Websites for appliance technicians.

Our rule of thumb is the repair should cost well under half of a comparable new machine, and the machine should have real life left. A ten-year-old washer needing a drum bearing is usually finished; the same washer needing a pump or a door switch is worth every penny of the repair. We tell you the number and the honest comparison, and we are not selling appliances either way.

A flat diagnostic fee covers the visit and the diagnosis, and it is credited against the repair if you go ahead. You approve the repair price before we start. If the machine is not worth fixing, you have paid for a straight answer and nothing more.

For common failures on common brands, usually yes, and we finish in one visit. Control boards and model-specific parts have to be ordered, which typically takes a few days. Tell us the brand and full model number when you book — it is on a sticker inside the door or behind the drawer — and we will bring the likely parts with us.

That combination usually means airflow rather than a dead compressor, which is good news. Most often it is a frosted-over evaporator coil from a failed defrost heater or thermostat, or a fan that has stopped moving cold air from the freezer into the fridge compartment. Those are all reasonable repairs. A whole unit that is warm with a compressor running constantly is the more expensive conversation.

Once a year for most households, more with a long duct run or a large family. If clothes take two cycles to dry, the outside flap barely moves, or the laundry room gets hot and humid, it is overdue. Lint in a duct is genuinely one of the more common causes of house fires, and cleaning it costs less than one service call.

All the major North American, Korean and European brands, including the high-end European built-ins. Some very old or discontinued models have no parts left at all, and we will tell you that on the phone rather than charge you to come out and confirm it.