The questions homeowners actually ask before booking.

Our diagnostic is $99, paid on arrival before the technician begins work. It covers the time, travel, and trained troubleshooting required to identify what's actually wrong with the appliance — not a guess based on the symptom you described over the phone.

After diagnosis, we give you a clear written quote for the repair. If you authorize the repair on the same visit, the full $99 is credited toward the repair total. If you decline, the $99 covers the diagnostic visit itself.

That's fine. The $99 diagnostic covers the visit and the work the technician did to identify the problem, regardless of what you decide afterward. You're never pressured to authorize a repair you don't want.

If we recommend replacement instead of repair — because the cost crosses the 50% line, or the unit's age makes the next failure statistically close — we'll tell you that too. Even when it costs us the job. The decision-framework discussion lives on the Refrigerator Repair page; the same three tests apply across washers, dryers, and ovens with appliance-specific numbers.

Because phone quotes mislead more often than they help. Two refrigerators with the same symptom — say, one that's not cooling — can have completely different causes that vary by 10x or more in repair cost. A defrost thermostat is a small fix; a compressor replacement is a major one. Quoting either over the phone without testing the appliance would be a guess, and bad guesses cost customers money on parts that don't fix the problem.

We'd rather charge $99 to find out what's actually wrong than quote a number over the phone that turns out to be wrong. Every quote we give after diagnosis is in writing, with the parts and labor laid out plainly.

All major credit and debit cards, processed through Jobber's PCI-compliant payment system. Cash is accepted at our discretion.

We do not accept personal or business checks. We do not accept third-party payment apps like Zelle, Venmo, or Cash App. Card processing protects both sides — you get a verifiable receipt and dispute protection through your card issuer; we get reliable funds without bounce or chargeback fraud. The full payment policy is detailed in our Terms of Service.

When a repair needs a special-order part — meaning a part we don't stock on the truck and have to order from a distributor — we ask for 50% of the full repair quote (parts plus labor) before placing the order. The remaining balance is due when the repair is complete on the return visit.

The reason is simple: once parts are ordered, they typically can't be returned to the distributor for credit. The deposit covers our parts cost on day one and confirms the repair is going forward. This is standard in trade work; we just spell it out plainly instead of burying it in fine print.

A service call fee is what an appliance shop charges to send a licensed technician to your home and diagnose the problem. Our version is a flat $99 diagnostic — it covers the technician's travel within our service area, the time on-site, the trained troubleshooting required to identify the actual cause (not just the symptom), and a written quote for the repair if one is needed. There's no add-on for "travel" and no surprise line item at the end.

Three pricing models exist in the trade, and each has trade-offs: free estimates (the shop eats the diagnostic time and makes it back by quoting high on the repair), hourly diagnostics (the meter runs while the technician troubleshoots, so simple problems get cheap and stubborn ones get expensive), and flat diagnostics like ours (you know the number before we arrive). We chose flat because it aligns our incentives with yours: we're not paid more for taking longer, and we're not paid less for being efficient. If you authorize the repair on the same visit, the $99 credits in full toward the repair total. If you decline, the $99 covers the visit.

Residential refrigerators and freezers (including ice makers and water dispensers), washers (front-load and top-load), dryers (gas and electric), and ovens, ranges, cooktops, and wall ovens (gas and electric).

Each of the four service pages goes deep on its category — symptoms we see most, what they usually mean, and what to expect from a visit:

• Refrigerator & freezer repair
• Washer repair
• Dryer repair
• Oven, range & stove repair

Brands we service excellently: Amana, Electrolux, Frigidaire, GE, GE Profile, Haier, Kenmore, KitchenAid, LG, Maytag, Samsung, and Whirlpool. Parts availability is reliable, manuals are accessible, and we see them often enough to know their failure patterns. (Kenmore is the Sears badge brand — the actual manufacturer underneath is usually Whirlpool, LG, Frigidaire, or GE depending on the model-number prefix, all of which we service. Haier owns GE Appliances, so Haier-badged units in the US market run on the same parts pipeline as GE.)

Brands we service when parts and manuals are available: Bosch, Café, and Fisher & Paykel.

