Online Appliance Repair Assistance

Reviews of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Sources for DIY Appliance Repair Help

Appliance repairs are expensive. On the other hand, so are new appliances. Used appliances cost less, but then you are faced with repair costs again to keep them running. It's a vicious circle, but one we can break by doing our own appliance repairs.

Before the advent of the Internet, especially the World Wide Web, do-it-yourself appliance repair was problematic to say the least. Manuals were expensive, if you could find them at all, and parts were often hard to locate. I found myself doing a lot of figuring it out as I went - not always the best strategy for machinery repair.

Now, though, there are a wide range of resources available online for the do-it-yourself repairman. This article will guide you through some of the options. Though it is by no means an exhaustive list, there is plenty here to see you through to saving money by fixing it yourself.

The Good (Recommended)

American Appliance is my first stop for appliance repair information. The best features of this site are the diagnostic charts and the exploded views of subsystems with all the parts labeled. This site is invaluable for identifying potential causes of your problems and identifying the parts responsible so you can order replacements.

Appliance Aid offers a decent repair information section with detailed instructions for diagnosing and repairing many common problems. My biggest gripe with these instructions are they way they are formatted. More white space and some paragraph breaks would make these pages much more readable and, thus, more useful. In spite of that, this site provides excellent information on lots of different appliances and brands, along with a listing of manufacturers' telephone numbers and a section of appliance repair jokes for easing the stress.