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A finger on the control panel of a new washer, the display dark.

Measure first, then read the first week

First checks and setup codes
guides.

What an owner can check before the order and after the install: the opening and the path in, the first days of a new appliance, and the demo modes and setup messages a display shows at first power-on.

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Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm

  • Three guides
  • Read before you book
  • Says where to stop

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First checks and setup codes,
guide by guide.

These guides are the checks a homeowner can make around an installation without tools beyond a tape measure, a thermometer and a phone camera. Some happen before anything is ordered, some on delivery day and some over the week that follows, and together they catch most of what a site visit would otherwise find.

All 18 guides
A homeowner's hands, seen from the shoulders down, stretch a steel tape measure across an empty laundry alcove where a front-load washer will stand, the washer hookup valves and drain standpipe visible on the back wall, a notepad sketch on the floor, indoors.
5-minute read

Measure before you order: the opening, the swing and the hookups

The old unit is the wrong thing to measure. What to record instead, which clearances to subtract, and the three photos that save a second trip.

A homeowner's hand, seen from the shoulders down, lays a sheet of paper towel on the cabinet floor under the dishwasher supply valve beneath a kitchen sink, the new dishwasher's door closed beside the cabinet, a small flashlight on the floor, indoors.
5-minute read

The first week after installation: what to check, and on which day

Thermometers on day two, water joints on day three, flame color and feet by day five. A short schedule that catches a connection that was nearly right while help is still easy to reach.

A technician seen from behind and shoulders down presses two buttons on the glowing control panel of a newly installed French door refrigerator, the French door refrigerator's doors slightly open with the light on, protective film curled at the edge of the frame, indoors.
5-minute read

Setup codes and demo mode on a new appliance: when the display is the whole story

Showroom settings, Sabbath modes, control locks and a clock that must be set first. How to clear each one, and when demo mode on an electric oven is really a wiring sign.

Measure first, then read the first week.

Before the order, the questions are about space and supply: the real size of the opening, the room each door and drawer needs to swing, the type of receptacle on the wall, where the gas and water shutoffs sit. After the install, they are about behavior: temperatures read on a thermometer rather than a display, the color of a gas flame, a water joint after its first heat cycles, and a screen that lights up while nothing heats or cools.

The guides lean on the makers' installation instructions and support pages, since those are the documents that define what correct looks like for a given model. Where the answer changes from model to model, the guide sends you to that model's manual instead of inventing a key combination.

They also mark the edge of owner territory clearly. Reading a display, measuring an opening and laying paper towel under a joint are owner jobs. Opening a gas fitting, a refrigerant line, a terminal block or a live panel is not, and every guide in this section stops at that line.

Not sure where to start?

The short answerMeasure before you order: the opening, the swing and the hookups

To measure for a new appliance, record the opening rather than the old unit, add the maker's clearances to the cabinet size, check the swing of doors and drawers and the depth with the door open, and note every connection by type and position.

The short answerThe first week after installation: what to check, and on which day

The first week after installation is when a connection that was nearly right shows itself.

The short answerSetup codes and demo mode on a new appliance: when the display is the whole story

Demo mode on a new appliance powers the display and lights while cooling or heating stays off; stores use it on the sales floor.

When reading
is not enough.

If the checks in these guides did not settle it, the visit picks up from there, stop by stop.

What installations cost
  1. 01The opening and the hookups, checked first
  2. 02Connected the way the instructions say
  3. 03Set in, leveled and secured
  4. 04A first run with you there

The problems
these answer.

Each has a page of its own, with the causes in the order worth checking.

All 17 problems
A kitchen with a new stainless French door refrigerator still on its low appliance dolly, stopped halfway into a cabinet opening whose top edge is visibly too low for it, a yellow tape measure lying extended along the counter beside it, cardboard corner guards at the edge of the frame, even daylight. Problem

Unit Too Big for the Opening: Cutout, Depth and the Delivery Path

6 causes, cheapest first

 Close view at the wall behind a laundry space, a heavy black four-prong appliance cord plug held a few inches away from an older three-slot wall receptacle, the mismatch between prongs and slots clear, a strip of painted drywall and the top of a white dryer edge in soft focus. Problem

Plug Does Not Fit the Outlet: Cords, Receptacles and Circuits

6 causes, cheapest first

 Close view along the front of a kitchen wall of light oak cabinetry with a newly installed panel-ready column refrigerator, its wooden door panel standing a finger's width proud of the cabinet door beside it at the handle side, the uneven shadow line clear, soft side daylight. Problem

Door Not Closing Flush After the Install

6 causes, cheapest first

 A kitchen floor in front of a newly installed dishwasher, its kick plate removed and leaning against the cabinet, a small spreading pool of clear water on light wood flooring below the open toe space, a folded dry towel lying nearby untouched, the sink cabinet door open beside it with a chrome stop valve visible, seen low from across the room. Hazard after a hookup

Water Leak After an Install: Close the Supply Valve First

6 causes, cheapest first
A family unpacking groceries into a newly fitted kitchen, the fresh appliances set flush in their openings.
For the heart of your home.

Questions about
first checks and setup codes.

What should I have ready before troubleshooting an install?
The model number, the installation instructions for that model, a tape measure, an appliance thermometer and your phone for photos. Most checks need nothing else.
The display works but nothing heats or cools. Is it broken?
Often not. A showroom setting, a Sabbath mode, a control lock or a partial power supply can all produce that picture on a new unit. Check the setup states first.
How long should I watch a new installation?
A week covers most of it: cool-down, several heat cycles on the water joints, a few loads on the laundry feet and a full oven session on the gas connection.
When does troubleshooting become a visit?
When the next step means opening a connection, when a symptom returns after the documented fix, or when gas, water or burning smells are involved.

The other
sections.

Split by what you are trying to find out rather than by which part of the appliance it concerns.

All guides
A new dishwasher sitting crooked in its opening, the counter gap uneven.
Why a brand-new appliance misbehaves in its first days

When a new install goes wrong

A panel-ready dishwasher beside a stainless one on a showroom floor.
Who installs it, which fuel, which front

Decisions before the install

An installation booklet and a receipt folder on top of a new dryer.
The first month of a new appliance

After the install

A yellow-coated gas connector at a closed shutoff valve behind a range.
Connectors, leak tests, brackets and circuits

Gas, power and water at the install

A tape measure stretched across an empty cabinet opening.
The opening, the path in and the rough-ins

Get the space ready

Not sure which section?

Start from your question

The four questions most visits start with, each with the guide that answers it.

18 guidesWhere to start Where to start

Back to your everyday

Let’s get your appliance working again.

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