The Most Common Appliance Repair Problems Explained

When an appliance in your home becomes faulty or needs repair, it can be easy to immediately get on the phone to a professional, who will come around to fix the issue for a fee. However, did you know that approximately one quarter of all common appliance repairs can be easily resolved, either by flipping a switch or pressing a button? Once you know what you need to look out for, you will learn how to avoid paying for an expensive repair call that you could have figured out yourself.

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Air Conditioner

If you have a problem with your air conditioner, it can be easy to think that turning it off and on again may resolve the issue, but this is not the case. Doing so can actually blow a fuse, or a circuit breaker could switch off. Outside the unit, there will be a fuse block. Once you locate this, you can determine whether you have actually blown a fuse. Remove the block and take it to a hardware store. Here, they can assess the cartridge fuses to see whether they need to be replaced.

Dishwasher

When your dishwasher starts to fault, it is easy to notice. Most of the time, the reason for a dishwasher fault is a clogged-up filter. When a filter is blocked, water won’t be dispersed into the spray arms, so the items on the top rack won’t get washed. Fixing this issue takes minutes. All you need to do is pull out the bottom rack, then remove the filter cover located within the dishwasher. You can use a manual if you can’t identify it yourself. Then all you need to do is clean the filter using a wet vacuum. If this doesn’t solve the issue, however, you will need to look for a company that offers appliance repair.

Lights

It isn’t unusual to encounter a problem with your lighting. If a light goes out or a switch stops working, the first thing you should do is check for a tripped circuit breaker on the main electrical panel. You should look for the GFCI outlet. In some homes, all of the outside lights or the bathroom lights are powered through a singular GFCI, which may be located in one of the bathrooms or somewhere like the basement. All you need to do is press the GFCI reset button and everything should function again.

Refrigerator

Nothing is worse or causes more panic than your refrigerator conking out. If you have any pets in the home, your first move should be to check the coils for excessive pet hair. When hair builds up around the coils, the compressor can overheat, which will trigger an overload switch. The coils are usually found under the grille located at the bottom of the appliance. There are many benefits of cleaning the coils, including improving the efficiency of the appliance, which will save you money in return.

Fortunately, with some research, the majority of minor home faults can be dealt with by yourself or someone else in the household. If the above doesn’t fix your appliance, then calling out a professional would most likely need to be the next thing you do. To save you time and stress, make sure you always have a 4-in-1 screwdriver, an Allen wrench, an adjustable wrench, a level and a shop vacuum at home.