Fix It or Forget It? When to Fix or Upgrade Kitchen Appliances

Household appliances are a big investment for any homeowner. Even when you get a great deal on a kitchen appliance, they aren’t exactly cheap! The good news is that if you take good care of your appliances, they should last you for years to come. Finding a good service professional to perform maintenance and repairs on your household appliances can help keep them in good working order for a long time or looking into fixing some parts of your appliances yourself with a place like Appliance Factory Parts.

Even the best-made, most meticulously maintained appliances will eventually need to be replaced. How can you tell when you can fix your own appliance, make a small upgrade by buying used, or making an full upgrade and buying brand new? Here are some guidelines to help save you time and money on repairs when it may make more sense to buy a replacement appliance for your home weather it is a newer appliance or used.

Refrigerator/Freezer

Is your refrigerator running? Perhaps the hardest-working and most underrated appliance in your whole kitchen, a refrigerator never stops working for you. The refrigerator/freezer is one of those appliances that you don’t even think about until the day it stops working. Finding a good repair professional or doing your own quick fixes is a great option if it is less than 8 years old. If your refrigerator is on the fritz and you’ve had it for longer than 15 years, or if it is outdated in terms of environmental efficiency and energy-saving standards, you might want to think about saving that repair/ parts money and replacing it with a newer appliance.

Stovetop/Oven

Your oven and stovetop is the epicenter of your kitchen, if you happen to do a lot of cooking and baking. Without the stovetop/oven combo, cooking meals for yourself and your family gets a whole lot harder. You can count on a reliable repair technician or fix it yourself with smaller repairs such as disconnected burners, oven calibration, coil replacements, or other small issues that may affect your range.. If your oven is rusted on the inside, if the glass on the front is cracked, or if it is over 10 years of age, you might want to consider simply purchasing a newer range.

Dishwasher

Of all your kitchen appliances, the dishwasher is probably the one with the most moving parts. This means it can require more frequent repairs or fixes than your other appliances, especially if you use it often. A repair technician or an appliance store will be able to help you with new belts or even a replacement motor if your dishwasher is still not very old. A replacement dishwasher will likely cost you less in the long run if your old model is not energy-efficient, and if it’s over that magic age of 10.

Microwave

Your microwave oven is the only appliance on this list that almost never makes sense to repair. Replacement microwaves can be bought for less than $50 these days at your local big-box store, although you can almost guarantee that these smaller microwaves won’t cook as efficiently or evenly as your professional-grade microwave that is mounted in the wall of your kitchen. It’s time to replace your microwave when you notice food isn’t cooking properly, there is a strange noise or smell coming out of it, or the door isn’t closing right.

If you think it’s time to pull the plug on one or more of your kitchen appliances, Affordable Used Appliances is here to help! We have staff that can help you figure out what the appliance problems are and give you options to either fix them yourself with new parts or to decide to replace them. We can help you find better appliance options at an affordable amount.

If you have any questions at all please call one of our 11 stores in Colorado. We will give you genuine advise of what to do.