Basic Information on Appliance Repairs

My husband is not really a qualified appliance technician nor an electrician but he does knows a few and basic things on how to diagnose and repair our appliances when they stop working. Just last week, he managed to fix our noisy washing machine after numerous complaints I had with him that I had been washing the laundry with my bare hands.

Personally I not going to advocate you fixing all the electrical appliances at home as it can be dangerous, best to leave those to qualified electricians or technicians. But a basic knowledge on the parts and operation can help you to be able to identify simple problems around the house. Other than carefully reading the manual, all appliances at home whether it is small or big, all have labels on the metal plates or casing where you can find necessary details or specifications such as voltage, current and power requirements. AC current is what these appliances use in order to operate.

Small appliances are usually described to operate on 110 to 120 voltage circuits and two plug blades on their cords. Usual components inside a small appliance may include a heating element, fan, blades set, drive shaft attached with rotating beaters and 2-3 mechanical links. Small household appliances are of three general types: heating appliance (coffee makers and toasters), moving appliance (vacuum cleaners and food processors) and combination appliance (hair dryers and blowers). Small appliance repairs usually involve simple means and whose problems are caused by fuses or circuit breakers, plugs and switches and loose or grounded wires.

Big or major appliances on the other hand need 220-240 voltages in order to operate and they also have a grounding wire. The plugs of major appliances not only have two blades but also a prong for grounding purposes. You need to plug such major appliances on a grounded outlet with openings for the blades and the prong.

Large appliances contain a complex circuitry. For instance a washing machine, it has a motor, a timer, a pump, many valves, solenoids and switches. The control devices or its mechanical parts may be the cause of problem. If the problem occurs from the controlling devices, the whole appliance may not function at all while if the mechanical parts fail, it usually affects just the function it serves for. With such complexity, it may be difficult to know where to start when troubleshooting the major appliance so you may guess the most probable cause of failure based on the symptoms observed on the malfunctioning appliance. You may also test the components one after the other then isolate them to identify the real cause of problem.

• Make sure the appliance is disconnected from a power source before testing. After repairing the appliance and you have plugged it back to the power source, just observe first and do not touch the appliance. Turn the power off when making some further adjustments.

• For appliances attached together with bolts, plugs, screws and other fasteners, chances are you may repair the appliance but when parts are welded and riveted together, just bring your appliance to a professional electrician or call for a home service repair.

• If replacements are needed, make sure to use the specific parts made especially for that appliance. Substitutes may be used as long as the piece fits but you need to refer first from the appliance’s user manual.