Buying new appliances is great (and who does not love shopping), but sometimes a home repair is quick and easy, if you know what you to do. Our home recently needed some new items as yet, another broken appliance decided to pop up in our house. It seems that over the last two months, our home has had more broken appliances, doors or lighting fixtures than others have had in the course of five years. The chandelier broke on December 1, the washing machine on December 2 and last, but definitely not least, the dishwasher on January 10. A dishwasher that was purchased in October 2011.
What bothered me was that not only did our family not complete the warranty information for the dishwasher, our handyman repair guy indicated that we were better off buying a new one. A brand new one?? So much for thinking that I would have these appliances for at least five years. Needless to say, my husband and I decided that we were going to fix the dishwasher. We were not paying to have it repaired if it needed to be replaced and the worst that could happen is that, well, we need a new one.
After briefly reading some do-it-yourself plumbing books, scouring You Tube videos on how to repair a dishwasher and $42.10 later, the dishwasher is fixed and working great. And we are happy to say that we did it ourselves.
Two points to remember: 1) Complete the Warranty information and 2) Research the Problem. Always complete the warranty information on your appliances. Warranties and extended warranties vary from model to model, but may cover parts, repairs or replacement, in some cases. Also, keep all your warranty information in one place where it is easily found. A folder or binder in a kitchen closet works great.
Lastly, look up as much information you can about the problem you are having with any appliance and find out if it is something that can be fixed inexpensively. Our family was ready to drop $800 to buy a new dishwasher because the current one needed a new drain pump. A drain pump can be found for under $100, depending on the model, and is fairly easy to install. Repair or replacement is the choice of each homeowner, but depending on how old an appliance is, a repair may be the better option.
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