It's your home sweet home until major appliances start breaking. Home warranty expert Steve Higgins knows how to save thousands of dollars by not replacing them and is sharing these tips with Donna Ruko.
1. Garbage Disposal
Most people waste money by calling plumbers when they can fix it themselves. If you get under the bottom of the disposal, there's a little opening. An Allen wrench is designed to fit into that little opening. While the disposal is off, turn the wrench back and forth until the jam frees up. Give it a few good turns and you're back in business. Plumbers can go as high as $100; $200 or $300 if they have to pull it out and replace it.
2. Refrigerator
The major threat to a fridge is clogged cooling coils. If the coils get clogged; the air can't get through them and the compressor fails. Most of them have a five-year warranty. It will wear it out in five years, but it’s less likely if at least once a year, you take your vacuum cleaner and clean out the coils. Here’s a pro tip! Place a paper towel tube over the vacuum attachment to get into the hard-to-reach places. You're going to be saving roughly $1,500 to $2,500.
3. Water Heater
Calcium will build up in the hoses and in the tank itself, and the probes that sense the heat of the tank and they can't perform as desired. Flush your water tank completely out with a water hose once a year to avoid calcium build up that can clog the temperature probes. The valve itself is around $600, but the tanks run anywhere from $800 to $1,800. Flushing your tank out not only saves money, but doubles the life of your tank.
How do you save money on home repairs? Share your secrets with us on our Facebook page, @TheListShowTV.
