I can figure this out....

 

Mantra to be admired: I can figure this out.  That notion is almost as important as remembering that "A goal without a plan is only a wish". In combination these two things can be very powerful when confronted with a problem or ... with a home repair. The only thing to add is that it is important to trust yourself ... to know that you can figure it out and that you can make a plan to get "it" done.  Then, of course, you need to remember all of that before you call a repairman.

Alas... I did not keep all of this in mind recently when my clothes drier would not turn on.  By habit perhaps, I called the place where I bought it, and was given the name of a drier repairman who had to drive to my home from Timbuktu -- the "cha-ching clock" started ticking when he left his driveway...understandably so.  When I spoke with him on the phone, I told him my analysis of the problem... that the knob was stripped.  He was very patient with me about that and replied with a kind "hmmm". Although he may have distrusted my analysis of the situation -- perhaps rightfully so -- he was a very nice man, came within a week or so and put a new $5 knob on the drier that worked (but looked awful) and charged me $85 for the house call. The whole procedure took about 7 minutes to complete.  He also told me that this knob problem is a common one with my brand of drier.  If only I had trusted myself to just pull the knob off and find a new one online. In retrospect, I should have had more confidence in my initial analysis of the situation.  I mean, after all, I ordered parts and fixed my own oven for years.  But ... that was a long time ago. Actually it is sort of amazing when I think about it -- that was before the Internet and YouTube.  I am impressed with the younger me.  Anyway...

Out of curiosity I did a bit of research after all of this and found my exact drier situation on You Tube as well as several videos of how to "repair" the knob dilemma and info on where to order the new knobs for the particular model of drier that I own -- for the best price.  I ordered the knob so now have one that matches all the other knobs. I am a "matchy-matchy" person as far as knobs on appliances go. What can I say? I am who I am.

The drier works well. Lesson learned.  Be mindful. Trust yourself. Do your homework first. Make a plan. Get it done. You can figure it out. Oh .. and save the repairman for the big problems like when your disposal falls apart under your sink and floods part of your kitchen. Been there, done that.  Appliance repairmen are often worth their weight in gold  -- you know -- to fix the hard problems. Plus they know how to crawl in under sinks, take things apart and put them back together ...  and how to move heavy stuff to get the job done.