Repair guides, answer first.
Each guide explains the likely causes, the tools you need, the safety steps, and when it's time to call a pro.
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Is it an emergency?
Act now if you smell gas (leave, then call 911 or the gas company from outside), see smoke or sparks, or water is coming through a ceiling or reaching electrics. Most other problems — a noise, an error code, an appliance that will not start — can wait for a photo and a plan.
Snap a photo. See what it is, how urgent, who to call.
One photo of the problem. fixRAgent reads it and gives you a Triage Profile.
Triage a photo nowTonight or can it wait? Four real maintenance photos and what they needed
The hard part of a night-time maintenance request is not the repair, it is the decision: send someone now, or wait until morning.
No guide matches that yet. Send the photo instead ›
Frozen pipes
If a tap gives only a trickle or nothing on a very cold day, the pipe feeding it is probably frozen: open the tap, and warm the pipe gently from the tap back toward the frozen section with a hair dryer, a heating pad or warm towels — never an open flame.
Urgent: a frozen pipe can burstRead the guide ›PlumbingLow water pressure in the house
First decide whether it is one fixture or the whole house.
Rarely an emergencyRead the guide ›PlumbingSewer smell in the house
A sewage or rotten-egg smell indoors is most often a drain trap that has dried out — in a guest bathroom, a basement floor drain or an unused shower — letting sewer gas past the water seal.
Usually not an emergencyRead the guide ›PlumbingPlumbing Leak
Trace pipe leaks, supply-line failures, and drain clogs to the root cause.
Read the guide ›PlumbingClogged Bathroom Drain
Clear a slow or blocked sink and tub drain without harsh chemicals.
Read the guide ›PlumbingDripping Kitchen Faucet
Replace worn cartridges, O-rings, and washers to stop the drip.
Read the guide ›PlumbingToilet Running Constantly
Adjust the flapper, fill valve, and float to silence a running toilet.
Read the guide ›PlumbingGarbage Disposal Not Working
Reset, unjam, and restore a humming or dead disposal.
Read the guide ›Water heatersNo hot water
If no tap in the house runs hot, the water heater has lost its heat source: on an electric heater, a tripped breaker or a tripped high-limit (ECO) switch; on a gas heater, a pilot or burner that has gone out or a closed gas valve.
Rarely an emergencyRead the guide ›Water heatersWater heater leaking
Where the water comes from decides everything.
Act today — water spreadsRead the guide ›Water heatersWater Heater Problems
No hot water, leaks, or strange sounds? Pinpoint the thermostat, anode, or tank failure.
Read the guide ›Water heatersWater Heater Pilot Light
Pilot keeps going out? Clean the thermocouple and check the draft tube.
Read the guide ›Heating and coolingAC not turning on
An air conditioner that will not start at all is usually being told not to: the thermostat is off, on the wrong mode or has dead batteries, a breaker or the outdoor disconnect is off, or a full condensate pan has tripped the float switch that shuts the system down.
Usually not an emergencyRead the guide ›Heating and coolingFurnace blowing cold air
The most common cause is the thermostat fan set to ON instead of AUTO, which runs the blower even when the burners are off.
Usually not an emergencyRead the guide ›Heating and coolingHVAC Not Cooling
Clogged filter, low refrigerant, frozen coil, or a bad capacitor — find out which.
Read the guide ›Heating and coolingCarbon monoxide detector beeping
Four loud beeps, a pause, and four again is the alarm: carbon monoxide has been detected, so get everyone outside into fresh air and call 911.
Four beeps = emergencyRead the guide ›ElectricalBreaker keeps tripping
A breaker trips to stop a circuit overheating: it is either carrying more than it is rated for (too many things plugged in), or there is a short circuit or ground fault somewhere in a device or the wiring.
Can be urgent — look for scorch marksRead the guide ›ElectricalElectrical Outlet Not Working
Tripped GFCI, wiring fault, or breaker? Check a dead outlet safely.
Read the guide ›ElectricalGFCI Outlet Not Working / Reset
Reset a tripped GFCI and find out why it keeps tripping.
Read the guide ›AppliancesDishwasher not draining
Standing water after a cycle is almost always a blockage, not a broken dishwasher: a clogged filter, a kinked or low drain hose, or — on a new install — the garbage disposal’s knock-out plug that was never removed.
