I have a piece of knowledge to impart. A tid bit. A nugget.
Don't ever wait to do the laundry until you literally don't have a single thing left to wear. Do not leave it until you're so desperate for underwear you are forced to wear, not only the uncomfortable ones but the novelty, ripped and worst of all ... Valentine's Day gift ones.
Because if you do that, on the day you finally exhaust all underwear possibilities, and are forced to do laundry ... your dryer will break. And you will not notice until you've already washed a huge load of laundry. At midnight.
My fella came downstairs on Saturday morning to a house dripping in underwear. There were jeans, socks and tee shirts hanging off of every possible knob and rail. My kitchen looked like someone bombed Bangladesh.
What happened, was I pushed the button to turn my trusty Bosch dryer on and it kind of lit up, but not really. The buttons were kind of faintly trying their best to light up ... and then they went out. Asshole buttons.
Now a normal reaction to this problem would be to scream like a stuck pig, curse the dryer God's and then call a service repairman in the morning.
Which is exactly what I did. However, I didn't call the service reapairman to come and fix my dryer for me. I called to ask him if I could do it myself.
As it turns out ... I could.
And you can too. Here's how.
Step #1. The dryer repairman told me it was likely a blown fuse causing my dryer issues so I Googled where the fuse box on this particular dryer was. It was at the back. Of course. Move your dryer inch by inch so you have access to the back of it.
Step 2. Assess whether or not you can squarsh yourself into the space between the wall and the dryer to gain access to the back of it. Decide you hadn't had lunch yet so you probably could.
Part of my problem with getting a repairman (aside from the cost) was finding a repairman that could fit into this space. Unless I happened to get ahold of some repair service that happily disregarded child labour laws, my chances were slim.
I decided I could fit, so I squished through to get to the back of the dryer and find the fuse box. The plastic baggie you can see in the foreground at my head level is filled with backstage passes from when I hosted an entertainment show. I'm not sure at all why I keep them in a plastic baggie hanging in my "laundry closet". I don't have to have a reason for everything, do I?
Step 3. Disconnect power to the dryer. Immediately. Before you do anything else. You can turn off the breaker, or just unplug the thing. I unplugged the thing. If you do not unplug/disconnect the thing there is a chance you will regret it in a large way. And so will those who are forced to plan your funeral.
And then I took a look around. This is what I found behind the dryer. A few towels that had fallen back, a lot of dust and a whack of change which fell behind the dryer several years ago. Oh. And a bunch of hoses and stuff.
Step 4. Locate the fuse box. It was pretty obvious to me, the literal "box" at the back of the dryer with the power cord going into it was the fuse box. Plus it had the words "All Fuses 15 A" on it. That helped too.
I opened it up by unscrewing a couple of screws and sure enough ... it looked like it was filled with something that could be fuses. I'm pointing to one of them there.
To gain access to the fuses, you have to unscrew the knobs on the side of the box.
The fuse comes out with it.
Step 5. Remove the fuse. Remove both fuses actually, so you can test them to see if they're bad. If a fuse is bad, then you know it probably IS the source of the whole broken dryer, Slumdog Millionaire decor problem.
Step 6. Get out your trusty Ohm meter. An Ohm meter tests things like batteries and fuses among other things. They're around $40. Unless you buy things on sale, in which case they're around $14.99.
The instructions for the Ohm meter will tell you how to set it to test a 15 amp fuse. I set my meter to Ohm "20" to test my 15 amp fuses. Simply touch the probes to either side of the fuse to test it. If the fuse is good the meter will beep. If the fuse isn't good, there will be no sound and no change in the display.
The first fuse I tested didn't beep and showed no change in the meter reading at all. Bad fuse. Which is good news!
The second fuse I tested registered there was current running through the fuse. It wasn't blown.
Step 7. Buy a replacement fuse. So off to my local electronics/fuse store I went to pick up my new fuse. If you do this, remember to bring your old fuse with you. I even had the store test my fuse to double check that it was indeed bad. It was.
Remove your old fuse ....
Step 8. ... and insert your new one.
