I’ve seen a lot of sites promising appliance repair help… some deliver and some don’t and there are many inbetween. Really it all boils down to what you specifically need help with and it’s impossible for any web site to cover all the bases. In fact, it’s a full time job really! Our email and phone support only goes so far (we’re trained to find the correct parts not do the actual repair). That’s why A-1 looked for professional help in this area.
In the beginning (way back in 1997) we worked with a pretty slick guy named Don Vonderburg who gave us some basic tools to plug into the site. This seemed to work ok… but the bar was very low at the time. Today we are sponsering online repair manuals written by Doug Emley- the Cheap & Easy Repair series. Hard to beat that name huh? Cheap and easy! We also host a forum moderated by a very sharp repair tech in Canada (props to Jeff from http://www.applianceaid.com!).
Of course, we also sell repair manuals… so why try and get this information out for free? Because we believe when people are empowered with the knowledge to do their own appliance repairs we all win! We don’t think refrigerators are “disposable”… in fact, we don’t even think microwaves should be thrown out just because the handle broke!
In the future we hope to add more appliance repair help pages (maybe even videos). For now, here’s what we’ve got to offer: http://www.a-1appliance.com/appliance-repair.html
You know, for me the biggest hurdle to overcome on my way to attempting a repair is self doubt. Many times I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing (and many times I’m right) but once I pick up that screwdriver and dig in my fears just dissolve away… um, sometimes they dissolve away into things like anger and frustration… but most often I end up very satisfied and happy to know I just saved us sooo much money!
Oh, here’s something to remember- make sure the appliance you’re working on is unplugged. If you can’t get to the plug (like with a built in oven), shut off the breaker first. I know that reads like a dumb tip but it’s not.
Good luck with your appliance repairs. Figure out how much money you saved and put it away for a well deserved vacation!