Updated Sep. 22, 2019. Originally published Jun. 4, 2013.

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The Problem

I don’t know about you, but it seems that every time a part breaks on one of my appliances – the heating element blows on the oven, for instance – I have to jump through proverbial hoops to figure out what we need.  First I look for the model number and serial number on the appliance itself.  Occasionally, I can’t find it, so I have to do an internet search for the manufacturer, and write them to find out where to look.

Once I’ve found the model number, I then generally have to do another search for a PDF version of the manual.  Typically, this will finally lead me to the part number(s) I need.  At this point, I might have spent hours.

The Solution

Wouldn’t it be nice to only have to do this once?  If you bought your appliances new, then hopefully you have this information already available, because you should have been storing your warranties and instructions someplace readily retrievable.  But many of us are dealing with appliances that were already in our homes when we moved here, with no documentation.  We’re going to remedy that now (at least in part).

What we want is to have all of the primary information for our large appliances – brand names, model numbers, serial numbers, etc. – all readily available in one place, along with the names and numbers of anyone we’d need to call if they need repair.  (If you don’t have any preferred repairmen, you can feel free to skip that part unless/until you need a repair.  But if you’ve already tracked someone down you don’t want to have to do that again.  And if the manufacturer or your home warranty company requires that you use a particular contractor, you’ll want that information close at hand.)

So…

STEP 1: Grab a pen and a piece of paper.

STEP 2: Head to your first large appliance.  Check for all of the key information you can find, and write it down.

There is usually either some sort of flat metal plate or a sticker with the vital information on it somewhere inside the appliance.  The first place to check is just inside the door – either on the inside edges of the door itself, or the insides of the doorway.  If you don’t see it there, check the back (the inside back and the outside back).

You’ll want to jot down the brand name, the model number, and the serial number, if you can find them.  If there is a date of manufacture, that can be useful, as well.

STEP 3: If you have a certain company or contractor you use for appliance repairs, dig that information out and write it down with everything else.

There are a couple of options here.  You can write it with your other addresses and phone numbers.  If you do this, you might want to make a note either on your appliance page or in the address book’s alphabetical listing for whatever the appliance is (F for “freezer,” for example) of who this is.  Otherwise, you might know you wrote it down, but not remember where to find it because you don’t remember the name.

-OR- you can write it directly with the appliance information.  Try to imagine you’re looking for the information, and ask yourself where you’d likely look.  That’s where you should write it down.

STEP 4: If you didn’t do it neatly to start with, transfer your notes neatly to a single sheet of paper (or however many you require to contain all of the information) or to a form designed for the purpose.  Store it with your other household paperwork.  (Mine is in my homemaking binder.)

If you have actual repairs done on your appliances, and/or order replacement parts, you might want to go ahead and jot down the part numbers on (or near) this form at the time, so you don’t have to look it back up.  For instance, refrigerator/freezer door gaskets may need to be replaced several times over the course of their lives.  If you jot down the part number the first time you order a gasket, you won’t need to find the part number again the next time – because you’ll have it right there in your notebook!

Resources:

• appliance information form

If you’re just stumbling across this, please click here for the other posts in the series.