Here’s a free service that might be of use to some of you. Homeserve has set up a hotline for people attempting to facilitate a home repair on their own. Specifically, a repair that involves plumbing, electrical, or HVAC issues. Just call the number, describe the problem, and licensed technician will call you back and talk you through the fix. No charge. Telemedicine for your home, in other words.
I’ve worked with this company for the last couple years, and was glad to see them accelerate this project after the lockdowns kicked in. It’s come in handy for a lot of people. Details below. Available everywhere but California, (which is, for the time being anyway, beyond help…)
https://www.homeserve.com/sc/telefix#howitworks
[EDIT] People want to know how it can be free, understandably. Homeserve is a home warranty company that already has 4 million customers in the US. So they have an existing infrastructure to handle incoming calls, and several thousand technicians “on call.” If they can diagnose and solve the problem over the phone, they will. It shows a lot of goodwill at a time like this, and a smart way to start a potential relationship with a potential customer. If they can’t fix the problem over the phone, and the homeowner needs/wants an in home service call, that option that would a billable event, obviously. But there’s no obligation, and a lot problems can be fixed over the phone…
If you guys try it, let me know how it works out for you.