c/appliance-repairers

That tip about flame sensors from a HVAC guy saved me a service call

Stopped by a supply house in Lynnwood last Thursday and the counter guy told me to clean the flame sensor on a newer GE range before even looking at anything else... Turned out the sensor had a thin layer of buildup and after a quick scrub with a green pad the range fired right up. Any of you guys run into this trick working on gas ranges or is it just certain brands?

That LG front loader took me 5 hours before I found the sock

Spent all afternoon chasing a drain error on an LG WM3900HWA, pulled the pump, cleaned the filter twice, even replaced the drain hose. Finally found a crumpled up baby sock wedged deep in the bellows fold, I guess I should have checked there first. Anybody else get fooled by a simple clog in a weird spot?

Threw $120 at a fancy multimeter and it burned out in 3 months

Bought one of those autoranging clamp meters from a big brand thinking it'd last forever. After chasing a dead short on a dryer, the thing just started reading random numbers and then went dead. Anyone else had luck with a cheaper brand that actually holds up?

Customer handed me a bag of half-eaten snacks and asked me to fix their ice maker while they finished their sandwich

This lady in Omaha last Thursday actually sat there eating a turkey and swiss while I was elbow deep in her fridge, and she kept asking me if I wanted chips like I was there for a lunch date, has anyone else had a customer act like you're just hanging out instead of working?

Debate: Do you clear the error codes on a new install or leave them for the customer?

I was out in Austin last week replacing a control board on a Samsung fridge. Got it all hooked up and working, but there were like 5 old error codes stored in the memory. The customer was watching me the whole time and asked if those meant the fridge was still broken. I told her they were old codes but now I'm wondering if I should clear them before leaving next time. What do you all do in that situation?

Found a dead mouse inside a sealed compressor today in Madison

My LG washing machine threw error code OE on a holiday weekend

Last Saturday my LG front-loader stopped mid-cycle and started flashing error code OE. I checked the drain pump filter and found a bobby pin and some lint stuck in the impeller. Cleared it out but the machine still won't drain properly. Has anyone else dealt with OE codes that keep coming back even after cleaning the filter?

Hit 300 service calls this year and it snuck up on me

I was going through my log book yesterday and realized I'm at 301 calls for the year. That's way more than I thought I'd be doing when I started this trade back in 2018. Most of them are washer and dryer stuff, but I've seen a big jump in fridge calls this fall. Anyone else track their numbers like this and get surprised by the total?

PSA: Tried a cheap multimeter vs a Fluke on a fridge call and it cost me 2 hours

Honestly I've used a $30 multimeter for years on basic stuff and thought it was fine. Last week I struggled with a Samsung fridge that kept tripping the compressor start relay. Swapped in my buddies Fluke 87 and found a 0.3 volt drop on the main board that my cheap meter totally missed. Wasted 2 hours chasing ghosts. Now I'm buying a Fluke this week. Has anyone else had a cheap meter lead them down the wrong path on a tricky board?

Customer told me I was using too much silicone sealant on their fridge line repair

Back in March a customer in Alexandria watched me seal their ice maker line and said I was being wasteful. They were right though I was laying down a thick bead like I always did. After watching them show me how a thin even layer does the same job I cut my silicone usage by about 60 percent. Has anyone else had a straightforward tip from a homeowner that actually improved your work?

That $50 multimeter from Amazon let me down hard

Picked up a cheap autoranging multimeter off Amazon for about $50 last spring. Worked fine for basic stuff until I tried to check a microwave capacitor and it gave me a false reading. Almost got zipped until I double checked with my buddy's Fluke. Anyone else get burned by a cheap meter or am I just unlucky?

Worst Tuesday I've had in this trade in 10 years

Had a call in San Jose for a Samsung washer that wouldn't drain. Got there at 8am, pulled the pump, found a sock. Easy fix, right? Put it back together, ran a test cycle, and water started pouring from underneath the machine. Turns out the drain hose clamp I loosened cracked when I tightened it back. Had to drive 45 minutes to a parts supplier, then another hour back. Customer was not happy. Has anyone else had a simple job turn into a nightmare over one stupid plastic part?

