What usually fails after an outage
- Control boards on refrigerators, washers, dryers, and ovens.
- Start relays on refrigerators.
- Electronic display panels and touch controls.
- Ice makers and water lines that froze in extended winter outages.
- Tripped breakers or GFCI outlets that just need resetting.
Try this before you book
- Check the breaker panel and reset any tripped breakers.
- Look for GFCI outlets in the kitchen, garage, and laundry and press "reset."
- Unplug the appliance for five minutes, then plug it back in to reset the control.
- After a hard freeze, check supply lines to the fridge and washer for cracks before turning water back on.
What the repair usually involves
- Diagnosis and a control reset
- Refrigerator start relay
- Control board (fridge, washer, oven)
- Cracked water supply line
Fix it or replace it?
Surge damage usually affects electronics, not the expensive mechanical parts, so repair almost always makes more sense than replacement. A whole-home surge protector or appliance-rated plug-in protector costs far less than a single control board.
From John's notes: After the February 2021 winter storm, we saw a wave of cracked ice maker lines and washer hoses alongside the board failures. If an extended freeze ever hits again, shut off water to the fridge and washer before pipes freeze.
Appliance acting up after an outage? Book a diagnostic with TrueFix Appliance Repair Dallas.