Household appliances can be very useful and in many ways make your life easier as long as they can remain running smoothly for as long as possible. You want to get the best out of each appliance in your home before the end of its life span without incurring more appliance repair costs than necessary. However, that depends on all the decisions you make from the time of buying new appliances, taking care of them through maintenance, and the appliance repair services you use to fix them when they break down.
In this article, we are going to share a few ideas you can use to avoid huge costs associated with major appliance repairs. These include but are not limited to the following:
Avoid Investing In Exotic And Luxury Appliances
It does not help when you invest in exotic or luxury home appliances that most of your local appliance service companies do not service. Such appliances are expensive to buy to begin with, and when they break down it takes a lot of effort, time and money to find the right appliance repair companies that can fix it. Even if you found appliance service technicians that could fix such appliances, parts may not be available or would take too long to be delivered if ordered. That only adds to the frustrations you can face with a broken appliance. So the choice of your home appliances that you would like to buy really matters in terms of the costs that you’re going to incur for the long term.
A great idea would be to consult an expert appliance repair technician about the best choices of appliance brands you should invest in. Some of the most popular appliance brands that you may want to consider buying in the US would be whirlpool, General Electric, Kenmore, KitchenAid, and in most cases American made appliance brands. But you still need to avoid the so-called smart appliances or appliances that come with all bells and whistles. This is because if an appliance becomes too sophisticated in terms of the features it includes, especially if the electrical in nature rather than mechanical, such an appliance is likely to break down too soon and will end up with a shorter lifespan. So you may be better off with a simple appliance that gets the job done efficiently and consistently performing over the long-term.
Ensure Proper Care And Regular Appliance Maintenance
In many situations appliances really break down because we have failed to take enough care of them or not carrying out regular maintenance. Simple things like cleaning your appliances so that different parts can function normally without obstructions can really go a long way. Manufacturers have even made it easier by including self-cleaning features in most home appliances. Make use of such features and use any tips you can get to properly clean different types of home appliances. You will realize that you don’t even need any technical experience to handle appliance maintenance or simple appliance repairs that do not require removing covers or taking apart an appliance.
Don’t Risk Voiding Your Appliance Warranty
Sometimes appliances can start malfunctioning sooner than expected or when they are still relatively brand new. If an appliance breaks down and it’s still not older than a year, it will most probably still have a valid warranty. You do not attempt to repair such an appliance yourself or through any appliance repair company that is not authorized by the manufacturer of that appliance. Doing so will only void your warranty which would mean that the manufacturer will not pay for any appliance repair costs. When an appliance is still under warranty, you are first supposed to call the manufacturer to discuss the appliance repair options available for you. If it’s a simple appliance problem, they may probably provide technical support over the phone and guide you in fixing the issue. If it’s a more complex appliance problem that requires a technician to fix, they may have authorized appliance service companies to recommend fixing your appliance and you won’t have to pay for the repair. The manufacturer may also ask you to choose an appliance repair company of your choice that you will pay to do the repair, such as Speedy Appliance Repairs, and then get a reimbursement later on.
Apply The 50% Rule On Appliance Repair Vs Replacement
It is important to understand that not every appliance that stops working will always be worth fixing. An appliance that is too old will probably be too costly to fix or even not repairable. If an expensive part of an appliance is the cause of a problem and has to be fixed, that could also make the repair itself costly and not worth undertaking. A good example is when the compressor in a refrigerator breaks down. A small appliance which is cheap to buy in the market in most cases should be replaced instead of getting it repaired. The cost of repair might be higher than the cost of buying a brand new one. In most of these situations, you can basically apply what is known as the 50% rule. That is, if the cost of repairing an appliance is 50% or more the cost of buying a new appliance, then you might want to replace it instead of repairing. This also applies when the age of an appliance is 50% or more compared to its expected lifespan.
