A few weeks ago my GE dryer died overnight. One day it worked; the next day it wouldn’t start. The resulting repair, professionally done, might approach record territory for its speed and simplicity. Although I’m out almost $200, I’m happy with the result.
If you haven’t used Manning’s Appliance Service (Port Orchard, Washington) before, you don’t just call them for an appointment. Instead, you fill out a lengthy questionnaire on their website that allows them to be more efficient during a service call. A scheduler then contacts you, explains their rates, and schedules a site visit. In my case, I delayed the service call for a week to do some troubleshooting and to find a replacement should my dryer have rotated its drum for the final time.
Troubleshooting was quick. The problem wasn’t the door switch (the most common cause for my dryer’s symptoms according to several websites) or the circuit breaker. After that, with my limited ability, I was out of options.
Next I tried using a homemade clothesline. That worked great for small loads of wash but only because Washington summers are warm and dry. Come winter, I would be dealing with wet clothes and no place to dry them.
After some online research I found a satisfactory matching pair of replacements for the dryer and washer. That’s not as easy as it sounds given my space-challenged laundry room. Why is it that so many appliances seem to be increasing in size? Dutifully I bookmarked the replacements’ web pages.
At that point I had to decide whether my 12-year-old dryer was worth repairing given the cost of a new one and the fact that a lasting repair wasn’t certain. I decided to roll the repair dice.
On the day of the service call, “Drew” showed up on time and had the dryer working in less than five minutes, including the time it took for me to escort him to the laundry room. The culprit: a faulty drying-cycles selector knob. He popped off the old one, rotated the selector shaft with a pair of plyers to optimum dry, and pushed start. That’s all it took. He then showed me that inside the old knob the plastic was so worn that it was no longer turning the selector shaft even though the knob itself was turning. With the installation of a new knob from the parts on his truck (see photo), the repair was complete.
So why did that cost $195? There was a charge for the service call, first 15 minutes of work, and the part. Plus sales tax on everything. But when you consider the time it would take to purchase a new dryer and get it installed, the repair charge is easier to accept.
Deciding whether to repair or replace a nonfunctioning appliance is complicated if it isn’t under warranty. I had two thoughts based on my experience. First new appliances (except for high end models) are relatively inexpensive especially considering the amount of use you get from them. Repairs, in contrast, are not inexpensive. Second the dead appliance has a negative value when you consider that it takes money to get rid of it unless it can be fixed.
While both observations generally favor replacement over repair, my case shows that repair can sometimes be a good choice. So far anyway. If one of your appliances dies anytime soon, I hope your choice is a good one too.
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