Before Calling a Repairman - Stoves

This will be the last one in this series; a large majority of refrigerator issues need to be checked by a repairman. So here are a few things to check on your stove/range/oven before calling for an appliance technician.


Power - Does the stove even turn on or are there no lights, no display?  Check your fuse box before calling someone.

Burners not igniting/elements not heating - For gas appliances check that there is no dirt or other crud blocking the holes that the gas comes out of.  For electrical appliances make sure the elements are cool and try pulling them out of their sockets and putting them back in again.  If those things are fine you will need an appliance tech.

Oven Does not Heat - Does it really not heat at all or is it just not getting hot enough?  This is a rather similar fix as the burners and elements since the oven element is very similar in function to the top ones. Check if the oven needs cleaning and if not call for service.

Oven door is locked - There are a few reasons this might happen but the biggest offender is the self-clean cycle. Dig up your user manual, you may need to hold certain keys to get the door to unlock after the cycle.  If you can't find it or it doesn't work, call for help.

Bad odors - Cleaning required; if it is a gas smell rather than just a bad smell call for assistance.  A gas leak is not something that you want to just leave.

Broken Glasstop or Oven Door Glass - Find your model number and call for quotes; the glasstop or ceramic top for your stove is a special order and it's going to take at least a week if not more to come in. It is also ridiculously expensive, so if it has gotten cracked or shattered I am very sorry.  Oven door glass is much more reasonable but it can still be annoying to install so the quotes for the labour might be higher than you expect.