Sooner or later, regardless of brand or type, you will have to deal with a broken or malfunctioning appliance, and you may need an expert to repair it. Most of us are interested in finding ways to save money wherever possible, and appliance repair is no exception. So, when something in your home starts acting up, the first step should be to see if you can figure out what the problem is, and determine if you will be able to fix it or if you will need to call in someone to do the repair for you.
Looking Past the Symptoms
When you have the flu, the symptoms are a fever, runny nose, cough, aches and pains. The problem is the flu. The physical symptoms are the result of the illness. It is the same with an appliance. The real problem isn’t that your refrigerator is room temperature, it is that the temperature sensor is not working, or the condenser motor is broken. Troubleshooting is discovering the source of whatever alerts you to the problem.
Appliance Doctor
So, when a symptom comes to your attention, you should try to find out what the problem causing it is. Perhaps you can fix it yourself, and even if you can’t, knowing what needs to be done is an advantage in that you can hopefully prevent yourself from being taken advantage of if you need to call an appliance repair company. So, if the floor of your laundry room is covered in water, how are you going to troubleshoot your Whirlpool washer?
Safety First
Not every problem should be handled by an amateur, and troubleshooting even simple problems requires that you take some simple precautions like disconnecting the power supply to your washing machine before you start to look around inside.
Research Yields Results
Your initial examination should be to see if there is anything that is obviously broken, disconnected or otherwise not as it should be. If the drainage hose has worked its way loose from the back of your washing machine or a door seal is hanging loose, you have found your problem. These are problems that you can address yourself, most likely. Eliminating these possible simple causes, and fixes, can then guide you as you research your owner’s manual (you kept it, right?) or the internet looking for a cause behind the lake in your laundry room.
When All Else Fails
If you are unable, or unwilling, to find the cause of the symptoms that you are experiencing, then you will be forced to find an appliance repair service to take care of the situation. Again, you can do some research to help you to locate someone that you can trust to come into your home. Look for reviews from customers, certifications that the business may have (Better Business Bureau, etc.) and details about the experience and training that their technicians have. You need your Whirlpool washer working, not an indoor pool, and you may need an expert to come and repair it!
