Washer repair at a duplex in Denver went sideways and now I see the case for swapping the whole thing vs fixing the valve

Patricia Schmidt · 2026-09-17T04:15:03.792792+00:00

Last Tuesday I was at a duplex in Denver fixing a washer that wouldn't fill, and the inlet valve was clogged with grit so I pulled it apart and cleaned it out. It ran fine for two cycles then started leaking at the solenoid, so I had to pull it back out and swap the valve right there in front of the tenant. I charged $180 and everyone was happy but it nagged at me that I could have just replaced the whole unit for $500. So here's my question: do you fix the cheap part first or push the customer toward replacement when a machine is already 12 years old? Honestly I lean toward the repair but I want to know what you all do when you're standing in a laundry room with a 50/50 call like that.

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Washer repair at a duplex in Denver went sideways and now I see the case for swapping the whole thing vs fixing the valve | Appliance Repairers - SMM Buzz