Brands we don't service: Sub-Zero, Wolf, Miele, Thermador, Viking, and Dacor. Those manufacturers prefer factory-authorized service networks, and homeowners are better served by technicians with that specific authorization than by us pretending to be that authorization.

Dishwashers. Dishwasher repair carries a property-damage exposure most appliance jobs don't — water lines, slow leaks under cabinets, slab penetrations that aren't visible until weeks later. We've made a deliberate scope decision not to take that risk profile on. Several Fort Worth shops do dishwashers well; if you need one, we're happy to point you to a known operator.

If you're trying to figure out whether your dishwasher problem is a plumber's job or an appliance technician's job: drain lines, supply lines, garbage-disposal connections, and standing-water-after-the-cycle issues are usually plumbing. The motor, the control board, the door latch, the heating element, the door seal, and most error codes are usually appliance work. Either way, dishwashers aren't our category — but knowing which trade to call first saves you a wasted service-call fee. If the symptom is on the water-and-drain side, start with a plumber. If it's on the electrical-and-mechanical side, start with an appliance tech who does dishwashers.

Microwaves. We're capable of microwave work, but the math rarely favors the customer. A diagnostic plus parts plus labor on a residential microwave routinely lands at or near the cost of a new unit, and modern over-the-range microwaves are designed with consumable lifespans (8–10 years) that the repair rarely extends meaningfully. We'd rather tell you that upfront than charge $99 to confirm it.

Small countertop appliances and vacuums. Outside our service scope for the same reason — the math doesn't work for the homeowner.

Third-party warranty work. We don't work as a subcontractor for home-warranty companies, where the warranty company controls the diagnosis, approves the repair, and pays a fraction of market labor rates. Those arrangements compromise the technician's ability to recommend what's actually right for your appliance.

The honest answer on what we don't do is more useful than vague claims about what we do.

Yes, depending on the job. We're TDLR-licensed for residential work, and the website is built around residential service because that's where most of our calls come from. Commercial inquiries — restaurant equipment, laundromat machines, property-management portfolios — we evaluate on the merits.

Some commercial jobs fall cleanly within scope; others don't. The fastest way to find out is to call or text with what you have and where it is. We'll tell you straight up whether it's a fit, and if it's not, whether we know someone who handles that specific equipment.

Southwest Fort Worth and nearby areas. Our regular service zone includes Tanglewood, Westover Hills, Mira Vista, Montserrat, Monticello, Ridglea Hills, Overton Park, Edwards Ranch, Clearfork, Waterside, Benbrook, and Aledo.

If you're outside that zone but nearby, call or text. If we can't help, we'll tell you quickly. If it's borderline — a neighborhood we don't list but isn't far from one we do — we'll let you know what's involved.

Sometimes — depends on what's already on the schedule and where you are in our zone. The fastest way to find out is to call or text with these four things:

• Your address (or ZIP)
• The appliance type
• A brief description of the symptoms
• A photo of the model and serial tag, plus a photo of the appliance itself

The tag photo isn't optional — it's how we prepare for the visit. The model and serial numbers let us pull the correct service manual and look up part numbers ahead of time, so the technician arrives knowing what's likely failing on your specific unit instead of starting cold. The photo of the appliance itself lets us confirm the manual matches what's actually in your kitchen or laundry room, since the same model number sometimes covers multiple sub-variants.

If we can come same-day after we have those, we'll tell you directly. If not, we'll give you the soonest realistic appointment.

We work the phone 5am to 11pm, daily. Calls during that window are answered live whenever possible; if a call gets missed, our phone system sends an automated text-back acknowledging the message and confirming we'll respond as soon as we can.

Texting is reliable around the clock — texts are answered as soon as we see them. Service appointments are scheduled during normal in-home hours.

We provide a one-year warranty on parts we install, starting the day of the repair. If a part we installed fails within that year due to a defect or premature failure, we'll replace it.

Standard exclusions apply: misuse, surge or flood damage, fire, pet or pest damage, modifications by other technicians after our work, normal wear, cosmetic issues, and pre-existing problems unrelated to the repair we performed. The full warranty terms are documented in our Terms of Service.