Rarely an emergencyRead the guide ›AppliancesDryer not heating
If the drum turns but the clothes stay cold, the cause is usually power or airflow before it is a part: an electric dryer needs two breakers and heats only if both are on, a gas dryer needs its gas valve open, and a clogged vent trips the safety that cuts the heat.
Not an emergency — but check the ventRead the guide ›AppliancesWasher not draining
A washer that ends with water in the drum is usually blocked, not broken: on a front loader the drain pump filter behind the small door at the bottom front catches coins, hair ties and lint and needs clearing; on any washer the drain hose can kink behind the machine, and the house standpipe or laundry-sink drain can be clogged.
Rarely an emergencyRead the guide ›AppliancesDishwasher leaking from the bottom
Suds on the floor mean the wrong soap: hand dish soap or laundry detergent in a dishwasher foams up and pushes out past the door.
Usually urgent, not an emergencyRead the guide ›AppliancesWashing machine leaking from the bottom
Start with the easy causes: too much detergent (or detergent that is not HE) foams over, a dirty door seal on a front loader lets water past, and a drain filter cap not closed fully after cleaning drips at the front.
Usually urgent, not an emergencyRead the guide ›AppliancesRefrigerator Not Cooling
Fridge warm but freezer cold? Fix blocked dampers, frosted coils, and dead evaporator fans.
Read the guide ›AppliancesWhirlpool Washer Not Draining
Check the drain pump, filter, and lid switch when your washer won't drain or spin.
Read the guide ›Walls, ceilings and roofMold on the ceiling
Mold grows where there is moisture, so mold on a ceiling means water is getting there: a roof or flashing leak, a plumbing leak from the floor above, or condensation in a bathroom or a cold corner.
Deal with it this week — sooner if it’s wetRead the guide ›Walls, ceilings and roofCeiling Water Stain
Active leak, old damage, or condensation? Find the source before opening the ceiling.
Read the guide ›Walls, ceilings and roofDrywall Crack Repair
Tell cosmetic hairline cracks from structural settlement — and patch them right.
Read the guide ›Walls, ceilings and roofFoundation Crack Analysis
Settlement, shrinkage, or structural? Know when to call a structural engineer.
Read the guide ›Walls, ceilings and roofRoof Damage Assessment
Spot storm damage, granule loss, and flashing failure before calling a roofer.
Read the guide ›For property managers.
When a resident reports it, and how to sort what comes in.
Resident reports a leaking water heater
Treat water around a water heater as same-day at minimum and an emergency if it is spreading, near electrics, or coming through a ceiling below.
Read it ›Resident reports no heat
No heat in cold weather is a same-day problem, and an emergency when it is freezing, when anyone in the unit is elderly, very young or unwell, or when pipes are at risk.
Read it ›Resident reports water coming through the ceiling
Water through a ceiling means an active leak above — a unit upstairs, a pipe, an appliance, a roof or an HVAC drain — and water near light fixtures makes it an electrical hazard.
Read it ›Resident reports the AC isn’t cooling
An AC that runs but does not cool is usually THIS WEEK — urgent in extreme heat or when someone vulnerable lives there.
Read it ›Resident reports a clogged drain or toilet
One slow drain or one clogged toilet is usually a local clog the resident can plunge.
Read it ›Emergency, urgent or routine: how to sort a maintenance request
A maintenance request is an emergency when someone can be hurt today or the damage is growing by the hour: fire or smoke, a gas smell, a carbon monoxide alarm, sparking or exposed wiring, water reaching anything electrical, active flooding, or no heat in freezing weather.
Read it ›After-hours maintenance triage: the 2 AM resident photo
When a resident sends a photo at 2 AM, decide one thing first: does this need someone tonight? It does only if someone can be hurt or the damage is growing by the hour — fire or smoke, a gas smell, a carbon monoxide alarm, sparking or exposed wiring, water running or reaching electrics, no heat in freezing weather.
Read it ›QR codes for maintenance requests: how a sticker in each unit works
A QR code for maintenance requests is a printed sticker that opens a request page already tied to one place: a unit, a piece of equipment in it, or a building’s shared spaces.
Read it ›By repair type.
Every brand and problem, gathered by what broke.
By refrigerator model
