmed up to more than 50 degrees F every so often.
I turn it off and the reason is that ice gets accumulated on the inner fan so it stops working. As we all know the fridge has no cooling system in itself, the air is pushed up (or down) by the inner fan inside the freezer behind the plastic cover.
I then take a hair dryer and blow hot air to the inside of the freezer so the ice would melt releasing the fan to operator again.
When my nephew looked at our refrigerator, he bought exactly the same structure with the freezer at the bottom.
After a year and a half, they had to shut it down for 3 days. All their food went to the trash.
One thing I noticed that when I opened the back panel, it had some kind of electronic circuit board. I had never seen it before in our previous refrigerator(s) with the freezer at the top.
There are some great tutorials on YouTube for appliance repair. If you are the least bit mechanical, and can follow step by step directions, you are all set! This Grandma has replaced the timer on my dryer and fixed the agitator on the washer, replaced water heater elements, and convinced both the vacuum and sewing machine to live a while longer! Take a look and see what you think!
I think I’d have to use my health insurance because for sure I’d nearly kill myself trying to do it myself! I think it might lead to some pretty frequent doctors visits, I tell ya!