Honesty over polish. A one-year parts-and-labor warranty is the marketing-friendly answer most appliance shops advertise. In practice, when a customer calls back claiming the original part failed, the line between "defective part" and "different problem the original repair didn't cause" gets adversarial. The shop wants to charge for new labor; the customer wants the labor covered. Both sides argue, the warranty becomes a fight, and someone leaves unhappy.

We'd rather offer a real one-year parts warranty we honor without dispute than a parts-and-labor warranty with fine print that turns into an argument. If a part we installed fails inside a year, we replace it. The return visit doesn't carry a second diagnostic fee, either — see the next question.

No. If a part we installed fails within the one-year warranty window, the return visit to replace it carries no second diagnostic fee. You don't pay $99 again to confirm the original repair has failed.

This is in our Terms of Service in writing — not a verbal promise that disappears when the call comes in.

We don't do home-warranty work. We don't accept assignments from third-party warranty companies — HomeServe, American Home Shield, Cinch, Choice, 2-10, or any of the others. Those arrangements give the warranty company control over the diagnosis, what gets approved, what gets denied, and which parts get installed (often the cheapest sourceable, not the right one), while paying the technician a fraction of market labor rates. We're not willing to compromise the work to fit that model. If your home warranty contractor flaked, denied your claim, or quoted a long wait — we can still help you on a normal paid basis, you'd just be paying us directly instead of going through the warranty.

On the manufacturer side: if your appliance is still inside the manufacturer's original warranty period — usually one year on parts and labor, sometimes longer on specific components like compressors or sealed systems — call the manufacturer directly before booking us. Whirlpool, Samsung, LG, GE, Maytag, KitchenAid, Frigidaire, and Electrolux all have authorized service networks for in-warranty work, and using a non-authorized technician (us, or anyone else) typically voids the remaining coverage. The manufacturer's support line or website can tell you whether you're still covered and who their authorized servicer is in our area.

Two specific cases worth flagging. LG refrigerators have an ongoing linear-compressor class-action settlement that may cover compressor failures even past the standard warranty — worth a quick search on your model and serial before you decide. Speed Queen residential washers and dryers carry 3, 5, or 7-year warranties depending on the model; in-warranty units go to Speed Queen's authorized servicer network, and we'll service them out-of-warranty. If you're not sure where your appliance falls, send us the model and serial tag photo and we'll tell you what we can see from the public records.

A short window confirmation in the morning. A photo of the technician sent to your phone before arrival. A second text when the technician pulls up — letting you know he's at the address and will be at the door in about a minute. A knock at the front door inside the appointment window. A technician who introduces himself before stepping inside.

Then: a brief conversation about what the appliance is doing and when the problem started, a hands-on diagnostic, a clear explanation of what we found, and a written quote for the repair if one is needed. The diagnostic is paid on arrival before work begins; if you authorize the repair on the same visit, the $99 credits in full to the repair total.

Yes. We send a photo of the technician to your phone when we're en route, every visit.

This isn't a marketing detail; it's standard practice on every Veltrix call. The reason is simple: knowing who is about to walk into your home matters, especially if you're not the one who'll be there to answer the door — a spouse, an older parent, a babysitter, a tenant. If you don't get the photo before we arrive, ask for it before unlocking anything.

Typically 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the appliance and how the failure is presenting. Some failures are obvious within 10 minutes; others require pulling the unit out, running diagnostic cycles, or testing components individually.

If we authorize a same-visit repair after diagnosis, plan on additional time depending on what the fix involves — a control board swap is fast, a drum bearing replacement is not. We'll tell you the realistic time estimate before we start the repair, not after.

The diagnostic itself takes 30 to 60 minutes — sometimes faster if the failure is obvious, sometimes longer if it requires pulling the unit out, running diagnostic cycles, or testing components individually. If the part needed is on the truck and you authorize the repair on the same visit, the actual repair typically adds another 60 to 120 minutes depending on what's involved. A control-board swap is fast. A drum-bearing replacement, a compressor job, or a sealed-system repair is slower. We'll give you a realistic time estimate before the repair starts, not after.

