What to do first when something breaks

When something goes wrong in your home, step back and think before reaching for your toolbox. The solution may be easier than you think — and sometimes it's better to do nothing at all.

• Anything you buy new in a shop is protected by consumer law. You have rights if it does not work or if it fails within a certain period.
• A retailer or manufacturer may also guarantee the goods for a set time, or may sell you a warranty that covers the cost of repair for a year or more.
• Make sure that you and the retailer complete and send off any documents needed to register a manufacturer's guarantee, and keep your receipt and guarantee documents in a safe place.
• If your goods fail and they are still covered by the terms of the guarantee or warranty, don't try to fix them.
• If you attempt a fix, you are likely to invalidate the guarantee. Even if your guarantee has expired, you may still be covered by consumer law, especially if the goods were bought relatively recently.

• Repair professionals will tell you that a very high percentage of their house calls are for problems that have an extremely simple solution.
• So before you pick up the phone and pay a service charge or try a home repair, check the obvious. If your washing machine won't switch on, is it properly connected to a working power supply?
• Does the electrical socket work? Has its circuit breaker tripped? Has its safety been turned off? Does water come out of nearby taps?

• Computers and many other electronic devices can "crash" — stop working because their built-in software has developed a temporary glitch. Such appliances can usually be reset by turning the machine off and on again.
• If it is plugged in, remove the plug, wait for two minutes, then put it back in and attempt a restart. If the gadget has batteries, take them out for at least 30 minutes, put them back in and switch on. Try recharging or replacing the batteries.

• If one of your gadgets dies, try the "reset" or "restore" button — usually a recessed switch on the appliance or a combination of buttons.
• Pressing this takes the device back to its original factory settings. You may lose stored information, but building that up again will be easier than getting a repair and cheaper than buying a new device.

Is the space behind your computer, TV, DVD player or game console a mess of wires and cables? It's easy for these connectors to get tangled, work their way loose or get mixed up.

• Check the back of the manual (or the final page or so of the PDF version on your computer) for a "troubleshooting" section.
• It will list the common problems and tell you how to go about solving them. Keep all your instruction manuals in one place, together with the receipt and warranty for each appliance.

Search for the make and model of a faulty appliance, adding a brief description of the problem — chances are that if you've had the problem, so have many others. You may be able to find step-by-step instructions for the fix you need.

• Regular maintenance and seasonal storage will help prevent problems with machines and fixtures.
• Make diary entries for activities like furnace servicing, clearing gutters, cleaning air conditioners and so on, so you don't forget to get the jobs done.