Microwave Repair in Spokane, Spokane Valley and North Idaho
Owner-Operated | Repairing Appliances Since 2013 | Open 7 Days, No Weekend or Holiday Surcharge | Licensed, Bonded and Insured in Washington
If your built-in or over-the-range microwave runs its timer but does not heat anything, the door has stopped latching, or the keypad has gone dead, you are on the right page. Those three are the calls that come in.
SD Appliance is Sergei Dergunov, working out of the South Hill since 2020 and repairing appliances since 2013. Built-in and over-the-range units are the work here, because those are the ones where repairing beats replacing comfortably.
Countertop microwaves are rarely worth a service call, and you will hear that before you book. If yours is a countertop unit, the repair-or-replace section below is the part to read.
What people are actually saying when they call
These are the situations people describe when they call. If one of them is yours, the next section explains what is behind it.
“It runs, but the food stays cold.”
The classic. The turntable turns, the light is on, the timer counts down, and nothing gets hot. Everything except the part that actually makes heat is working, which is why it fools people into thinking it is fine.
“It is completely dead. No display, nothing.”
A cheaper fault than it looks. There is a safety fuse in these, and when it blows, the unit goes dark. The fuse is rarely the real problem, which matters more than it sounds.
“The door does not close properly anymore.”
Taken seriously. A microwave will not run unless it believes the door is shut, and that belief comes from a set of small switches. When one fails, the unit refuses to start.
“The keypad has stopped responding.”
Some buttons or all of them. Control panels and keypads fail as a unit, and they fail gradually, so this one tends to arrive after a few weeks of pressing harder.
“The turntable has stopped turning.”
The least serious thing on this page: a small motor and a coupling under the tray. Uneven food heating is the symptom people notice first.
“There was arcing and sparking inside.”
Stop using it. Sparks inside the cavity mean something is wrong that should not be run again, and it is worth having looked at rather than working around.
“It is over the stove, and I do not know how it comes down.”
It hangs on a bracket and bolts through the cabinet above. Getting it down without marking the cabinet or the range below is a technique question rather than an obstacle.
“The fan above the stove runs constantly.”
On an over-the-range unit, the exhaust fan and the microwave are one appliance, and a fan that will not stop points at a control or a sensor.
What actually fails
Three parts account for the bulk of microwave repairs, and a fourth is worth knowing about because it gets misread.
The magnetron: the number one part
The component that actually makes the heat. When it goes, everything else keeps working, which is exactly the runs-but-does-not-heat complaint. It is a known part and a known repair, and on a built-in it is normally worth doing.
Microswitches: the number two, and the reason it will not start
The small switches that tell the unit the door is closed. There are several of them; they are inexpensive, and one failing is enough to make a healthy microwave refuse to run. People often take this one for a dead control board.
Keypads and control panels
Third by volume. Buttons that stop responding, a panel that becomes unresponsive, or a display that dies while the unit still has power.
The safety fuse, and why it is not the answer on its own
Worth its own entry because of how often it is misread. A dead microwave has blown its safety fuse, and it is tempting to stop there. But something caused that fuse to blow, and replacing the fuse without finding the cause just means it will blow again. Finding what popped it is the actual job.
What Spokane kitchens add to a microwave call
Two things shape these visits. The first is that almost all of this work is over-the-range and built-in units, which means the appliance is bolted into cabinetry above a cooking surface. Coming down safely without marking the cabinet or the range below is part of the job, and on some installs it takes two people, so it is worth saying on the phone. The second is parts. Local counter stock for appliance parts is thin, so common parts ride on the van, and anything less common comes from out of town. Model number matters more here than on most appliances because microwave parts are specific to the unit rather than universal, and that is what makes it possible to arrive at the right one. Service runs well out from the South Hill in every direction, including across the state line, and Idaho is charged at the same rate as anywhere else.
What this covers
What we do not do
Installation
A new unit is not supplied or fitted into cabinetry. The work here is repairing the microwave you already have.
Drop-off or in-shop repair
Nothing is taken away to a workshop. All work is done in your kitchen, in place.
Commercial microwaves
Restaurant and commercial units are a different class of machine and are not covered here.
DIY phone guidance on the high-voltage side
The capacitor and the transformer make this the one appliance where phone advice stops at the case. The reason is further down this page, and it is not evasion.
Repair or replace?
Built-in and over-the-range units are worth repairing, and the reason is not the appliance; it is the fitting. Replacing one of these means buying the unit and then paying to have it fitted into the cabinetry, and that installation cost is substantial on its own. That is why so many people repair these rather than replace them, and it is why a magnetron or a set of microswitches on a built-in is usually an easy yes.