If the repair needs a special-order part — one we don't stock on the truck — it becomes a two-visit job. First visit: diagnosis, written quote, 50% deposit, parts ordered. Second visit, usually within a few business days depending on the distributor's stock: parts installed, balance due, repair complete. We'll tell you which kind of job yours is before you commit to anything.

Yes. Veltrix holds two Texas TDLR licenses:

• Residential Appliance Installation Contractor — TICL #1496 (the company-level license)
• Residential Appliance Installer — License #677941 (the technician-level license, held in Louis Obrien's name personally)

Both are publicly verifiable on the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation's license search. Direct verification links for both, plus our BBB profile, UASA membership, and chamber memberships, are on the Credentials page. If a Texas appliance-repair company can't show you a license verification link on a state website, they may not actually hold one.

Because trust isn't a marketing claim. A homeowner letting a technician into the house deserves to know that technician has been independently vetted by entities that can revoke that vetting if it's misused. The five regulated credentials we hold are issued by three independent regulatory bodies:

• Texas TDLR issues both appliance licenses (Contractor and Installer)
• Texas DPS regulates the Level 4 Personal Protection Officer license, with its own background screening
• Federal agencies issue the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TSA, requiring an FBI background check) and the EPA Section 608 Universal certification (federal credential for refrigerant work)

Five regulated credentials, three independent regulatory bodies. All five are documented and verifiable on the Credentials page. The credential moat exists because most appliance-repair operators in Tarrant County hold a fraction of it — and that's the differentiator we're built around.

Not expected. The price you're quoted is the price you pay — diagnostic, parts, labor, all transparent and laid out before the work happens. Tipping is appreciated when offered, never solicited, and never factored into pricing.

If you'd rather convert that goodwill into something we actually need: a Google review after a job well done is worth more to a small local business than a tip. Word of mouth is how this kind of work grows.

We don't bill by the hour. Hourly rates work for mechanics, lawyers, and HVAC service calls where the scope is genuinely open-ended — and the going rate for skilled mechanical-trade labor in this market lands around $100 an hour when you account for the technician's training, the truck, the insurance, and the parts inventory. We chose a different model: a flat $99 diagnostic that covers the visit, plus a flat written repair quote after diagnosis if a repair is needed.

The reason is the customer's interest. Hourly billing punishes you for any complexity the technician didn't expect — and rewards a shop that takes longer. Flat pricing lets you decide whether to authorize the repair knowing the number, not guessing at how many hours it'll take. If a quote looks high relative to the appliance's age and condition, we'll tell you that during the visit. We're not paid more for stretching the job.

It depends on three things: the cost of the repair, the age of the appliance, and what the next failure is statistically likely to be. The honest framework we use — the same one we'd apply to our own family's appliances — lives on the Refrigerator Repair page, and the same three tests apply across washers, dryers, and ovens with appliance-specific numbers.

The short version on age: under 7 years old, repair almost always wins — the appliance has years of useful life left and the math rarely justifies replacement. Between 7 and 10 years, run the 50% test — if the repair is more than half the cost of a comparable replacement, lean replace; if it's well under half, lean repair. Past 10 to 15 years on most major appliances, and past 20 years on anything other than a Speed Queen, lean replace — the next failure is statistically close, and putting $500 into a unit that's two years from its second major repair isn't a good trade. We'll tell you which side of the line your appliance falls on before you authorize anything.

The 50/50 rule — sometimes called the 50% rule — is a common trade shorthand for the repair-or-replace decision: if the repair will cost more than 50% of the price of a comparable new appliance, and the unit is more than 50% of the way through its expected lifespan, lean toward replacement. Both conditions matter together; either one alone isn't enough.

A 6-year-old refrigerator with a $400 repair bill is a clear repair (well under 50% lifespan elapsed, repair cost almost certainly under 50% of replacement). A 14-year-old refrigerator with the same $400 repair is closer to a coin-flip and worth a longer conversation. The full version of this framework, including the two other tests we run alongside it — the age test (how close the appliance is to the end of its useful lifespan) and the history test (how many major repairs it has already had) — is on the Refrigerator Repair page. The 50/50 rule is one tool of three, not the whole answer.

