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Fix
It Myself?
by Gary Foreman of
The Dollar Stretcher
Dear
Dollar Stretcher,
Recently
we thought our microwave had died for good.
It acted as if it had no power so my husband checked the
breaker box and the fuse wasn't blown. He unplugged it, popped
off the top and looked at all the wires and they looked as if
all were connected. Then he noticed a fuse in it.
He took it out and took it to an appliance store.
He was able to buy a replacement fuse for $4, put it in,
put the top on, plugged it in and now it's working again.
The guy at the appliance store said they go out once in a
while. Saved us the cost of a new microwave.
Joanne
H.
Enumclaw, WA
Like
Joanne's husband, I like to try to do some repairs myself. Part
of the attraction is saving money. The other part is curiosity
about how things work. Her story is a common one. Even in our
"throw away" society, there're still some repairs that
you can do yourself. But the trick is knowing which ones to
attempt. In some cases a failed repair attempt could actually
cost you money or even be dangerous. So how can you decide
whether you want to try to play repairperson?
Before
deciding whether to attempt a repair you need to ask yourself a
couple of questions. The first one is: do you have any idea of
what's wrong? Some items, especially electronics, are so
complicated that it's almost impossible to try to fix them
unless you have special training and tools. But even on
complicated appliances there are some things that you can check.
Joanne's microwave is a perfect example. You don't need to
understand how they cook to know that it needs electricity to
work. Anyone can check a cord for bad connections or look for a
blown fuse.
Next
decide what you would do with the item if you can't fix it.
Would you call in a repairperson, buy a new one or live without
it? If you're going to be forced to buy a new one or live
without it there's usually not much risk in trying to fix it.
Unless you buy expensive parts, the worst that can happen is
that you take it apart, can't fix it and end up throwing away a
disassembled item.
On
the other hand, if you'd call in a repairperson make sure that
you don't make the problem worse with your attempted repair.
That can get expensive.
A
boyhood experience showed me how that works. If you've ever
tried to take apart an old fashioned wind-up watch you know that
there's a point where removing one additional screw will release
dozens of springs and gears! And, unless you're a trained
watchmaker, there's no way to ever get them back together again.
Boing! Whoops!
Fortunately
that watch taught me a lesson. Think through the possible
outcomes before you pull out your screwdriver. If you can get
into big trouble you might decide to walk away from a particular
challenge. And, that's ok. Our goal is to save money. Not
destroy items that a professional could repair.
You
should also consider safety issues before attempting any
repairs. Electricity is a particular concern. Make sure that the
item is unplugged or the circuit breaker turned off before you
begin any repair. Remember that some repairs just aren't safe
without proper tools or knowledge and should not be attempted.
Heights and heavy objects can also be dangerous. Remember that
your safety comes first.
Before
you attempt any repair spend a little time thinking about how
the item works and what the symptoms are. If you don't know
about the appliance, visit your library or do a little web
surfing. There are many good home repair and appliance guides
available. I particularly like the ones written by Popular
Mechanics. You can use the search feature on their website www.popularmechanics.com
to see explanations of how many household items work.
Many
appliances can be broken down into two or three different
processes. Breaking the item down into it's separate functions
helps you diagnose the problem. You don't need to understand
everything, just the basics of the subsystem that's broken.
A
recent challenge with our washing machine is instructive. It was
more than ten years old and with two children we've gotten some
fair use out of it. Now it was starting to leak. And the leak
was getting worse.
After
studying it a bit I realized that the leak probably was
occurring in one of two places. Either in the hoses and mixing
valve that lets water into the tub or in the pump section that
forces the water out of the tub. If the problem were in the pump
assembly the parts could cost more than an old washer was worth.
Fortunately,
after removing the cover, I found that the inlet hose was
cracked. Do I understand completely how a washer works? No. Just
that water must come into the tub and then get out to the drain.
An hour's work and a couple of bucks prevented a $350 purchase.
There
was another lesson from this experience. A year ago the mixing
valve wouldn't work. And, even though I correctly guessed what
was wrong, I couldn't figure out how to get the cover off of the
washer. Had to call in a professional. While he was there I made
sure to watch what he was doing. Most repair people are glad to
answer a question or two as long as you don't put them behind
schedule. In this case I learned the trick to removing the
cover. That sure came in handy this time around.
One
final thought on home repairs. Don't be afraid to fail. There's
no disgrace in it. Even experienced do-it-yourselfers often find
that their skills and tools aren't up to a repair job. As long
as you don't make a problem worse, you really haven't lost
anything but your time.
And,
occasionally you'll succeed. And when you do, you'll save some
money and also have the satisfaction of knowing that you did it
yourself. The only downside is that more items pop up on your
project list!
Gary
Foreman is a former purchasing manager who currently edits
The Dollar Stretcher web site www.stretcher.com/save.htm
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