Online advice helped me fix my faulty dishwasher for free, writes Sheena Grant.

According to the instruction manual that came with my 10-year-old machine, turn it off and call for technical assistance.

I’m sure this is good advice in many cases, particularly as water and electricity are involved.

But sometimes, it pays to see if you can sort the problem yourself before calling in the (costly) experts.

I suspect the manufacturers know many problems could be solved with a simple DIY fix which could easily be included in the ‘troubleshooting’ section of their manuals.

But of course, they wouldn’t make any money out of that. Far easier to advise you to “contact the nearest authorised service centre” and pay a hefty charge for them to sort it out.

And not too long ago, that would have been the only option for most of us.

Nowadays, however, there’s YouTube, which may, if you’re lucky, have the answer.

Regular readers may recall I’ve used the video sharing site before to sort out various domestic appliance problems.

So when my dishwasher refused to work and an error light started flashing a few days ago, I turned to the site for advice that I hoped would prove more fruitful - and frugal - than that offered by the machine manual.

It wasn’t long before I found a video that featured my machine and the same error light.

The problem, I was told, was probably a blockage that had caused the machine to flood.

The video advised tipping the machine slightly on its side to get rid of the excess water, before clearing the filter/pipes.

It was worth a go, so I got some old towels and followed the instructions.

Thankfully, my kitchen floor is tiled so the water that came out of the machine when I tipped it did no damage.

The DIY fix worked and the machine is back in service, which is just as well as I’d forgotten just how time consuming washing up by hand is.

As most of my domestic appliance callouts and repairs in the past seem to cost the best part of £100, I can’t help feeling everso slightly pleased with myself, for a little while at least- and thankful to the Internet ‘engineer’ who saved the day.

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