Long-time readers know I enjoy learning the ins and outs of appliances. So whenever a technician visits, I talk to him (so far all male) and ask lots of questions. Of course, you have to take their advice with a grain of salt as you never know when they are trying to make you feel guilty for doing something wrong, to justify an unnecessary repair. And sometimes they are just mistaken.

Most of us have a few different types of appliances in our home, and repairmen generally specialize in one or the other. The repairman I called claimed that he worked on refrigerators, but in the end called someone else in to look at mine.

There are three main types of appliances and repairmen: