Home appliances and systems are significant investments in your home, and they help make our lives easier. When a home system breaks down and stops functioning, it can be challenging to decide if to replace or repair it. As a homeowner, it is vital to invest in the American residential warranty plan to cover the costs of repairing or replacing your home appliances.
Here are guidelines to help you decide if your appliance needs replacing or repairing:
- Confirm if the appliance has broken down
Sometimes your appliance might stop working due to other factors, and it has not broken down. Before you conclude your device is not functional, confirm if you have plugged it in the socket. Check if the circuit breakers have fallen and reset them. Uneven flooring might also cause your appliances to stop functioning. Examine if the appliances filters have dust because when the dust settles on them, it can clog the filters making the appliances not work correctly.
- Check if the broken appliance is under home warranty cover
It will help if you buy a home warranty policy to cover your home appliance repairing and replacement costs. If the broken appliance is under home warranty cover, you should call the home warranty company and inform them about the problem. The warranty company will immediately send service contractors to your house to repair the appliance or replace it. You will only need to pay for the service call costs as the home warranty company will cover all other expenses.
- Consider the age of the appliance
Every home appliance has its useful life span. Different machines have different life spans. When deciding if to repair or replace a broken appliance, you should consider its lifespan. If the appliance has served for more than half of its lifespan, you should consider replacing it. If the appliance is still at the early stages of its life span, you can consider repairing it.
- Consider if you can do the repairing on your own
If you have electronic repair skills, you can repair minor problems on your appliance to save on labor costs. You can use YouTube to guide you on repairing the specific broken appliance. You can also check on the manufacturer’s manual to advise you on how to fix the appliance.
However, you should be careful when repairing the appliances on your own because if you make a wrong diagnosis on the appliances’ problem, you risk losing your money as you cannot get a refund on most electric parts. Also, you can injure yourself when moving heavy appliances. The home warranty company will not accept your claim if you mess with the systems. You should unplug the device from the socket before starting the repair to avoid electrocuting yourself.
- Evaluate if energy efficiency is cost-effective
If you replace your old appliances with new energy-efficiency appliances, they can be cost-effective. If an old machine stops working, you should evaluate if you replace it with a new one to save on energy costs. For example, some old model fridges consume more electricity watts than the new model. In that case, you should consider replacing your old model refrigerator with a new model instead of repairing it. However, buying new appliances might be more expensive than the repairing costs of old appliances.
If you plan to live in your home for the next twenty years, it is good to replace your broken appliances and systems. But if you plan to sell your house soon, it is better to repair the appliances as you will save you on costs and allow the new buyer to replace the systems to be energy efficient.
- Examine if there are hidden costs
When deciding whether to replace or repair your appliances, examine if there are other hidden costs to help you make an informed decision. Sometimes buying a new machine might have more costs involved other than the actual price of the machine. For example, when you are replacing your fridge, you might incur additional expenses of modifying the cabinetry for the new refrigerator to fit at the spot of your old fridge. You have to weigh out the extra costs of replacing your appliance and decide if you have enough funds for them. If you are on a tight budget, replacing your machine will be your only option.
Bottom line
Home appliances are essential in our homes as they make our lives more enjoyable. However, it can be a stressful moment when they break down. If the broken system is old, you should consider replacing it. You should invest in home warranty policies to help you cover your appliances’ repair and replacement costs.