Countertop microwaves are the opposite: they are explained plainly rather than left for you to work out after a service call. On a countertop unit, the arithmetic usually favors replacing it. They are not turned away, but you hear that on the phone rather than afterward.
The other thing that shifts the answer is what failed. Microswitches, a turntable motor, or a door latch are inexpensive on any unit. A magnetron or a control panel is a different conversation, and on a countertop unit it tends to end one.
What it costs
On a microwave the diagnosis is most of the work: finding what popped the fuse rather than just replacing it. The $89 covers travel, inspection and diagnostic time, goes toward the repair if you go ahead, and stands on its own if you decide not to.
After that, it comes down to which part failed and whether the unit has to come down off the wall to reach it. A turntable motor and a magnetron are not the same job, and an over-the-range unit that has to be unbolted takes longer than a built-in you can open in place.
You get the number before the work starts. If something unexpected turns up once the case is open, the work stops, and you are told before anything is added.
How the visit goes
You talk to Sergei
No call center and no dispatcher. Tell him whether it is built-in, over-the-range, or countertop, the model number if you can find it, and what it is doing: running without heating, refusing to start, or completely dead. Those three point at three different parts.
Getting it down without damaging the kitchen
An over-the-range unit comes off its bracket and out from under the cabinet. Some installations take two people, so mention on the phone that yours is over-the-range, because it changes how the visit is scheduled.
Diagnosis, then a price
Confirmed at the machine before any number is quoted. On a dead unit, that means finding out what blew the fuse rather than just replacing it.
The repair, and what happens if a part has to come in
Microwave parts are specific to the model rather than universal, which is why the model number matters on the call. Nothing is ordered without your approval on the part and the price. Parts and labor are warranted for 30 to 90 days, as stated on your invoice.
the pro
Why a microwave is the one appliance nobody should open at home
On most appliances, there is something worth checking yourself first: the dishwasher filter, the burner cap, or the dryer vent. This one is different, and it is worth explaining why rather than just saying do not touch it.
A microwave contains a capacitor, and a capacitor holds a charge after the unit is unplugged. Pulling the case off a microwave that has been unplugged can still deliver a serious shock, and there is a high-voltage transformer in there as well. This is not the same category of risk as changing a fridge light. That is why the phone advice for this appliance ends earlier than for the others. Here it is: unplug it and leave the case on.
The diagnostic side is worth knowing about too, because it is where the money gets wasted. A microwave that is completely dead has usually blown its safety fuse, which is a cheap part. The trap is that the fuse is a symptom. Something drew enough current to pop it, and if that something is not found, the new fuse goes the same way. The way he puts it: people check the power, the power is fine, so they assume the control board is bad, when there is a safety fuse and something else caused it to pop.
So the useful sequence is: find what failed, then replace the fuse, then test. Not the other way around. That is the difference between a repair that holds and a second call two weeks later.
Real customers, real repairs
“Sergei was very knowledgeable, professional, timely, brought the proper parts to fix the microwave and would recommend him for all your appliance needs. Need I say more?”
“The technician went above and beyond to repair my microwave. I will definitely call him when my next appliance goes on the fritz!”
Common questions
Almost always the magnetron, the part that makes the heat. Everything else keeps working, which is why the unit looks healthy while the food stays cold.
Yes, more often than not, and the reason is the fitting rather than the appliance.
Rarely. For a countertop unit, the arithmetic usually favors replacement, and you hear that on the phone rather than after a visit.
Often not, and this is the most misread fault on the appliance. It has blown its safety fuse, and something caused that. Replacing the fuse without finding the cause just means it blows again.
No, and this is the one appliance where that answer is firm. There is a capacitor inside that holds a charge after the unit is unplugged, as well as a high-voltage transformer. Leave the case on.
Not necessarily, but stop using it. Arcing traces to the waveguide cover or something in the cavity, and it is worth having looked at rather than run again.
Yes. On those units, the fan, light, and microwave are all one appliance and one visit.
All the major ones, including LG, Whirlpool, Samsung, Maytag, GE and Frigidaire, plus Bosch, Thermador and Miele on the high-end side. No manufacturer authorization and no manufacturer script to follow.
No. Seven days a week at the same rate.
Where we go, and how to book
Microwave repair across Spokane, the South Hill, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Cheney, Mead, Colbert, Airway Heights, Medical Lake, and out to Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Rathdrum, and Hayden. Idaho is charged at the same rate, with no distance surcharge.