Let’s face it: Home ownership has its share of ups and downs. One minute you’re flying high as you kick back with your feet up on the porch swing and the next minute youre covered in muck that your dishwasher just spewed all over you in an angry, Im-done-with-this manner. While it can usually be a bit unnerving to tackle home repairs yourself, doing so can save you a boatload of cash — 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 ten minutes of work can save you a cool grand or two.
I know what you’re thinking: Wait … save $1000 with only ten 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; after all, if you’re unsure of what you’re doing, it is usually more cost-effective to take advantage of trusted professionals who have the expertise to handle even the most difficult of repairs. So when in doubt, farm it out — theres 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.
Tap Your Network
If you’re unsure of the specifics required to tackle a repair and cant 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.
Photo Credit: ideowl
When we bought our house in 2007, it was three 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!
Great idea about the YouTube tutorials! It’s a lot easier to actually learn for me when watching someone repair a fridge, for example, than just reading about it.
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!
Your heating systems would utilize this heat in order to warm your home during this season. When measuring efficiency, the national Energy Star regulation is used.
Modern day appliances are not quite as easy to fix as older models but you can still fix some.
In the past, I have replaced mixing valves, belts, hoses, and timing chains on washers. I have replaced belts, pulleys, and cleaned out the burner on gas dryers. I have fixed toilets, water lines, unclogged sewers (crappy job pun intended). I have cleaned the coils on refrigerators, and unclogged the drain lines. I have replaced light switches, and outlets. I have put new plugs on lamps, and extension cords.
I am too beat up and old for that now. I ask my 105 year old grandma neighbor to do it for me now. I take her out to eat as payment. lol