How to Repair Household Appliances - Overview

By the DIY experts of The Family Handyman Magazine

Oven won't heat? Clothes won't dry? 

Fix the oven and clothes dryer yourself 

and avoid expensive service calls.

If you're like most people, you expect to have to pay a repair professional when an appliance breaks down. After all, it's pretty tough to be without an oven or a clothes dryer for very long, and most of us don't have a clue where to start looking for the problem. But surprisingly, many common appliance breakdowns are easy to diagnose and fix. With little more than an inexpensive multimeter and nut drivers, you can do many repairs yourself and save hundreds of dollars. In this article, we'll show you how to find and fix some problems you're likely to have with ovens and dryers.

The parts for these repairs, none of which will take more than a few hours, are moderately priced. You'll need the model number and serial number of the appliance to buy parts. Look for the tag with this information under the lid of washers and dryers, or behind the door or bottom drawer of ovens. To find parts, check the Yellow Pages under “Appliance Parts,” go online to a parts service, or contact the manufacturer.

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