Washer, dryer or fridge down? A local technician calls you back.
Tell us the appliance, what it does and where you are in Ottawa. We pass the work order to one local repair company, and they call you to book the visit.
In short
- 01Visit and diagnosis in Ottawa: typically $80–90 + tax, usually waived if you go ahead with the repair.
- 02Repair price: the technician quotes it after diagnosis, before any work starts.
- 03What drives the bill: the part that failed, the labour to reach it, and gas work, which in Ontario needs a technician with a TSSA gas certificate.
- 04If you decline the repair, or the unit is judged not worth fixing, the visit fee is usually kept.
Typical ranges
Source Visit fee: service-call fees published by Ottawa repair firms, checked 29.10.2026: Doctor Appliance, doctorappliance.ca ($80 + tax, waived with the repair); Fair Appliance Repair, fair-appliance-repair.pages.dev ($90, waived with the repair). Repair prices are quoted by the company after diagnosis. Gas rule: O. Reg. 212/01, s. 6, ontario.ca/laws/regulation/010212. Gas emergency line: Enbridge Gas, enbridgegas.com/safety/smell-gas. Repair-or-replace rule: Consumer Reports, 9 Jan 2014 (prnewswire.com). Lifespans: NAHB, Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components, 2007 (US data).
What to ask before you book
- Q1What is your visit fee, and is it credited if I go ahead with the repair?
- Q2Will I get the full quote, parts and labour, before you start?
- Q3Do you carry parts for my brand, or will the part be ordered for a second visit?
- Q4What warranty comes with the repair, on the part and on the labour?
- Q5For a gas range or gas dryer: what is your TSSA registration number?
Before the visit
- Brand, model and serial number. A photo of the plate is enough.
- Rough age of the unit, and the receipt if it may still be under warranty.
- Any error code on the display, and what the appliance does just before the fault.
- Gas or electric, for ranges, ovens and dryers.
- A clear path to the unit and room to pull it out from the wall.
What to put in the work order
Three details help the technician come prepared. The appliance and its brand. What it does: stops mid-cycle, runs with no heat, leaks, shows a code, makes a noise. And when it started: after a power outage, after a move, after a new part was put in.
Add your area or postal code and when you can be home. If the unit is gas, say so. If the laundry is in a basement or an upper-floor closet, say that too. The company that calls you uses these details to bring the right tools and, when it has them, the likely parts.
What happens after you send it
We read the work order and pass it to one local repair company that covers your area. They call you, ask about the fault and book a visit. On the visit the technician runs the appliance, reads any error code, opens what needs opening and finds the failed part.
Before any work starts, you get a quote: labour and parts. You decide. If you go ahead, most Ottawa firms that publish a visit fee credit it against the repair. If you decline, or the technician finds the unit is not worth fixing, the visit fee usually stays.
When a part has to be ordered, the repair is booked for a second visit. Ask on the call whether they stock parts for your brand.
Repair or replace
A common rule of thumb from Consumer Reports: if the repair would cost more than half the price of a comparable new appliance, consider replacing it. Compare against what a similar new unit costs today. The price you paid years ago tells you little.
Age matters too. A US study of home components (NAHB, 2007) puts the typical life of a dishwasher at about 9 years, a washer at about 10, and a fridge or dryer at about 13. Ask the technician whether parts for that model are still made. The appliance pages below go through each case.
Gas ranges and gas dryers
In Ontario, work on a gas range, gas dryer or gas line must be done by a person who holds a TSSA gas certificate (O. Reg. 212/01, s. 6). Mark the appliance as gas in the work order. When the company calls, ask for its TSSA registration number and check it with the contractor lookup on tssa.org.
If you smell gas, leave the home. Leave switches and appliances as they are, and call from outside.
Appliance pages
- Washer repair: water left in the drum, stuck mid-cycle, loud on spin, leaks.
- Dryer repair: runs with no heat, takes hours to dry, will not start.
- Fridge repair: warm fridge, frozen-over freezer, water on the floor, ice maker stopped.
- Dishwasher repair: water left in the tub, dirty dishes, door leaks, grinding.
- Oven and stove repair: oven will not heat, uneven baking, dead burners, cracked glass top.
- Kanata and Orléans: what to know about booking a visit there.
Questions
01Who does the repair?
An independent local repair company. Ottawa Appliance Desk takes your work order and passes it to one company that covers your part of the city. That company diagnoses, quotes and does the repair.
02What does the visit cost?
Ottawa firms that publish a fee charge about $80–90 + tax for the visit and diagnosis, and most waive it if you go ahead with the repair. The company that calls you confirms its own fee on the call.
03Can I get the repair price before the visit?
Repair prices depend on the fault and the part, so Ottawa repair firms quote them after diagnosis. Ask for the quote, parts and labour, before any work starts.
04Which appliances can I send a work order for?
Washers, dryers, fridges, dishwashers, ovens, stoves and cooktops. For anything else, pick Other appliance in the work order and describe it.
05How many companies get my details?
One. If that company cannot take the job, we ask you before passing it to another.
06What if I smell gas?
Leave the home first and call 911 or the Enbridge Gas emergency line, 1-866-763-5427, from outside. Send the work order once the gas utility says the home is safe.