Appliance Selection Tips From a Northern Virginia Plumber

Ultimately, there might be many things that will influence your choice of a new domestic appliance, but an expert Northern Virginia plumber offers a few of the following for consideration.

Don’t necessarily buy the biggest you can

In the US we’ve sometimes a slight tendency to think that the biggest has to be best – except for electronic gadgets! That’s not always the case for domestic appliances, though. Select one that’s sized for your household and your family - it may be a lot more economical to run and be more environmentally friendly.

Check the brand reputation

Don’t be swayed by household-name brands alone. High visibility branding can be achieved by vast advertising budgets and that may bear little relationship to the real best value for money manufacturers. So, check the review sites and internet gossip. If you don’t, you might end up seeing rather more of your Northern Virginia plumber than you’d wish!

Read the energy and green ratings

Most new machines these days will come with information relating to their energy consumption and other green credentials. Of course, that won’t count for much unless you read them! Do your bit to help protect the planet and also, in the process, help keep a few more dollars in your pocket.

Watch out for warranty management

There’s a huge debate about local versus net shopping and pros and cons for both.Remember, though, that if your new appliance suddenly goes ‘bang’ – you’ll probably want it swapped fast. What you won’t want is an epic saga involving complicated collection logistics, the 400 miles it’s going to be shipped to the central depot for repair, or to be told there’s a three-week delay for a service engineer to get to your area.Make sure that you know just what your retailer would do in an emergency under warranty. Don’t leave it with a bland assurance from them that "we’d get it sorted out somehow". Get specifics BEFORE you buy.

Be cautious with pre-used machines

There are some potentially great bargains out there if you’re willing to purchase a pre-used appliance. (Your local Northern Virginia plumber may even have some contacts.) These may well have been returned to the retailer for many reasons and might be virtually brand new and being sold at a huge discount on the new price. However, a given machine might also have been returned because it wasn’t as good as their publicity suggested or because it just ‘played up’. So be sure you know exactly how old it is, how long the previous owner had it and that it will be covered by some form of retailer’s guarantee. Get this in writing before you purchase.

Make sure your plumbing will be able to cope

Some machines are very heavy in terms of their water demand or for the water they pump out. If your system can’t cope in terms of water delivery (e.g. every faucet in the house dries up when you switch your machine on), or in terms of wastewater output, then you’ll have problems.

If you’ve any doubts in that respect, contact a Northern Virginia plumber for advice – and that’s best done beforehand rather than after the problem has arisen.

Sarah Saadoun works for HMS Plumbing, a family-owned business in Manassas, Northern Virginia. If you need a Northern Virginia plumber, Herve and his dedicated employees at HMS are proud to be serving the plumbing needs of Northern Virginia residents and businesses. For reliable Northern Virginia plumbers HMS Plumbing is your first choice.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.