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Find a machine's rating label: model, serial, age, rental sticker

Where the label sits on each machine, how its serial holds its age, and what a rental sticker means.

8 steps

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A metal plate or a sticker with the model and serial numbers, on the side, the back, or inside a door.
Water heater: on the tank's side. Furnace or boiler: on its side, or by the burner's little window.
Washer: under the lid or round the door. Dryer: inside the door's rim. Fridge: inside, on a side wall.
Dishwasher: on the door's edge. Range: behind the drawer. The AC: on the side of the unit outside.
Get close, tap to focus, and turn on a light so every number shows.
The serial's first letters or numbers often hold when it was made. Send the photo to Handyman to read it.
A company's sticker can mean the machine is rented. Note its name: they may service it.
A label behind a cover that needs tools, or near wiring or a gas line: leave it. Send Handyman a photo of the front instead.

Handyman says: Leave the cover on. Send me a photo.

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