Husband and wife are offering free appliance repair service in Toronto during COVID-19

An appliance in need of repairs can be devastating at the best of times, but understanding that it's even harder to get things fixed right now, one Toronto couple is doing it for free.

"We want to offer our help during this COVID-19 pandemic," wrote Nathan Lui of Husband & Wife Appliance Repair on Facebook. "A broken or moldy appliance may force people to leave the home to use a laundry mat, or cause food to spoil and food poisoning."

This COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected everyone. The world will get through this by coming together and helping...

Posted by Husband & Wife Appliance Repair on Friday, March 27, 2020

The post continues, "We will be offering free appliance services to the needy. Our business has taken a big hit so we can't afford to give parts for free but if they are required we will provide them at wholesale through our contractor account at our supplier. Markup is often very high so that means a huge discount for parts in many cases.

"We also offer appliance maintenance, cleaning, and sanitizing services. For example we specialize in dealing with moldy washers and dishwashers. We also offer dryer cleaning and tune ups, and dryer duct cleaning."

The post was shared to the CareMongering-TO Facebook group and quickly went viral. Lui and his wife realized that instead of one day a week like they had initially planned, their services were going to be needed every day of the week. 

"Please be patient as we manage the huge influx of messages," Lui commented on his own post. "We will be expanding this free service beyond Wednesdays to every day of the week. It will be easier for us to work in these free service calls into our work schedule than to set aside a particular day."

Lui goes on to explain that there are major obstacles to obtaining parts right now, and that it's a huge expense to them to pick up all the parts they might need on their way to a service call in the hopes of getting jobs done in one go. They can no longer return parts or order them ahead of time.

"We have to arrive, perform the diagnosis, order the parts, then return another day to install them," reads Lui's Facebook comment. "This effectively doubles the amount of time it takes to complete a repair.

"Taking this into account, and also taking into account the high demand for free services, it would be more efficient for us to adopt a 'round robin' approach: we will schedule the free services throughout the week so we can use the first visit to do the diagnosis, then return later in the week to install the part."

Of course, they're also following strict sanitation protocols to ensure everyone stays as safe as possible while still getting their washing machines fixed up. "We arrive donning masks, gloves, and face shields; we observe social distancing; and, we sanitize all appliance and work areas before and after the service," reads Lui's Facebook post.

He wraps up the comment on his post explaining the expansion of the service to seven days of the week on a poignant note.

"We wanted to help because we felt we had skills and experience we could put to use to help others," wrote Lui. "Well before the crisis we've seen first hand how debilitating it can be to have a broken fridge; it's now devastating in light of this crisis. Please continue to help each other. Everyone can contribute in their own way."

by Amy Carlberg via blogTO