Bethesda and Chevy Chase fit a remarkable range of housing into a small area. On one street you'll find a stucco colonial from the 1920s; around the corner, a new house that replaced a smaller one a few years ago; a short drive away, a high-rise condo above downtown Bethesda. Each puts its appliances in a different setting, and the setting shapes the job nearly as much as the broken part.
This guide covers the four ZIP codes we serve here (20814, 20815, 20816 and 20817) and what's useful to know before a visit.
A little background
Chevy Chase started as a planned suburb. In 1890 Francis Newlands and his partners incorporated the Chevy Chase Land Company to develop farmland they had assembled north of Washington, and by 1892 a streetcar line was running out the newly extended Connecticut Avenue. Houses followed through the early decades of the 1900s. Today the Maryland side of Chevy Chase is a patchwork: several small incorporated municipalities, including Chevy Chase Village, the Town of Chevy Chase, Chevy Chase Section Three and Chevy Chase Section Five, plus unincorporated neighborhoods between them.
Bethesda, by contrast, isn't a municipality at all. It's an unincorporated community run by Montgomery County. Some of its older subdivisions, such as Edgemoor, Bradley Hills, Sonoma and Huntington Terrace, were laid out around the 1910s. Much of the rest filled in over the following decades.
What that means for appliances: many houses are old, many have been renovated more than once, and many have been replaced entirely.
Older houses: kitchens that were retrofitted
Houses built before World War II weren't built for today's appliances. A kitchen remodeled in the 1980s and again recently may have a refrigerator opening framed around the last fridge, a dishwasher squeezed next to an old sink base, or a range on a gas line that was run decades ago.
Things that often come up:
- •Tight refrigerator openings. A refrigerator with no breathing room runs hot. If yours sits in a snug alcove, check the manual's clearance requirements. When a technician needs to pull it out, crown molding, a cabinet above, or a floor that's been raised by new tile can make that slow.
- •Basement laundry. Many older homes still have the washer and dryer in the basement, with steep stairs and a laundry tub or floor drain. A damp basement is hard on front-loaders, whose door gaskets can mildew in humid summers.
- •Gas ranges and dryers. Washington Gas supplies much of this area, and gas appliances are common. If you ever smell gas, get out of the house and call 911 and Washington Gas's emergency leak line from outside.
- •Electrical circuits. Older wiring and panels sometimes weren't designed for modern appliance loads. If a breaker trips repeatedly, mention it; the fix may be an electrician's job rather than ours.
New builds: bigger kitchens and upstairs laundry
Many lots in Bethesda and Chevy Chase now hold newer, larger houses. Their kitchens often have built-in or panel-ready refrigeration (Sub-Zero, Thermador and others), wall ovens, induction or pro-style ranges, and more than one dishwasher. Laundry is often on the second floor.
Two practical points:
- •Second-floor laundry needs a drain pan and a good supply line. A leaking washer upstairs damages ceilings below. Braided stainless hoses and a pan with a drain help. If your washer has ever left water in the pan, get it looked at.
- •Built-ins need regular condenser cleaning. Panel-ready refrigerators breathe through a grille at the top or toe kick, and construction dust from nearby work ends up in them. Our Sub-Zero guide explains the routine.
Downtown Bethesda condos and apartments
The towers along Wisconsin Avenue and around the Bethesda Metro station are a different kind of job. Units usually have stacked washer-dryers in a closet, compact or European-sized appliances, and a building that manages who comes and goes.
To make the visit go smoothly:
- •Ask your building about service elevator reservations, loading dock use, contractor sign-in and any paperwork they want on file before a visit.
- •Tell us about parking. Downtown streets are metered, and some garages have low height limits.
- •Know who owns what. In some buildings, the dryer vent beyond the wall, the shared drain line or even the appliances themselves are the building's responsibility. A stacked dryer that's slow to dry may have a building exhaust problem, not a dryer problem.
Our condo laundry guide goes into stacked washer-dryers in more detail.
Summer and storms
Bethesda and Chevy Chase have a lot of mature trees, and summer thunderstorms bring down limbs and power lines. After an outage, check the refrigerator and freezer temperatures before trusting the food: USDA guidance is that an unopened refrigerator keeps food safe for about 4 hours, and a full freezer for about 48. The power outage guide covers the rest.
Humid summers also make refrigerators sweat along door edges and work harder, especially in kitchens with lots of glass or older houses cooled by window units.
How a visit works
- The appliance is checked where it's installed.
- You're told what broke and what fixing it costs.
- Nothing proceeds without your say-so.
- A repair that doesn't make sense gets called out as such.
We aren't affiliated with any manufacturer's service program; a unit still inside factory coverage should be reported to its maker first.
Before you book
Photograph the rating label, jot down the symptom and any error codes, and let us know about stairs, parking, building rules and pets. More about the area, including the ZIP codes covered, is on the Bethesda and Chevy Chase page, and the Montgomery County guide covers the rest of the county we serve. Call or book online.