Appliance
error codes,
read properly.

A filter has reached the end of its life or is clogged enough for the appliance to notice: a refrigerator water cartridge past its gallons or months, a hood's grease or charcoal filter loaded with residue, a dish-care filter packed with food, a washer inlet filter choked with grit. The fix is a clean or a new filter of the right part number, fitted with the appliance unplugged and the water closed where there is one, then the reminder reset.

Usually leads to

Water filter and descaling service

Shows up as

Water or Ice Tasting Stale: Filter Age, Scale and Idle LinesDishes Coming Out Gritty or Spotted: Filter, Spray Arms and Rinse AidHood Fan Weak or Noisy: Grease Filters, Blower Wheel and DuctAppliance Maintenance Code or Reminder Light: Filter, Descale, Vent Check

Air is not moving the way the appliance expects. On a dryer that usually means lint in the screen housing, a crushed transition duct or an exhaust run packed along its length, and some makers measure it and show a code for a restricted vent before drying slows badly. On cold storage it can mean a condenser coil buried in dust or a grille blocked by a rug. Clean the screen, check the duct behind the machine with it unplugged, and book the full run cleaned; a hot or scorched smell means stop now.

Usually leads to

Lint path and exhaust vent cleaning

Shows up as

Laundry Taking Two Cycles to Dry: The Lint Path Is Usually WhyHot or Burning Lint Smell in the Laundry Room: Stop the CycleAppliance Energy Use Creeping Up With Nothing Else ChangedAppliance Maintenance Code or Reminder Light: Filter, Descale, Vent Check

Water is arriving too slowly or leaving too slowly, and the cause is usually something that collects over time: a washer drain filter holding lint, coins and hair, a dishwasher sump filter full of food, inlet screens clogged with grit from the supply, or too much detergent leaving suds the machine cannot rinse. Clear the filter over a tray with the machine unplugged, check that the supply valves are fully open, run a cleaning cycle, and book a visit if the hose itself leaks or bulges.

Usually leads to

Drum seal and drain filter cleaning

Shows up as

Laundry Drum Smelling Musty: Door Boot, Drain Filter and DetergentDishes Coming Out Gritty or Spotted: Filter, Spray Arms and Rinse AidSupply Hose Leaking or Bulging Behind an Appliance: Shut the Water OffAppliance Maintenance Code or Reminder Light: Filter, Descale, Vent Check

Minerals from the water supply have built up where the appliance heats or freezes water: a steam oven's generator, a built-in coffee system, a dishwasher's heating path, an ice maker's mold and valve. The appliance asks for a descale because scale slows heating and blocks small passages. Run the descaling program with the descaler the maker names, check the water-hardness setting against your local water, and put the next descale on the calendar.

Usually leads to

Water filter and descaling service

Shows up as

White Scale on Appliance Water Parts: Steam Ovens, Ice Makers, Dish CareWater or Ice Tasting Stale: Filter Age, Scale and Idle LinesAppliance Maintenance Code or Reminder Light: Filter, Descale, Vent Check

The appliance has seen a temperature outside its range and is saying so, and on a maintenance visit the cause is usually outside the sealed system: a door left ajar or a gasket that no longer seals, a condenser coil furred with dust and pet hair, a grille blocked, or a unit squeezed into an alcove with no air around it. Close the door, check the gasket, give the coil air and time, and book coil cleaning; if it will not cool at all, that is a repair.

Usually leads to

Condenser coil cleaning

Shows up as

Cold Storage Running Nonstop: Coil Dust, Clearance and Door SealsFrost Building Up in the Freezer Between DefrostsDoor Seal Not Holding: Gaps, Tears and Doors That Drift OpenAppliance Energy Use Creeping Up With Nothing Else ChangedAppliance Maintenance Code or Reminder Light: Filter, Descale, Vent Check

A sensor is giving a reading the control does not trust, and on the upkeep side that is often dirt rather than damage: dryer moisture strips coated with fabric-softener film, a refrigerator sensor iced over, a turbidity sensor in a dishwasher filmed with residue. Cleaning the strips with the appliance unplugged, defrosting and drying, or running a cleaning cycle often clears it; a code that returns after that points to a part, and that is a repair.

Usually leads to

Whole-home maintenance visit

Shows up as

Cold Storage Running Nonstop: Coil Dust, Clearance and Door SealsLaundry Taking Two Cycles to Dry: The Lint Path Is Usually WhyAppliance Maintenance Code or Reminder Light: Filter, Descale, Vent Check