It depends on the appliance, and the honest answer is appliance-specific enough that lumping them together would mislead more than help. Each of the four service pages goes deep on the failure patterns we see most often, what they usually mean, and what to expect from the diagnostic visit:

• Refrigerator & freezer — cooling failures, ice maker problems, sealed-system issues, door-seal failures
• Washer — drain pump failures, drum-bearing wear, door-latch and lid-switch faults, vibration and balance issues
• Dryer — heating element or igniter failures, vent-line restriction (the safety call), drum tumble issues, error codes
• Oven, range & stove — bake or broil element failures, igniter failures on gas units, temperature-sensor drift, control-board issues

If you tell us your appliance type and the symptom, we can often narrow the likely cause before the visit — which is part of why we ask for a photo of the model and serial tag at booking.

We're not going to write you a step-by-step repair tutorial — appliance failures vary too much by brand and model, and bad instructions cause more damage than they prevent. But there are a handful of quick checks worth running before you book a service call, because if any of them resolves the problem, you've saved yourself the $99. We'd rather tell you to try a reset than charge you to come do it.

Start with a reset. Most modern appliances have a reset procedure documented in the owner's manual — usually some combination of "unplug for 5 minutes" or "press and hold these two buttons for 10 seconds" or "flip the breaker off, wait, flip it back on." Brand-specific reset sequences differ; check the manual that came with your unit, or look up your exact model number on the manufacturer's support site. After a power outage, a reset is often all that's needed.

Then check the electrical. Is the breaker tripped? Reset it once. If it trips again, stop and call us — a breaker that won't hold is telling you something. Is the outlet working? Test it with a lamp or phone charger. Is the cord fully seated? On gas units, is the gas supply on? On dryers, is the door fully closed and the lint trap clear?

Then a quick visual and sensory check. Any burning smell, unusual heat, visible damage to the cord, water under the unit, or scorch marks on an outlet? If yes, unplug it and call us — those are diagnostic signals worth describing on the phone. Any error code on the display? Write it down — we can often tell you what it means before we arrive.

If you've run those checks and the appliance still isn't working, that's a real diagnostic — and that's what the $99 visit is for. The required model-and-serial tag photo at booking helps us spot the obvious "try this first" cases and save you the call when we can.

The question behind the question is usually "am I about to spend $99 just to be told this thing is a paperweight?" Fair concern. Before you book, run these self-checks. If any of them are a clear "no," a service call may not be the right next step — and we'd rather you figure that out for free than pay us to figure it out for you.

• How old is the unit? If it's past 15 years on a refrigerator or oven, past 12 on a washer, or past 10 on a dryer, the math gets harder. Not impossible — but harder. Anything past 20 (other than a Speed Queen built for a 25-year life) is usually telling you it's time.
• Have you replaced major parts on it before? A unit that's already had one major repair in the last 2–3 years is statistically closer to its next major repair than a unit that hasn't. The repair history matters.
• Is the brand and model still supported? If parts are discontinued or only available used on eBay, even a small repair becomes expensive and unpredictable. The Tier 03 brands we don't service (Sub-Zero, Wolf, Miele, Thermador, Viking, Dacor) and brands like Speed Queen need their own authorized networks — we can help you figure out which bucket your appliance falls in if you're not sure.
• What's the symptom? A loud noise that just started, a temperature swing, a single error code, a part that's visibly failed — those are usually fixable. Compressor failure on a 13-year-old refrigerator, a cracked tub on an older washer, a cabinet that's structurally compromised — those usually aren't worth fixing.
• What's the replacement cost? If a new comparable unit is $700, the math on a $500 repair looks very different than if a new comparable unit is $2,400. Look up the rough replacement number before you book.

If you're still on the fence after running those, call or text with the appliance type, age, symptom, and a photo of the model and serial tag. We'll tell you honestly whether it's worth a visit — sometimes the answer is "based on what you just described, this probably isn't worth a $99 diagnostic; here's what we'd do." That conversation costs nothing, and we'd rather give it to you straight than book a visit we don't think serves you.