My buddy's take on compressor swaps caught me off guard

I was talking to this guy named Mike at a parts counter in Phoenix last week. He said swapping a compressor on a 10 year old fridge is usually a waste because the efficiency drops so much after that age. I always thought fixing it was the right call for the customer... but he had a point about the power bill adding up over a few years. Has anyone else run into customers complaining about higher electric costs after a compressor swap?

Debate: is it worth replacing a control board on a 7 year old washing machine or just buy new?

Guy called me yesterday saying his dryer was possessed. Turned out he just put a tennis ball in there with his sneakers.

I get at least one call a month about some "haunted" or "possessed" appliance. Nine times out of ten it's something dumb like a coin stuck in the drum or a kid's toy jammed in the vent. How do you not check the drum before calling a repair guy? Has anyone else dealt with these "ghost in the machine" calls where it's just user error?

The week I fixed 14 fridges in 5 days and almost quit

Last summer I had this stretch in July where every call was a fridge. One day in particular I drove from a house in Beaverton to a restaurant in Hillsboro and both were Samsung compressors shot. By Thursday I had done 14 fridge jobs total and my back was screaming at me. Has anyone else hit a wall like that where you just want to walk away from the whole trade for a few days?

Shoutout to the guy who showed me the freezer gasket trick

I was at a supply house in Des Moines last Tuesday picking up a compressor and an old-timer told me to use a hair dryer on stubborn gaskets instead of prying them off. Tried it on a five-year-old Whirlpool freezer door and the gasket came off clean in two minutes. Has anyone else found a weird tool that works better than the standard stuff?

Finally figured out the real trick for diagnosing bad compressor start relays

I kept seeing guys on here swapping out whole compressors when the fridge wasn't cooling. Turns out I was replacing start relays wrong too for like 2 years. Last week I had a Whirlpool side-by-side where the relay was clicking but the compressor wasn't kicking on. Used my multimeter to check resistance across the run and start windings - found the start winding was open. Ordered a new relay for $12 instead of a $200 compressor replacement. Saved the customer a ton of money and felt like a hero lol. Anyone else have a simple test that caught them slipping for way too long?

Why does everyone skip the gasket seal test on refrigerator doors?

I've seen three posts this month where someone replaced a compressor or added refrigerant without checking the door gasket first, and I swear half my calls start with a bad seal. Has anyone else found a quicker way to test these without the dollar bill trick?

Almost lost a fridge compressor to a bad run capacitor - watch for this

I was out in Bakersfield last Tuesday on a service call for a Whirlpool side by side that was cycling on the thermal overload. Pulled the start relay and the run cap was bulging just slightly on the bottom - barely noticeable unless you were looking for it. The customer said the fridge had been making a humming noise for three days and she thought it was normal. Swapped that cap out for a 5 uF 370 volt and the compressor fired right up without any strain. Any of you run into hidden cap failures that almost took out a compressor?

I finally bought a cheap capacitor tester and it paid for itself in one job

I spent $35 on a basic capacitor tester from Amazon last month and it already saved me a headache on a fridge call. The compressor wouldn't kick on and I was about to order a start relay. Ran the tester on the run capacitor and it read way low at 3 microfarads when it should have been 8. Swapped it out for a $12 part and the fridge fired right up. That tester kept me from chasing a phantom issue for hours. Anyone else have a tool that cost less than $50 but changed how you work?

Hit 500 dryer vent cleanings this month and found something scary

I'm not bragging about numbers, just hit my 500th dryer vent cleaning and every third job had a lint buildup that could have started a fire. One house had lint packed so tight the vent was almost solid. Has anyone else seen this many risky setups in a row?

Bought a fancy multimeter on Amazon, the leads fell apart in 3 days

Picked up a $60 Klein multimeter off Amazon last month thinking I was getting a deal. The test leads actually crumbled at the probe tips by day 3. Has anyone else had cheap clone equipment fail on a service call?

Why does nobody talk about the first time a fridge compressor lockout catches you off guard

I was in a basement in St. Louis last March, cold as ever, and I spent two hours chasing a no-cool call on a Whirlpool before I finally noticed the compressor was hot to the touch and a quick continuity check told me it was just the internal overload cycling, not a dead part.

I finally figured out why that GE dryer kept tripping the breaker at the Johnson job site last week

Turns out the thermal fuse was blown, but the real kicker was a cracked drum support roller that was causing the belt to rub against the wiring harness - has anyone else run into this mess on a 3-year-old model?