If It Is Leaking, Turn the Water Off
This is the first instruction on the page because it's the one that prevents the expensive kind of damage. Every water-connected appliance has a shut-off, and they're all in predictable places.
Do Not Unplug a Frosted-Up Freezer
This is the one instruction on this page that people most often get wrong, and it's the one with the largest bill attached to getting it wrong.
What to do instead
Leave it plugged in and call. The ice is a symptom of a defrost fault, and the fault is the repair. If you need to get food out, do that and shut the door again.
What actually happens. A badly iced freezer holds a great deal of frozen water. Unplugging it releases all of that at once, and a defrost system that has already failed is by definition not draining properly, so it goes onto your floor rather than down the drain. Kitchen flooring, and anything underneath it, costs considerably more than the repair you were about to book.
If it has already been unplugged
If it has already been unplugged and there's water coming out, get towels down and pull the machine forward if you safely can, so the water is somewhere you can reach it.
If the Fridge or Freezer Has Stopped
What not to do while you wait:
Don't keep opening the door to check. It's the fastest way to lose the food.
Don't move the machine to look behind it if it's full and heavy. Wait.
Don't take the back panel off yourself. There are components back there that hold a charge.
If the freezer is still cold and only the fresh food side has gone warm, that's genuinely better news than it feels like, and the refrigerator page explains why.
What to Have Ready When You Call
Three things, and the first one matters more than people expect. The model number, photographed rather than read out. Below, there is a list of where the plate sits on each machine and why the photo matters.
What the machine is doing, described as specifically as you can manage. Not "it's broken" but "it fills, then stops with the door locked" or "the freezer is cold and the fridge isn't."
And where the appliance sits, if it's anywhere awkward: a garage, a basement, an upstairs closet, or stacked. A photo of a tight space saves a wasted trip.
Not sure whether to repair or replace? Read this first→
Clearing Space, and the Things People Forget
If the job means getting inside a fridge or a freezer, Aaron will ask you to empty it before he arrives. Doing that in advance turns a long visit into a short one.
Move anything sitting in the work area. For a washer or dryer that means the laundry basket and whatever has accumulated on top of the machine. For a dishwasher or a refrigerator it means the floor in front of it.
Dogs are fine and usually friendly, so there's no need to shut anybody away on our account. Do whatever suits your household. One practical note on timing: you'll get a call or a text when he sets off, and a two-hour window before that. If nobody answers the door he will call, text again, and wait fifteen minutes before leaving. A missed appointment does carry a $50 no-show fee on top of the service call, so a quick message if your plans change saves everybody the trouble.
How the Visit Goes
Why the Name on the Front Isn't the Number We Need
The badge on the front of your washer says Whirlpool. That tells us almost nothing. The number we need is on a plate you have to open a door or pull a drawer to find. It runs to a dozen characters, and two machines that looked identical on a showroom floor can use different pumps and different boards.
That's why we ask for a photograph instead of a reading. Half the numbers read out over the phone arrive with a digit missing or an O where a zero should be, and a part ordered against a wrong number is a part that turns up and doesn't fit.
Here's where yours lives. On a washer, inside the lid or around the door frame. On a dryer, inside the door or on the back. On a dishwasher, inside the door frame. On a refrigerator, on the wall of the fresh food compartment. On a range, behind the bottom drawer or on the door frame.
Ten seconds with a phone camera. It's the single most useful thing on this page, and the washer page explains what we do with it.
By Appliance, in One Place
Six machines, and what to do about each one while you wait.
The washer page has the drain pump filter methodWhat Customers Say
Every review Aaron has, live from Google, in the customer's own words and under their own name.
Questions We Get Asked
Where is the model number?
All five locations are listed above. Photograph it rather than reading it out.
Should I defrost my freezer before you come?
No, and specifically don't unplug it. What that does to your floor is explained above.
How long will the food last?
About twenty-four hours with the doors kept shut. Coolers buy you more.
Do I need to empty the fridge?
If the repair means getting inside it, yes, and we'll tell you on the phone. Doing it in advance shortens the visit.
Do I need to move the machine out?
No. Just clear the space around it. Most refrigerators pull out easily and he will do it.
Should I put the dog away?
Only if you want to. Dogs are usually fine and often friendly.
What if I have to go out?
Message us. If nobody answers the door he waits fifteen minutes, and a missed appointment carries a $50 no-show fee on top of the service call, which nobody enjoys.
My appliance died right after a storm. Does that matter?
Yes, say so. A surge very often takes out the control board, and knowing there was a storm points the diagnosis straight at it.
Can I just send a photo instead of explaining?
Please do. A photo of the model plate, and a photo of the space if it's tight, are both more useful than a description.
What if I cannot find the model number?
Call anyway. Having the number makes the job faster; not having it does not make the job impossible, and Aaron can get a long way from the appliance and the symptom alone. If you want to try once more, the brand pages on this site say where each manufacturer puts the plate, machine by machine, because the location genuinely differs by badge. And a photograph of the label works as well as typing it out.
What if more than one thing is broken?
Say so when you book rather than when he arrives. Two machines in one visit is normal and it is cheaper for you than two visits, but it changes how long the slot needs to be and occasionally what goes on the van. It is one extra sentence on the phone and it saves a second trip.
Should I unplug it before you come?
No, and please do not. Aaron wants to see what the machine does, and a fault that only shows up under power is one he would rather watch than take your description of. The exception is anything actively leaking or smelling of burning, where cutting the power is the right first move and worth saying on the phone.
The brands this comes up on most
Each of these has its own page with the faults, the parts reality and the model-plate location for that badge.
Where We Work, and How to Reach Us
Aaron covers greater Birmingham, from the towns north of the city around Gardendale through Birmingham itself and out to the Over the Mountain communities.
Call or text (205) 883-9703. Send the model plate photo with your first message and you have already done the most useful thing on this page.
Calls and texts Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. Saturday calls are usually answered; Sunday goes to voicemail.
Every town we cover