Put your fuses back in their spots in the fuse box at the back of the dryer, close the fuse box back up, plug in the dryer and push everything back to where it was. Do so in the most attractive manner. Like so ...
Everything is back where it started. My dryer cost a fortune by the way. It's the only one that would fit in my laundry closet. However, with that high price came unbelievable conveniences. For example, it's a condensation dryer. That means, there's no venting. The water is whisked away in a tube and drains down the same drain pipe as the washing machine. It's the kind of engineering and technology only a smart person could have come up with.
Turn your dyer on. Ta da! We have power.
And when I say power, I don't just mean power to the dryer. WE, you and I ... have power.
As I often say, It ain't that hard. Any of it.
You do NOT have to rely on a service repairman for everything. Oftentimes they can't be bothered to come out and fix your stupid dryer. They're more than happy to tell you how to do it. All you have to do is ask.
Asking never hurts. I once asked my friend Renee for a pair of gold Norma Kamali shoes on a whim and she gave them to me. So get over the whole embarrassment thing and ASK. Free shoes and inexpensive dryer repair await.
So let's look at the totals here.
If I'd had a repairman come, it would have cost approximately $130 for the visit and the part.
Instead I diagnosed and fixed it myself, which cost me the price of the fuse. $14.63 including tax.
And as luck would have it, I found $15.76 in change behind the dryer.
Which means, by fixing my own dryer ... I made $1.13.
I don't expect too many of you out there to fix your own major appliances, but I want you to know you CAN. You can fix/install all kinds of things all by yourself. It ain't that hard. Any of it.
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Home improvement made simple!
Lovely post! When I bought this house you couldn't use the front door cos it was piled to the ceiling with microwaves, tellies, cassette/cd players, heaters - all of which had blown fuses. So the idiot bloke who lived here stuck it on the to-do pile and went out and bought a new whatever. All my friends got new stuff for the cost of a new fuse - I didnt cos I was too busy renovating.
Hey take all those lanyards and hang them on a wall somewhere as a little memory board piece of art. Lovely blog, thanks heapsly for it. Jasmine in Oz
Way to go!
I showed my husband how to fix the kitchen sink on Sunday.
It's the simple things in life.
This post was exactly the kick in the pants I needed! I've been waiting almost a year for my husband to fix our washer and dryer. Then I saw this. Yesterday I took the washer apart and fixed it, and today I fixed the dryer. Thanks for the motivation, Karen!!!
Our dryer stopped drying in the middle of a 3-load wash day. It was still spinning, but there was no heat and after 2 hrs of running, the load still wasn't dry (duh). I actually had a sweet old repair man come all the way out to the apartment without checking the breaker box (which I shall never do again), and he was smart enough to check that box before taking the dryer apart. Turns out my stupid apartment maintenance man had partially tripped the breaker for that dryer outlet, which caused only the heat to turn off on it. I still had to pay $40 for the kind old repair guy's time, but I'll never make that mistake again!
Love yer blog! Excellent work on the dryer and once upon a time I was as thin as you. So stylish with the shoes and all. One observation on making a profit on the repair...you need to factor in the $125 dollar cost of gas to get you to the 'fuse' store....pretty sure you still come out ahead tho....lol. Keep doin what ya do cuz ya do it so well!
This makes me wonder if I can fix my own dryer. It operates, but it routinely traps smaller items in between the rotating barrel and the stationary outer part. To remove said items I have to yank them, often causing holes, and they're always left with icky black marks where they were stuck. The dryer also leaves black marks and occasionally holes in other garments that I don't find stuck. Which is even more frustrating because I'm not sure what exactly is causing it. Perhaps its the same thing and they unstuck themselves before I get to them. Stupid dryer.
I've been planning to just live with it until I can afford a new one. That's what I get for buying a dryer for $60 at a second hand shop.
Okay so I guess I should look at how to fix my washing machine. It stops at the deep rinse cycle on the normal wash side. My current solution, spin the dial round to deep rinse on the gentle wash side and start the machine again...
Also I regularly move our washing machine to clean under it (kitty litter knows no bounds) so I'm not likely to discover a little pot of gold underneath my appliance - so sad.
