Appliance Repair in Austin – A Beginner’s Guide

When it comes to the kind of appliance repair Austin residents seek, it can be hard to nail down what that means. After all, Austin is the capital of Texas, a state with a history of an independent streak. Residents regularly tout the saying, “Keep Austin Weird”, which pertains to the city’s sense of quirkiness and its desire to maintain a level of autonomy in all walks of life – even regarding their home appliances.Luckily for the modern Austin-area resident, getting to understand the world of appliance maintenance & repair, even as a beginner, isn’t too daunting, but it can be eye-opening.For starters, take a look under the lid of a washing machine. The manufacturer has included a guide on how to best use the washer, but how many of us tend to ignore it? We figure that a modern washing machine can handle serious amounts of laundry, but of course, this isn’t the case. This misuse compromises the washer & could completely ruin it.How exactly does washer misuse affect someone in Austin? It may not mean much when you consider the city’s household median income of about $63,000, but having to replace a washing machine due to bad practices is not fiscally responsible regardless of income. Even if it’s a simple repair, Austin is in Travis County, which shows an average of about $250 for an appliance repair.In Austin, temperatures at their hottest can average in the upper 90s (2011 had a record high temperature of 112 degrees). There’s certainly a strain on air-conditioning during this type of heat, but a refrigerator or freezer in the garage is something you’ll regularly find in Austin due to a high number of hunters in the area. The issue at hand is the heat in the garage. Refrigerators & freezers have a hard time wicking heat away, which means the motor works overtime. Ultimately, you can push the motor too hard, resulting in a need for, at best, a motor replacement, or at worse, a full fridge replacement.A downed fridge or freezer can add up quickly beyond replacement. Per Austin’s official city website, the city had a wasted food value of over $200 million dollars in 2014. If the mode of refrigeration in the garage can be compromised by the omnipresent Texas heat, Austin residents would be better served either providing a more suitable environment for their long-storage refrigeration unit of choice or better utilizing space in their kitchen freezer & refrigerator.Finally, finding alternative options or balancing the need for using certain appliances should be considered. For example, Austin is classified as having a humid subtropical climate which means long, hot summers. The city also experiences relatively low annual rainfall. Residents can try to adopt to use a clothesline to dry clothing more often than using a dryer (check local “right to dry” laws). It saves electricity, extends the life of your dryer, and it keep temperatures in your home cool.In the end, a schedule of basic maintenance & common sense usage for appliances is the kind of appliance repair Austin residents, including surrounding areas, of which they should be attuned. A beginner guide to appliance repair & maintenance is important, but it only works to its greatest benefit when coupled with common sense.