Avanti Microwave Repair in North Arlington, VA

Avanti microwaves are mostly compact countertop models, and we're selective about what we repair on them. A microwave holds high voltage in the capacitor even when it's unplugged, and many of its failures cost nearly as much to fix as the unit itself. The repairs that make sense are door interlock switches, which fail from slamming and cause blown fuses, turntable motors, and damaged door latches. A dead magnetron or high-voltage board in a small countertop unit is almost always a replacement, not a repair. We test the switches and the fuse first, explain what failed, and tell you plainly if it isn't worth the money. We won't repair a microwave with a damaged door or a warped frame.

Also: a compact Avanti rarely costs much new, so a repair often isn't worth it, and you'll hear that from us when it's true.

The first things we check on this model line: Door interlock switch not closing; Main fuse blown after a slammed door; Turntable motor stalled; Magnetron failed, no heat; Keypad membrane not responding.

Those are starting points, not a verdict. One symptom can trace to a cheap part or an expensive one, so the cause is confirmed at your home before you're quoted.

From pro-style showpieces to plain rental models, North Arlington kitchens hold every kind of microwave; the model number is how we know what to pack.

In North Arlington's older houses, tell us whether your microwave is gas or electric when you book, since both are common.

Whatever the brand, the microwave complaint most often misread is a microwave whose light, fan and turntable all run while the food stays cold, which looks terminal but usually means a failed magnetron, diode or capacitor rather than the control board.

The local factor to keep in mind in North Arlington, where most homes are postwar houses: over-the-range units that are the only hood above the cooktop in many condo and townhouse kitchens, and kitchens where the microwave shares a circuit and trips it.

In townhouses and many newer houses around North Arlington, the washer is on the bedroom floor, so a leak doesn't stay on the floor; it comes through the ceiling below. Most leaks start at a hookup rather than inside the machine: a rubber supply hose that finally split, a drain hose that slipped out of its standpipe, a door boot torn by a zipper.

Stainless-braided hoses, a pan under the machine and a valve within arm's reach cost little next to a ceiling repair. When water shows up, close the valve and pull the plug first, then call.