c/appliance-repairers

Realized how much I miss older refrigerators after fighting a modern one all afternoon

I had a call last Tuesday over on Maple Street, a 2022 Samsung fridge with a bad ice maker. Three years ago I could have swapped a simple relay and been done in 15 minutes, but this thing took me almost 4 hours just to access the board. You have to pull the whole back panel, unscrew a baffle, and then there's a ribbon cable tucked behind a foam block. I get that they're trying to make them efficient, but it feels like they design these things to be impossible to fix. Has anyone else noticed newer fridges are way harder to work on than the old Whirlpool or GE models from 10 years ago?

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troyreed•2d ago

Took a gamble on a used Whirlpool washer off Craigslist for $150

Had a Kenmore that finally gave out after 12 years, so I rolled the dice on this Whirlpool from a guy in Tacoma. Turned out the main control board was fried, and I spent another $80 on a used replacement board off eBay. Got it running again, but man, I keep wondering if I should've just bought new. Anyone else ever luck out with a used machine or is it always a headache?

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grant_foster79•2d ago

Changed my mind about using universal dryer belts after a job in Atlanta last Thursday

I was fixing a Samsung dryer in a basement off Peachtree Road and figured a universal belt would save me a trip to the supply house. The belt stretched out after just two cycles and the customer called me back with the drum making this grinding noise. Has anyone else had a universal belt fail that fast, or did I just get a bad batch?

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the_joseph•5d ago

I finally hit 500 ice maker repairs and got weirdly emotional about it

Last Thursday I wrapped up my 500th ice maker repair (a Whirlpool in a condo downtown) and it just hit me harder than I expected. I keep a little tally in my notebook and when I saw that number it made me think about all the sweaty afternoons crawling under sinks and dealing with those stupid plastic augers. Each one was its own little puzzle, you know? Some took 15 minutes and some took two hours and a part order. I guess the milestone mattered because it proves I've actually gotten good at this weird niche instead of just fumbling around. Has anyone else ever counted up their specialty repairs and felt surprised by what you've done?

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kim963•7d ago

The day three dryers in a row all had the same weird belt problem

Last Tuesday in Chicago I hit a patch that really got me thinking about how much the trade has changed. I had three service calls back to back where every single dryer had a loose belt that was rubbing against the drum. In the old days you could just adjust the tension with a spring or a screw but these new machines are so sealed up it took twice as long to even get to the belt. The first one was a brand new model from a big box store and the belt was already stretched after six months. The second was an older Samsung where somebody had put the belt on wrong and frayed it. The third was a Maytag and the belt had just snapped clean because the idler pulley was seized. After the third one I called it a day early and went home and had a beer. Has anyone else noticed more belt failures on newer machines compared to the old workhorses?

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linda500•13d ago

Appreciation post: Hitting my 500th washer spin balance repair

Ngl, I hit 500 washer spin balance repairs last week, and it kind of surprised me how much it mattered. I keep track because my old mentor told me to log every job for tax stuff, but I never expected to hit that number. Most people say spin balance problems are just a quick fix, but I disagree - they take a real eye for detail. I've seen a dozen machines where the shock absorbers looked fine but were shot after checking the tub movement. Honestly, it made me realize how much time I've spent dialing in those settings for specific brands. Does anyone else tally up a specific job type like this, or am I just being too into the numbers?

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claire_walker•13d ago

Guy I subcontracted for last month tried to fix a fridge with zip ties and duct tape

Got a call from a rental property manager about a fridge not cooling. Show up and find the evaporator fan is being held on with zip ties and the drain pan has duct tape strips all over it. Previous "repair guy" was apparently some handyman they hired off Craigslist. Took me 3 hours to undo his mess and do it right. Has anyone else run into hack jobs like this from unlicensed people?

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umamartin•13d ago

PSA: Stop replacing the whole control board for a simple relay fix

Had a dryer that wouldn't heat last month, and the board looked like a mess. Instead of dropping $200 on a new one, I took 10 minutes to swap a $5 relay from Mouser Electronics. Works perfect now, has anyone else tried just fixing the component instead of the whole board?

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park.abby•15d ago

Showerthought: Do you fix it right away or let the customer sit on it for a bit?

Got a call last week about a Whirlpool washer that wouldn't drain on Elm Street. Found a sock stuck in the pump, easy fix. But the customer was debating if they wanted me to do it right then or wait til the weekend. Made me wonder, do you guys push for immediate repairs or let folks mull it over? Sometimes I feel like waiting just makes the problem worse...

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derek_schmidt6•16d ago

Been using blue loctite on dryer drum screws and it fixed a noise that drove me nuts for a month

Had a customer call me back twice about a rattle in their Samsung dryer. Checked everything, belt, rollers, idler. Turned out the drum screws were backing out just a hair. Put a drop of blue loctite on each one and its been quiet for 3 months now. Anyone else do this or am I overthinking it?

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barbaraw47•18d ago

Cracked a Frigidaire evaporator coil by using a heat gun too fast

Had to replace the whole evaporator assembly, cost the customer $400 and two hours of my Saturday. Now I just use a steamer instead, but it still takes forever on heavy ice.

