Repairs · 6 appliance types
Electrical domestic appliances, mended rather than replaced.
All makes and models, repaired in the house wherever the fault allows it. Below is every appliance type B & R works on, the faults that come up most often, and the brands that turn up week in, week out.
01
Electric cookers & ovens
Free-standing and built-in ovens, double ovens, ceramic and sealed-plate cookers, range cookers.
An oven that has stopped heating, a grill that only works on one side, a fan that has started howling, a door seal that lets all the heat out — electric cooking appliances fail in a small number of predictable ways, and most of them are a part rather than a write-off.
Repairs cover free-standing and fitted single ovens, double ovens, sealed-plate cookers, range cookers, ceramic cookers and dual-fuel cookers with an electric oven. Tell Brian the make, model and serial number along with what it is doing and a good deal of the diagnosis can start before he has left the house.
What is covered
- Free-standing and fitted single ovens
- Double ovens
- Sealed-plate cookers
- Range cookers
- Ceramic cookers
- Dual-fuel cookers with an electric oven
Faults seen most
- Oven not heating, or heating far below the dial
- Fan oven noisy or not circulating
- Grill element failed or burning unevenly
- Door seal perished, glass misted or door dropped
- Thermostat, timer or control knob failure
- Ceramic hob zone dead or stuck on full
02
Washing machines
Front and top loaders — leaks, bearings, pumps, drums, door locks and electronics.
A washing machine is the appliance most households really cannot do without for long, and it is also the one that gives the clearest warning before it goes: a new noise on the spin, a slow drain, a damp patch under the door.
Front loaders and top loaders from nearly all the leading brands are repaired in the home, including modern machines built around electronic control boards rather than mechanical timers. From the moment you describe the fault on the phone, the likely causes start narrowing down.
What is covered
- Front-loading and top-loading machines
- Washer-dryers as well as standalone washers
- Electronic control boards and modern programme modules
- Genuine spares sourced from authorised resellers
Faults seen most
- Leaking from the door, the drawer or underneath
- Not draining or not spinning
- Loud rumbling or grinding on spin — often bearings
- Door lock jammed shut with a full load inside
- Not filling, or filling and immediately emptying
- Error code on the display and the cycle stalling
03
Dishwashers
Integrated and free-standing machines that won't drain, won't heat or won't clean properly.
Dishwashers tend to fail quietly. The plates come out gritty, the cycle takes twice as long as it used to, or there is standing water in the bottom every morning — and the machine never actually declares itself broken.
Both integrated and free-standing machines are covered, and a good number of dishwasher jobs turn out to be a blocked filter, a tired spray arm or a failed drain pump rather than anything terminal. Repairs are carried out to the manufacturer's specification, with genuine parts where a replacement is needed.
What is covered
- Integrated and free-standing machines
- Slimline and full-size
- Drain pumps, heaters, spray arms and door seals
- Repairs to manufacturers' specifications
Faults seen most
- Standing water left in the bottom
- Dishes coming out gritty or still greasy
- Not heating — everything comes out cold and wet
- Leaking from the door seal or under the plinth
- Detergent tablet not dissolving or drawer not opening
- Cycle stalling part-way with an error light
04
Tumble dryers
Vented, condenser and heat-pump dryers that take three cycles to dry one load.
A dryer rarely stops dead. It just gets slower, until a load that used to take an hour is still damp after three — which is an expensive fault to live with as well as an annoying one.
Vented, condenser and heat-pump dryers are all repaired, including the parts other people declare unfixable. Where a component has to be replaced, genuine spares are sourced from authorised suppliers.
What is covered
- Vented, condenser and heat-pump dryers
- Thermostats, elements and heat-pump circuits
- Belts, drum bearings, rollers and motors
- One-off repairs and ongoing care for heavier-use machines
Faults seen most
- Tumbling but not heating
- Taking several cycles to dry one load
- Cutting out part-way through and needing a reset
- Loud squealing or thumping — belt, roller or bearing
- Water tank filling far too quickly, or not at all
- Sensor drying finishing on damp clothes
05
Vacuum cleaners
Dyson, Sebo, Miele and other major makes — suction, brush bars, cables and motors.
A good vacuum cleaner is worth keeping. Sebo and Miele uprights and cylinders in particular will go on for many years with the right part fitted at the right moment, and the same is true of most of the Dyson range.
Repairs are made to the original manufacturer's specification, using authorised spare parts — which matters more on a vacuum than people expect, because a cheap filter or a non-genuine brush bar will shorten the life of the motor.
What is covered
- Uprights, cylinders and cordless machines
- Brush bars, belts, filters and hoses
- Cable rewinds and switch faults
- Genuine parts from authorised resellers
Faults seen most
- Suction gone or badly reduced
- Brush bar not turning
- Burning smell or motor cutting out
- Cable not rewinding, or intermittent power
- Cracked hose or split wand
- Cordless machine running for a fraction of its old time
06
Electrical storage heaters
On-site repairs to night storage heaters — elements, thermostats, charge controls and dampers.
Storage heaters are the appliance people notice only when the house is cold, and they are frequently written off when a single element or thermostat is the problem. They are repaired on site rather than carted away.
A full range of common spare parts is carried in the van, so a heater that has stopped charging overnight or stopped giving anything back during the day can often be sorted in one visit — which matters rather a lot in January.
What is covered
- On-site repairs — the heater stays on the wall
- Elements, thermostats and charge controls
- Output dampers and boost circuits
- Common spares carried in the van
Faults seen most
- Not charging overnight on the off-peak circuit
- Charging but giving out very little heat
- Giving everything out by lunchtime and nothing by evening
- Boost not working
- Output flap or damper jammed
- Thermostat stuck on or stuck off
Not sure which of those it is?
Describe what the machine is doing and the fault usually names itself. Or work through the checklist first — it costs nothing and rules out the easy causes.