Kelly's Korner - Small Appliances

Hey, All,

We all have small appliances in our homes - toasters, coffee makers, blenders, mixers, etc.  What happens when one of them quits working?

From the movie The Brave Little Toaster - my kids drove me nuts watching this!

We get a lot of calls here for parts for small appliances and with the exception of Kitchenaid products, we don't carry any parts.

So what do you do?  Your best bet is to contact the manufacturer of the product.  Your small appliance should have the name of the manufacturer and the same model/serial tag that your large appliances have and sometimes even a phone number to contact the company.

If you have no contact info on the machine, jump on the internet and search for the company.  Contact them; they can either direct you to someone in your area that repairs small appliances or they may be able to help you right then and send you the part you need.

But, as with all repairs, look at the cost of the repair vs replacing it.  Why buy a replacement coffee carafe for $15 when you can replace the whole thing for $9.99?  (and if you can't function in the morning without coffee then you are stopping at the store to replace it anyway, right?)  And let's face it - we are in a throw away society and many of the small appliances are not meant to be repaired or replaced.  I've seen microwaves and small refrigerators that way.

Also, please be conscience of the environmental impact of the appliance you are discarding and contact your waste management company for the best way to dispose of it.

And as with anything, follow the manufacturer's recommendations for operations and cleaning to have your appliances, whether large or small, keep working correctly.  Now I'm going to get another cup of coffee and you all....

Have a wonderful week!

Repair Or Replace?

(Flickr user Angel Arcones/CC)

A frequent question consumers have when dealing with a broken appliance is whether to repair or replace the appliance. It can be a big decision.

A frequent rule of thumb is if the repair exceeds the more than half of the cost of a replacement, then you should repair it. That's not bad advice and actually can be a pretty decent rule of thumb; Before you cancel that service call and go running off to find a new appliance you may want consider a few other factors.

Let's talk about that "cost of replacement". These days manufacturers offer a wide variety of appliances to meet a spectrum of price points. What that means is that many repairs will exceed half of the cost of a lower end appliance. There is a good chance that what you are looking at replacing is a better, more feature rich unit than the low end "price busters" you might have seen in some ads.

Make sure, when you are thinking of those ads that you saw, that the machine being sold is as good as what you have. If not you will probably be buying a more expensive appliance from your appliance dealer. That higher priced appliance is the true replacement cost, not the low end unit that would not meet your needs or standards,

Also do not forget to take into account delivery charges, installation charges and any expenses that might be involved with getting rid of your broken appliance. As you can see, that "cheap ad" that you saw suddenly becomes a bit pricier.

Besides the question of replacement cost, I might consider the nature of the repair. For example. if the appliance is in great shape, but a fairly expensive switch needed to be replacement, That might be worth doing. On the other hand an inexpensive repair may be a symptom of a more expensive item beginning to fail. This is where hiring a trained, professional service technician can help you make an educated choice.

Nobody likes having a broken appliance and facing the repair/replace dilemma. If you are facing that choice, we hope we have helped sort out the decision for you. If you opt to replace your appliance, we wish you years of trouble free operation. If repairing the appliance is the better choice. we are here to help with the parts and supplies to do the job.

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