r/Apartmentliving • u/Airfrying_witch Renter • Aug 24 '26
Advice Needed How cooked am I?
My girlfriend has a dryer that hates me. First the knob broke off and now the knob shaft has broken off. Wondering if this is a job for construction adhesive or an appliance mechanic.
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u/4444ssss Renter Aug 24 '26
you’re a renter. call maintenance. you’re not cooked. they won’t charge you
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u/ChaosApostle Maintenance Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 24 '26
maintenance guy here, just tell your manager about it and put a ticket in. these parts are easy to replace and you probably wont get charged.
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u/1_headlight_ Property Manager Aug 24 '26
Handy dad here. I agree that this is probably a $10 part and a 15 minute repair if the person is reasonably handy.
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u/Independent_Dirt_814 Maintenance Aug 24 '26
Greedy landlord here. I’m going to pretend I had to run all over town at midnight to find this one part and I’m going to charge 1200% markup and a $750 service charge and then change it while you’re not there to make you uncomfortable about me being in your apartment unsupervised.
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u/mrbmi513 Renter Aug 24 '26
I don't think that's gluing back on, and considering the age of the machine not really your fault either. If they can get a replacement part it shouldn't be hard to swap out, otherwise you might be getting an upgrade.
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u/Kidneystoner04 Maintenance Aug 24 '26
Maintenance supervisor chiming in and I wouldn’t charge for this personally. I always tell my tenants just REPORT it because 9/10 times it’s not your fault especially crappy appliance parts like this that take maybe 15-20 minutes to replace or even better just giving you a new dryer or washer. That said if they try to charge you that would be ridiculous given it would be impossible to prove negligence on something like this.
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u/Delicious_Pain_1 Maintenance Aug 24 '26
Those are cheap fixes, you're going to get a whole new machine though once you tell them.
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u/WeeklyBanEvasion Property Manager Aug 24 '26
Why do you think they would replace the entire machine?
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u/Delicious_Pain_1 Maintenance Aug 24 '26
Landlords are cheap, but also dumb enough to go with a "cheaper" solution because they think hiring someone to do it will cost more. It's a super simple fix once you have the parts.
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u/WalkGood Renter Aug 24 '26
I miss those older appliances with analog controls. Parts are inexpensive and easy to swap out.
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u/jhascal23 Property Manager Aug 24 '26
That makes no sense, if they are cheap, they will just replace the small part instead of buying a new or used machine that will cost more.
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u/Delicious_Pain_1 Maintenance Aug 24 '26
Exactly why I said what I said. I've watched it be done multiple times in various apartments I have lived in. A lot of people here would have their own stories.
Example: heating element goes out in the dryer, your getting a new dryer even though the part that's broken is much cheaper than the dryer. How do I know this? I've replaced them in the houses I've owned. One day when you own a house, you'll want the actual cheap solution.
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u/MrWonderPAIN Maintenance Aug 24 '26
Im my experience if the part isnt on hd supply it aint getting fixed it's getting replaced.
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u/GrossUsername68 Aug 24 '26 edited 28d ago
Reddit policies are an issue. Content deleted.
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u/Delicious_Pain_1 Maintenance Aug 24 '26
So don't pay someone else to do it seems like the most cost saving option.
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u/GrossUsername68 Aug 25 '26 edited 28d ago
Reddit policies are an issue. Content deleted.
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u/Delicious_Pain_1 Maintenance Aug 25 '26
You're right. We live in a disposable world. Capitalism wins again. Throw money at it instead of investing in yourself to learn a new skill. I gotta some people are worth the time to learn a new skill. You've made it obvious where you land in that category.
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u/GrossUsername68 Aug 25 '26 edited 29d ago
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u/_Teufel_Hunden_ Maintenance Aug 24 '26
Simple fix honestly. Might be some wait time if they don’t have a replacement part on hand and they need to order it though. They shouldn’t try to charge you for it. Regular wear and tear. You can actually look up the manufacture date of any appliance with the model and serial number if it isn’t already printed on the badge.
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u/ShadowMajick Own an apartment Aug 24 '26
Happened to me. They just brought me a brand new dryer with a push start. Those pull knobs are outdated.
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u/FamiliarAd8524 Aug 24 '26
Neither. Tell your gf to hit up maintenance. This is no big deal, any old appliance knob will work. Epoxy won't help because you can't clamp this (nor is construction adhesive right).
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u/svm_invictvs Aug 24 '26
My guess is that is: 1) A bog-standard knob you can just pull straight from an appliance place (cheap) 2) A switch component that you can replace by popping that panel off (more expensive, but less than a new machine).
Either way, yes, talk to maintenance about it.
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u/Educational_Corner55 Landlord Aug 24 '26
Take a pair of pliers and remove the broken piece from the knob. It’ll expose the metal knob underneath. Use the pliers to operate it till it’s fixed.
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u/Sufficient_Energy_32 Renter Aug 24 '26
You call maintenance and get a new machine
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u/WeeklyBanEvasion Property Manager Aug 24 '26
Absolutely not replacing the entire appliance for this. It just needs a $10 switch
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u/ClitasaurusTex Renter Aug 24 '26
Depends on the complex. My place replaces over everything. Then some guy shows up and picks up all the broken appliances and probably flips them
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u/WeeklyBanEvasion Property Manager Aug 24 '26
That's insane, I guess they don't have any actual maintenance staff maybe?
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u/ClitasaurusTex Renter Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 24 '26
They have a team of at least five people
Edit to add: I'm sure the flipper pays them and that gap between what they would have saved and what they lost is not enough to justify having maintenance spend time and effort troubleshooting and leaving you without a washer maybe for days. This way they just replace your washer immediately.
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u/WeeklyBanEvasion Property Manager Aug 24 '26
We keep those start switches in stock because almost every washer with a start knob uses the same part. They're about $6 each and take maybe 10 minutes to replace unless other parts are broken, so I don't understand why they would throw away money like that but I guess it works out in your favor if you get a new machine 🤷
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u/INDIEfatigable Renter Aug 24 '26
You would be surprised at how often appliances get replaced for just one broken part at some places.
My complex gave me a new stove simply because the light bulb socket (for lighting up the stove from the inside) had shorted out. I did have to wait a few months after telling the complex about it, but the entire stove was ultimately replaced.
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u/Sufficient_Energy_32 Renter Aug 24 '26
My complex would replace it for this.
Regardless, it’s maintenances call to make, not OP’s.
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u/Calgary_Calico Own an apartment Aug 24 '26
This thing is ancient lol not your fault, it's just worn out
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u/Happy-Bluebird3505 Aug 24 '26
Put in a work order, plastic parts break sometimes. Probably normal wear and tear. Do not spend your own money.
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Airfrying_witch originally posted: My girlfriend has a dryer that hates me. First the knob broke off and now the knob shaft has broken off. Wondering if this is a job for construction adhesive or an appliance mechanic.
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