A working refrigerator is only half of the battle when it comes to leftovers. Without a functioning microwave, you’ll be stuck either reheating food on the stove top or in the oven, which takes a lot longer and wastes cooking gas. You shouldn’t live any longer than you have to with faulty microwaves, so here are a few common problems to keep an eye out for.

The Microwave Isn’t Heating

If your microwave goes through all the motions correctly – you enter the time, the fan runs, and the timer counts down to zero – but your food comes out just as cold as it was when it went in, then you probably have a magnetron failure on your hands. Magnetrons produce the microwave frequency waves that actually do the heating, and without a functioning magnetron all you have is a timer with a door.

The Buttons Don’t Work

Nothing happens when you press the buttons? If you can’t enter a time or get the microwave to start, odds are that there’s something wrong with the front panel. Main control board failure is another more serious, but less likely, possible explanation.

The Microwave Runs for a Little Bit, Then Stops

If you can only get a few seconds of run-time in before your microwave stops heating for no apparent reason, it’s most likely that the door switch isn’t closing properly and the microwave is behaving as if you were opening and closing the door every few seconds.

These problems can render microwaves useless, fortunately a skilled appliance repair professional can fix them without too much trouble. Reliable Appliance Service Parts & Service offers in-home appliance repair services for just such an occasion. If you’re having microwave trouble, give us a call and we’ll do everything we can to get your microwave back in action.