I finally remembered what I meant to put in my first comment! If you discover your dryer will run but won't heat up, that can also be a blown fuse. (Probably depends on which fuse blows.)
Your laundry room looks exactly like mine! Way to go! I like the "unplug" advice. I was just cleaning my dryer today and wondering if I should unplug before I stuck my vacuum cleaner nozzle inside. I survived.
A few things come to mind:
1) That skinny heifer can fit in that little space between her washer/dryer and the wall.
2) Thank God someone else has random crap hanging around their laundry room.
3) I have fixed my dryer's ignition coil - or something like that. Bought the part and my own personal repairman (I married him 16 years ago on Friday the 20th) walked me through the repairs over the phone. If I were as funny as you and had the gumption, I could start a blog and write about this stuff, too. Hmmm.
This is pure handy to know good stuff!
I fixed my dryer last year by reaching in the dryer hose from outside the house and pulling out wads of lint. While praying there were no dead animals in said hose.
You had me laughing throughout the entire post. Job well done! Don't you just love the feeling of being able to do something yourself. Nothing better!
BTW...love the shoes!!
I love your watch! I've promised myself a watch when I'm at the 20 pound weight loss mark. (ten pounds is this great pair of slingback platform shoes)What brand is it? I'm hoping pictures of my goals on the fridge will help. (30 is a pair of jeans from the custom jean shop in the next town)
Amy - Ooooo custom jeans! That sounds like fun! My watch is a Michael Kors white ceramic watch. I got it for Christmas. Only I didn't. My fella actually bought me a diamond watch which I promptly returned so I could buy this one. I liked the diamond watch but I don't need a diamond watch. I did however, NEED, a white Michael Kors watch. :) Good luck with your goal! ~ karen
Good going and Really good post! and good pictures of the procedure. There is only one thing I would have done differently and that is --change BOTH fuses -- especially on a 12-13 year old appliance. My experience has been that if there is a problem with an old fuse, hose, light, whatever and there are multiples of same item then in 6 months or maybe a year or so, I'll have to do it all again for the/an/other one -- cause they're all OLD.
Thanks for your site!
Kate - It's all taken care of. Don't you worry about a thing. I got a spare fuse which I taped to the side of the dryer. I didn't include it in my "cost" because if the dryer repairman had come I wouldn't have bought an extra fuse. It was an option that I decided to partake in that wasn't necessary. ~ karen!
Definitly love your attitude. Great job!
How are the chicks? I think they are growing very fast!
Micol - Thank you! The chicks are growing very quickly by the way. Being chickens they're hard to get a picture of! I"ll try this week. ~ karen!
Love it! This reminds me of the time my husband leaned on our washer pressing a bunch of buttons at once and the whole thing wet caput. We tried unplugging/replugging (you know like IT people always tell you to turn off the computer to fix it), we tried pushing all sorts of buttons - no help. So, we called the repairman who gave us some crazy quote to come out. I said, "Wait,just wait, someone else out in this crazy world had to have this happen to them" so I googled like a mad woman and indeed did find others with the same issue. Turns out, there was a series of buttons we had to push in a certain order and whallah the washer worked again. FREE. I love the internet (sometimes, just sometimes, it doesn't lie to us) :)
Way to go Karen!
p.s.: We bought our wood/supplies this weekend to start our chicken coop build. How's your plan to find a plan to think about building coming???? At some point, we have a plan to plan on finding chickens to live in our chicken coop;)
Mmm. Still planning. ~ k
Wehay! We like the power! Thanks for the educational tidbit!
I recently found myself at a stand still with my house decor, my old lampshades (now painted :) ), and my dirty cutting board (which i cleaned thanks to you!) Your posts are inspiring and get me up off my lazy behind and make me feel like I can do it all! Even though I'm a busy stay at home mom trying to run my own company, your simple projects make it all so quick and easy. THANK YOU. I'm officially obsessed. (but not in a stalker, creepy way) haha
:)
I was surprised (and a bit disappointed) to not find a picture of your Bangladesh/Slumdog Millionaire house at the end of the post. Still, I am satisfied with today's post, as always!