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margaret_kelly55•18d ago

Found out most fridge compressors die from a $10 relay, not the motor itself

Was digging through a repair manual from 2019 I found in a box in my van and saw this stat that said like 70% of compressor calls are actually just a bad start relay. Blew my mind because I've replaced whole compressors before not knowing this. Now I always carry a few of those relays in my truck since they're cheap and easy to swap. Has anyone else saved a compressor with just a relay swap or am I late to the party?

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barbara_baker57•19d ago

Why does nobody talk about customers lying about what they did

Last month a guy swore up and down he never touched the control board on his Samsung fridge but I found crumbs and coffee stains inside the panel. His face went red when I held up the board and asked if he spilled his morning cup on it. Has anyone else caught customers in these obvious fibs?

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sarah531•20d ago

Had a week where every single ice maker I touched fought back

Three calls in five days, all with ice makers that looked fine until I dug into them - one had a bad auger motor that was making this awful grinding noise, another had a water valve that was barely dribbling. Has anyone else had a run of bad luck like that with just one type of appliance?

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adam_lewis•20d ago

Just realized my old dryer pressure test was wrong for years

A customer pointed out I was using the wrong PSI setting on my manometer for gas dryers back in March. I had been reading specs from a 2012 manual that didn't match the newer models. Has anyone else caught themselves following outdated procedures that a customer or installer schooled you on?

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kai_butler83•22d ago

Noticed something weird in a rental unit I went to today

Went to fix a washer in an Airbnb near downtown and the tenant had jammed a plastic grocery bag under the agitator to stop a noise. Has anyone else seen people use garbage as a DIY fix?

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kim_west•23d ago

Had a talk with an old timer yesterday that made me rethink my whole approach

I was swapping out a compressor on a 20 year old fridge in Greenville and this retired guy, must have been 70, was watching me from his porch. He came over and asked why I was in such a hurry. I told him I had 3 more calls today. He said 'You ever stop and listen to the machine before you touch it?' I just stood there for a second and realized I never do that. Now I'm wondering how many times I've missed an easy fix because I was too focused on the job list. Has anyone else had a customer or neighbor drop some advice that actually changed how you work?

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the_zara•24d ago

The day I caught myself using the wrong multimeter setting on every fridge compressor

I was testing a compressor on a GE fridge last Tuesday and the ohms reading made zero sense. Turns out I had the meter set to AC voltage for six months straight. Has anyone else spent way too long using a meter setting without double checking?

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linda500•25d ago

Customer swore her dryer wasn't heating up

Found a sock melted around the heating element inside the vent hose, cleared it out in 10 minutes and she handed me $80 cash with a shocked look on her face - anyone else find weird stuff jammed in dryer vents?

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anna_fox7•25d ago

Old timer told me to use heat on stuck refrigerator compressor bolts

I was wrestling with a seized compressor on a Frigidaire last Thursday and this retired guy at the parts counter said hit the bolt heads with a butane torch for 30 seconds. Turned out the heat broke the corrosion loose and I got it out in 5 minutes after fighting it for an hour with penetrant. Has anyone else found heat works better than penetrating oil on rusted appliance hardware?

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kim_west•26d ago

Had to decide between fixing my old dryer motor or buying a cheap used one off Craigslist

I've got a Whirlpool from 2008 that's been running fine until the motor started grinding last Tuesday. I spent an hour testing continuity and the windings looked okay, but the bearings sounded shot. The new motor from the supply house was $180, but I found a used one on Craigslist for $40 from a guy in Tacoma who said it worked when he pulled it. I went with the used one, installed it yesterday, and the dryer runs quiet now. Anyone else take chances with used parts like that and get burned or was I lucky?

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rowan_roberts49•27d ago

Discovered a gas leak on a dryer call in Denver last Thursday

Was out fixing a noisy drum bearing when my nose caught something off. Checked the flex line with soapy water and found a tiny pinhole leak behind the connector. How often do you guys find gas issues on jobs that aren't about gas at all?

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robert_anderson69•27d ago

That moment I realized most people are cleaning their dryer vents wrong

I was at a job in Phoenix last week. Lady said her dryer was taking 3 cycles to dry a load. I pulled the vent and it was half clogged with lint. She told me she cleans the trap every time. So I asked how she cleans the vent. She said she just vacuums the opening. That's the problem. You gotta disconnect the whole line from the back of the dryer and blow it out from the outside. I see this all the time. People think cleaning the lint trap is enough. Anyone else run into this?

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alice336•29d ago

Tried that condenser coil cleaning foam everyone raves about

I sprayed it on a filthy fridge coil last Tuesday and came back to find it had turned into a solid white crust that took me an hour to chip off. The stuff worked great on the box demo but I guess real world grease and dust is a different animal. Anyone else had a cleaner turn into a bigger headache than the original dirt?

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the_fiona•1mo ago

Hit 1,000 compressor swaps last Tuesday and it felt weirdly big

I was just finishing up a fridge repair in Beaverton when I realized this was my 1,000th compressor swap since I started tracking back in 2018. I keep a little log in a spiral notebook (old school, I know) and the number caught me off guard. Has anyone else hit a random milestone like this in their work and felt surprised by it?

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