Being able to do your own repairs can be a huge money saver. Especially if you learn to fix your home appliances and white goods.

These items are not cheap to replace on the whole. So, anything you can do to get a bit more life out of your fridge, washing machine or food mixer is going to serve you well. However, before you go to fix your appliance, there are a few things you need to be aware of. Mostly little things that could trip you up. Fortunately, as you will see, none of the potential issues is insurmountable.

Troubleshoot first

Before you order some parts and set about the repair, take the time to do some troubleshooting. It is surprising how often the reason your washing machine is not working turns out to be something simple. A blockage in one of the pipes. Or a piece of cloth that is caught in the door lock that stops it from engaging properly, meaning that the cycle will not start. Use the tips you can find in this short article to help you to do that.

Be aware of electrical safety

Most appliance repairs do not involve your messing around with the electrics, but you still need to be aware of electrical safety. For example, it is not safe to repair any appliance unless you unplug it first. Even then, you need to be careful. Items like microwaves are fitted with capacitors, which means that the appliance is still effectively live. Even after you have unplugged it if you touch the wrong part you can get a powerful shock. If you are in any doubt whatsoever, call in a professional – don’t put your safety at risk.

If you have already bought the part to carry out the repair, just tell them. Most of the time they will happily use it, which will save time.

You may not always succeed – but don’t let that put you off

If you have not tried fixing your appliances and white goods before, why not give it a go. Often, you will surprise yourself and end up being able to successfully make the repair. Even if you don’t manage it for some reason, you will have still learned some valuable skills along the way. Meaning that the next time you try to repair something in your home you will succeed.

Plus, potentially you can use those skills to earn yourself a bit of extra money. There is always plenty of demand for people who can repair home appliances.

Even if the repair does not work out as you had hoped, you may still be able to make a bit of money out of your broken appliance. Some scrap metal merchants are willing to pay a small sum for some white goods. Another option is to try to sell it to someone who owns the same make and model as you. Provided you explain what is wrong with it people will still be willing to give you a little cash because they can potentially use some of the other parts that are not broken.