Guides
Appliance Repair Guides
Plain guides to the appliance problems people ask about most: what you can safely check yourself, what usually fails, and when it is time to call. They are written by Mend My Appliance, an appliance repair service for homes in the Portland metro area.
Each guide stops where a home check ends: nothing here asks you to open a panel.
Refrigerators
Refrigerator not cooling
The settings, the vents, the door seals and the coils to check, what a warm refrigerator with a cold freezer means, and the signs of a compressor fault.
Refrigerator not cooling: the guide
Refrigerator leaking water, or the ice maker not making ice
Repair services
Washers and dryers
Washer won't drain or spin
The drain hose, the pump filter, the load and the lock to check, why a washer that cannot drain will not spin, and what the hum means.
Washer won't drain or spin: the guide
Dryer not heating
The lint filter, the vent, the breakers and the gas valve to check, why a dryer runs with no heat, and why slow drying is nearly always the vent.
Repair services
Dishwashers
Dishwasher not draining
The filter, the garbage disposal, the air gap and the drain hose to check, how much water in the bottom is normal, and what a hum with no draining means.
Dishwasher not draining: the guide
Repair services
Ovens and ranges
Oven not heating
The breaker, the clock, the igniter and the elements to check, why a gas oven glows and does not light, and why preheating has become slow.
Repair services
Any appliance
Appliance not working? What to check, and when to repair or replace
The overview: the safety rules, the checks that apply to every appliance, a short section on each common problem, and a plain way to decide between repair and replacement.
How these guides are written
- Only checks you can make safely, without tools and without opening a panel.
- The order a repair visit follows: the simple causes first, the expensive ones last.
- What usually fails, in plain words, so that a price for a repair makes sense when you hear it.
- A clear line where a home check ends and a repair begins.
If a guide does not settle it, the next step is a diagnosis at your home.