Appliance repair in Little Italy

Little Italy has grown upward in recent years. Condo towers near Preston and Carling and around Dow’s Lake now rise over the neighbourhood’s established brick houses and the older semi-detached homes on side streets such as Booth, Rochester, Adeline and Norman. The appliances follow the housing: integrated and built-in machines in the new suites, and full-size fridges, ranges and laundry pairs in the older homes, often with basement laundry in the century houses.

We repair both, for most major brands, including Bosch, Samsung, LG, Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Frigidaire, GE, Miele and Fisher & Paykel. B&M has repaired appliances in Ottawa since 1995, and our technicians serve you in English or French.

Many condo kitchens here run premium, space-saving appliances: counter-depth or integrated fridges with bottom freezer drawers, 24-inch dishwashers, induction cooktops, wall ovens and stacked European-style washer-dryers. These units pack a lot into a small cabinet, which makes ventilation and service access important.

• Counter-depth and integrated fridges: a freezer drawer that frosts up usually has a worn drawer gasket or a slide that no longer closes square; a warm fresh-food section often means a defrost fault or a failed fan. Sealed-system faults have a $159 + tax diagnostic and are quoted by phone.
• Compact dishwashers: poor cleaning in a 24-inch unit is often a blocked filter or spray arm, and leaks often come from the door seal or a loose drain connection under the sink.
• Stacked washer-dryers: drain-pump blockages, door-lock faults and dryers slowed by long condo vent runs. See stackable washer-dryer repair.
• Induction cooktops and wall ovens: generator-board and touch-control faults, zones that don’t detect the pan, and oven elements, sensors and door locks.

Renovated and integrated kitchens

Panel-ready dishwashers and built-in fridges sit behind custom cabinet panels. Reaching the pump, valves or hoses usually means sliding the dishwasher out and removing the panel, and the technician refits everything afterwards. Mention any elevator reservation, visitor parking or front-desk check-in in your request so the visit fits the building’s rules.

The houses on the side streets tend to have basement laundry, full-size refrigerators and ranges that have cooked a lot of family meals. We repair older appliances too, and we tell you honestly if a repair isn’t worth it.

Basement dryers with long vent runs to an outside wall often dry slowly because of lint in the duct rather than a fault in the dryer, and the technician checks both. Leaks from these basement washers usually trace to tired fill hoses or a split door boot, and older plumbing can make drains slow. Older ranges usually need an element, an infinite switch, an oven sensor or a thermostat rather than a whole new stove; gas ranges and ovens are repaired by our TSSA-certified technicians, with a $129 + tax gas diagnostic. Older fridges that run warm often have a defrost fault, a failed fan or a dirty condenser coil, and the compressor is rarely the first suspect.

Condo suites near Dow’s Lake usually have compact 24-inch laundry: a stacked front-load washer and dryer, or in some suites a single all-in-one washer-dryer that washes and then dries in the same drum. All-in-one units dry by condensation, so a long drying cycle is normal; a cycle that never finishes, leaves clothes wet or stops with a code usually points to a blocked drain filter, a failed condenser fan, a heating element or a moisture sensor. Stacked compact dryers that vent outdoors depend on a clear duct, and lint packed into a long condo vent run is a common reason for slow drying.

In the older homes, the laundry pair is full-size and usually sits in the basement next to a standpipe or laundry tub. Top-load washers there tend to fail at the lid switch, the drive coupler or the drain pump; front-loaders at the door boot, the door lock and the pump filter. A washer that shakes badly on spin may simply be off level on an old concrete floor, but worn shock absorbers or springs are the next suspect. More on washer not draining and dryer not drying clothes.

Counter-depth and older fridges

Counter-depth fridges are shallow by design, so their condenser and fan are packed into a tight compartment at the bottom rear. Dust and pet hair there make the fridge run longer and louder. French-door and bottom-freezer models also have ice makers and water filters that can clog or freeze up; an ice maker that stops producing often has a frozen fill tube, a failed water valve or a filter that needs replacing. A fridge that hums but stays warm may have a failed start relay or compressor, and testing tells you which.

Gas and electric ranges

On older gas ranges, a burner that lights unevenly usually has clogged burner ports or a misaligned cap, and an oven that takes a long time to light often has a weak glow-bar igniter that no longer draws enough current to open the gas valve. On electric ranges, a surface element that only works on high usually means a failed infinite switch. Newer slide-in and induction ranges add touch controls and power boards to the list. See oven not heating for the common causes.

A few details in your request help the technician arrive prepared and keep the diagnosis short:

1. Brand and model number. Look on a label inside the fridge, around the washer door opening, on the edge of the dishwasher door or behind the oven drawer.
2. What it is doing. Not cooling, not draining, leaking, noisy, not heating, or not starting at all, and since when.
3. Any error code on the display, written exactly as shown.
4. Access. Condo elevator rules, street parking, a basement laundry room or a tight closet.

Appliances still inside the manufacturer’s warranty period should go to the manufacturer first, as the repair may be covered there. For a fridge that has stopped cooling, keep the doors shut and move essentials to a cooler while you wait; our guide to a fridge not cooling lists the usual causes.

• Request any time. Online requests are accepted at any hour; a request becomes an appointment when we call or text to confirm a window of about three hours.
• Diagnosis first. The residential diagnostic is $89 + tax, applied toward the repair you approve.
• Written quote. You see the cost before any work and decide whether to go ahead.
• Paperwork. A written diagnostic report after the visit, and a 3-month warranty on parts and labour for the repair; ask for the written terms.
• Hours. 7 AM to 9 PM; a visit between 9 PM and 7 AM adds a $100 flat after-hours fee.

For typical prices by appliance, see the appliance repair cost guide.

• Preston Street
• Booth Street
• Rochester Street
• Carling Avenue
• Gladstone Avenue
• Dow’s Lake
• Commissioners Park
• Sherwood Drive
• Adeline Street
• Norman Street

Nearby, we also serve the Civic Hospital area, Centretown, Hintonburg, the Glebe and Carlington.

Restaurant row and commercial kitchens

Preston Street is one of Ottawa’s best-known restaurant rows. Through our commercial service we repair commercial refrigerators and freezers, ovens and dishwashers for businesses in the area; commercial diagnostics are $129 + tax, while a compressor or refrigerant fault on a commercial unit has its fee confirmed when you book. See commercial appliance repair in Ottawa and restaurant equipment repair.