About - Repair or Bin

About RepairOrBin

At RepairOrBin, we believe fixing things should be easy, affordable and worth it. Our expert diagnostic guides help you understand the problem, explore your options and decide with confidence.

About Us

Our Mission

Every year, millions of perfectly repairable appliances end up in landfill. Washing machines with nothing more than a worn-out belt. Dryers that just need a $10 thermal fuse. Dishwashers stopped by a blocked pump. These machines aren’t broken — they’re just misunderstood. At RepairOrBin, we believe you deserve better than a repair bill you can’t predict and a salesperson telling you to “just buy a new one.” You deserve to know exactly what’s wrong with your appliance, what it costs to fix, and whether fixing it actually makes financial sense. That’s the RepairOrBin method: Diagnose it. Fix it yourself. Or know exactly when to bin it.

What We Do

We create comprehensive, step-by-step diagnostic guides for the most common appliance faults in your home. Every guide follows the same proven framework:

01. Understand the problem

Plain-English explanations of how your appliance works and what's going wrong

02. Diagnose the fault

Symptom-based flowcharts that direct you to the most likely cause in minutes

03. Fix it yourself

Detailed testing procedures and repair instructions using basic tools and a multimeter

04. Know when to stop

Honest guidance on when a repair is worth doing and when replacement is the smarter financial choice

No jargon. No unnecessary complexity. No upselling you on repairs that aren't worth it.

Why We're Different

Most repair advice online falls into two categories: vague forum threads from 2009, or YouTube videos that skip the critical steps. Neither gives you the full picture.

Our guides are different because they’re built around the repair-or-bin decision — not just how to fix something, but whether you should. We give you the parts costs, the labour estimates, the age thresholds, and the clear mathematical framework to make the right call for your specific situation.

Sometimes the right answer is a $15 part and 30 minutes of your time. Sometimes the right answer is a new appliance. We’ll help you work out which one you’re facing.

The Repair-Or-Bin Philosophy

Every repair has a tipping point. The 50% rule is our foundation: if a repair costs more than half the price of a new equivalent appliance, replacement is usually the smarter choice. But it’s not just about money. The age of the appliance matters. The likelihood of further failures matters. The environmental cost of replacing something fixable matters. Our guides weigh all of these factors. We’ll tell you when a 12-year-old washing machine with a failed drum bearing has earned its retirement — and we’ll tell you when a 4-year-old machine with a blocked pump deserves a $10 fix, not a trip to the tip.

What You Get

Every RepairOrBin guide is a downloadable PDF you can keep forever. Print it, put it in your utility room, refer to it the next time the same appliance acts up. Each guide includes:

Symptom-based diagnostic flowcharts

Step-by-step testing procedures

Component-by-component repair instructions

Parts cost reference tables

Repair vs replace decision frameworks

Preventative maintenance tips

Most guides are written for a single fault — like a washing machine that won't spin. Our brand guides cover multiple faults across all your appliances from one manufacturer.

Who We're For

Homeowners who are tired of paying call-out fees for problems they could fix themselves
DIYers who want clear, structured guidance rather than scattered forum advice
Tenants who want to understand whether their landlord is responsible for a repair
Anyone who’s ever stood in front of a broken appliance wondering “is this worth fixing?”

You don’t need to be an engineer. You don’t need specialist tools. You need patience, a multimeter, and the willingness to understand what’s actually wrong.

The Numbers Behind RepairOrBin

A typical appliance call-out fee is $75 to $125 before any parts or labour

A washing machine drive belt costs $10 to $25 and takes 30 minutes to replace

A dryer thermal fuse costs $10 to $15 and is the cause of a huge percentage of "no heat" faults

A dishwasher drain pump costs $30 to $60 and is one of the most common repairs in any kitchen

The gap between what repairs cost and what they could cost is where RepairOrBin lives.

Our Promise

We’ll never tell you to repair something that isn’t worth repairing. We’ll never recommend a part replacement that won’t fix the problem. And we’ll always give you the information you need to make the decision yourself. If a guide doesn’t help you fix your appliance or make a clear repair-or-replace decision, let us know. We’ll make it right.

The RepairOrBin Library

We’ve published 36 single-fault guides covering the most common appliance problems — from washing machines that won’t spin to gas stoves that won’t stop clicking. Plus a growing range of brand-specific guides for Fisher & Paykel, Samsung, and other major manufacturers. Every guide is written with the same obsession: clarity, accuracy, and honesty about when to repair and when to replace.

Get Started

Browse our guides by appliance type or by brand. Find your fault. Fix it. Or bin it with confidence.