What should you do when an appliance breaks down
Your brand new kitchen is fitted and it’s looking beautiful. You’ve invited some guests round for a dinner party so you can show off your entertaining space in style. And suddenly the oven doesn’t seem to be behaving quite as it should. Nightmare!
So what do you do?
Well the good news is there are plenty of things you can try before you resort to calling someone out.
Find the instruction manual
Whether you installed the appliances independently or you asked your kitchen fitter to do it as part of the job, it’s good practice to collect up the instruction manuals for all your appliances and put them together somewhere safe. That way, if something goes wrong it’ll be easy to lay your hands on them.
Most manuals have an FAQ or troubleshooting section near the back that explains exactly what to do for all the common faults that might appear on your appliance.
Check for a fault code
Whether it’s a series of flashing lights or a more obvious digital code, most modern appliances are clever enough to identify what’s wrong and try to let you know.
You might need to use the troubleshooting section in the manual to decipher the message and work out how to resolve the issue but you should be at least some of the way there.
What if you can’t find the instruction manual?
If you can’t lay your hands on the instruction manual when you need it, don’t panic. Most good brands provide all their operating instructions online. We’ve listed below, the customer support sites for some of the brands we work with. Here, you should be able to input details about your specific appliance, such as the model number, and find or download the information you need:
A few other things to try before you call in the pros
- Try switching the appliance on and off again at the socket. Sometimes a little shut down and reboot is enough to get things working again.
- Check to see whether the manufacturer offers a self-assessment / troubleshooting programme online, such as this one from Miele.
- Google the problem along with the specific model number of the appliance. It’s highly unlikely you’re the only one who has come across this issue and there are many useful forums out there with people chatting about this kind of thing and sharing experiences.
- A quick internet search might also come up with useful blogs about specific types of appliances like this one sent to us by one of our suppliers, Dunavox: Troubleshooting your wine cooler
Check whether you’re covered under warranty
Most appliances you buy will come with a year’s manufacturer’s warranty. If something goes wrong during this time they will be bound to repair or replace the item. It is possible to buy extended warranties to cover you for a longer period, but whether this is a good investment or not is the subject of much debate.
If you are covered, great, the manufacturer will be happy to arrange support either over the phone or in person, depending on the problem or whether they believe there is a part required.
Sometimes the only choice is to get someone in
If you’ve exhausted all the ideas above and determine that the only choice is to get someone in, you’ll be left with two options, go direct to the manufacturer for service or try to find a local repair person. Going direct to the manufacturer is likely to be more expensive but you can be confident that they will be fitting only genuine parts.
Ask around for recommendations from family and friends and make sure you tell any potential repairer what brand your appliance is, as this may make a difference to whether they are able to find parts or make the necessary repairs.
We are always happy to advise on choice of appliances as part of our kitchen design process. Find out more about the brands we recommend to our customers or contact us for a no obligation chat about our services.