Kenmore Stove Repair in Reston, VA

The freestanding Kenmore stove, gas or electric, is common in older kitchens and rental units, and most are Frigidaire or Whirlpool builds. They fail in familiar ways. On electric stoves, it's usually coil receptacles, a surface switch or a bake element. On gas stoves, a surface burner that won't light is typically ignition, and an oven that won't light is typically the hot-surface igniter. Loose knobs, missing drip bowls and a door that no longer closes square are common in rentals after years of turnover. Because these stoves are long-lived and inexpensive, we keep the math simple: fix the part that failed when it's a common part, and say so when it's a discontinued control.

Also: Kenmore began as a Sears label and never had factories of its own; the three digits before the dot in the model number name the maker, such as 106 for Whirlpool, 253 for Frigidaire and 795 for LG.

The first things we check on this model line: Surface burner won't light; Oven igniter failing; Coil receptacle loose; Oven door hinge bent; Burner valve stiff or leaking.

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.

A stove in a Reston townhouse kitchen usually sits under an over-the-range microwave that doubles as its hood, and the two are often checked together.

A stove with electronic controls in Reston may show a code after power returns; switch off its breaker for a minute before calling.

Whatever the brand, the stove complaint most often misread is clicking that won't stop, or a burner that won't catch, blamed on wiring when a boil-over has simply wet the igniter and the cure is cleaning and drying it.

The local factor to keep in mind in Reston, where most homes are townhouses and high-rise condos: gas stoves in older houses on flexible connectors that have served several appliances, and electric stoves in rental kitchens that change hands often.

In townhouses and many newer houses around Reston, 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.