The five “repairs” that are usually free, and how to check them yourself

A meaningful share of service calls end with no part replaced. These are the ones worth checking for ten minutes before you book anyone – and each one appears in our data as a top-three cause for a very common symptom.

Blocked dryer vent

The single most common reason a dryer runs long, and it trips the thermal fuse, which then looks like a heater failure. Pull the hose off at the wall and run a short cycle. If the symptom changes, the problem was the duct run.

Washer not level

Violent shaking that “needs new suspension” is usually four adjustable feet and a $9 appliance level. Push down each corner of an empty tub.

Fridge drain frozen

Water pooling in the fresh-food compartment is overwhelmingly a blocked defrost drain. Hot water and a baster. Not a new part.

Dishwasher filter

Dishes come out dirty, the machine is “dying”. Clean the filter assembly and clear the spray arm holes with a pin first.

Water heater reset button

No hot water at all on an electric unit often clears by pressing the ECO reset behind the access panel. Kill the breaker first – there is 240V exposed at those panels.

Where to stop

Gas, mains electrical, refrigerant and anything above a ladder: those are licensed-trade jobs and no amount of reading makes them DIY. The point of checking the free causes is not to save the service call, it is to walk into it knowing what to ask for.