Plain explanations of what goes wrong with appliances in Valley heat and hard water, what repairs cost here, and what you can safely check yourself.
10 guides written for Valley homes
These guides answer the questions we hear on the phone most often. Why does the fridge struggle every August? Is a seven-year-old dishwasher worth fixing? What should you do in the first ten minutes after a washer floods the laundry room?
They are written and kept up to date by our Appliance Guides Editor, Arthur Bellamy, with input from the technicians who do the repairs. Nothing here replaces a diagnosis, but it will help you describe the problem, spot the urgent signs and keep small problems small.
When the San Fernando Valley climbs past 100°F, a refrigerator has to work far harder to move heat out of the cabinet. Here is what happens inside the machine, which parts give out first, and what you can do about it.
Read the guideAppliance repair prices in Los Angeles vary with the machine, the part and how hard it is to reach. These typical ranges show where most common repairs land, so you can tell a fair price from a strange one.
Read the guideWhen an older appliance breaks, the real question is whether one more repair buys you years of use or just delays a purchase. A few simple factors make the answer much clearer than guessing.
Read the guideSan Fernando Valley tap water is hard, and the minerals in it do not stay in the glass. Over time they coat valves, screens and heating parts inside the appliances that use water every day.
Read the guideA clogged dryer vent rarely announces itself all at once. It shows up as slower loads, a warmer laundry room and a dryer that seems tired, and each of those signs is worth taking seriously.
Read the guideA garage refrigerator in the San Fernando Valley lives in a room that can run hotter than the weather outside. With a little setup and a few summer checks, it can keep up instead of quitting in August.
Read the guideOpening the dishwasher to a pool of gray water is frustrating, but most drain problems start with a simple blockage. Work through these checks in order, starting with the easiest, before assuming a part has failed.
Read the guideA gas oven that will not heat is usually a failed igniter or a control problem, not a gas supply issue. A few safe checks can rule out the simple causes before a technician tests the rest.
Read the guideA leaking appliance can soak a hardwood floor or a downstairs ceiling faster than most people expect. What you do in the first few minutes decides how much damage the water does.
Read the guideIn the San Fernando Valley, an earthquake is a matter of when, not if. Heavy appliances can tip, slide and pull on gas and water lines, and a little preparation now keeps them in place.
Read the guideCall now. We answer every hour of every day and can usually tell you on the phone what we will check first.