Diagnose and fix a rental property's washer that won't spin with ChatGPT
- Posted
- by Sam Guertler (LinkedIn)
- Last checked
- Method:
- How we verify
Evidence: Described by posterThe person describes what happened in words, without screenshots or video.
Beginner-friendlyNo logins, payments or coding needed. Low risk: paste the prompt and you should get something useful.
Outcome
When a tenant reported that the washing machine at a rental property wasn't spinning, self-described not-handy landlord Sam Guertler asked ChatGPT. It laid out a few possible causes and a step-by-step checklist in one response. Following it, and sending photos and observations along the way, Guertler found the suspension rods needed replacing. ChatGPT gave links for replacement parts and how-to videos; Guertler ordered the parts, replaced them and used ChatGPT to check the work. The tenant later texted that the washer was 'purring like a kitten'. A traditional search, tried for comparison, led to a fix that wasn't the issue.
AI tool
Prompt Recreated prompt
The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote this from what it describes.
The washing machine at my rental isn't spinning. That's all my tenant told me. I'm not handy. Help me figure out what's wrong step by step; I can send photos.
Try this in:
Sends the Recreated prompt shown above. ChatGPT and Grok open with it filled in, and ChatGPT may send it straight away. Gemini opens empty, so we copy the prompt for you to paste. Every button also copies it.
Opens in a new tab. We don't see what you send.
These links are only a shortcut. We're not affiliated with OpenAI, Google or xAI, and your results may not match the source.
Optional stronger version
Our rewrite with extra checks. The poster didn't test it.
Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about the details below and wait for my answers. Once I've answered, confirm the plan in one line and run the whole task start to finish. Goal: Help me find out why an appliance isn't working, step by step, and decide whether I can fix it safely or should call a technician. Questions to ask me first: - What's the appliance, brand and model number? - What exactly happens (noises, error codes, when it stops)? - How comfortable am I with basic tools? Inputs (fill in or confirm): - Appliance, brand and model: [MODEL] - Symptoms: [SYMPTOMS] - Photos or video: [PHOTOS] - Tools I have: [TOOLS] Rules: - Before any hands-on step, tell me to unplug it and, if relevant, shut off the water or gas. - Start with the simplest, most common causes and work down a checklist, one step at a time. - Ask for a photo or observation after each step before concluding anything. - For parts, give the part type and tell me to confirm the part number against my model number; don't guess part numbers. - If a step involves gas, internal wiring, or anything you're unsure is safe, tell me to call a qualified technician. Checkpoint: Tell me the likely cause and the evidence for it before I buy any parts. If you get stuck: If the photos don't make it clear, say what to look at next or recommend a technician rather than guessing. Verify before you finish: After the repair, walk me through a test run and what to watch for. Output: The diagnosis, the parts needed (to confirm against my model), repair steps, and a test checklist. Done when: The appliance works in a test run, or I know it needs a professional.
Source
Related cases
- Shape your own memories into a father's eulogy with ChatGPT as editorRecreated promptEvidence: Described by posterBeginner-friendly
Writing the eulogy for a 99-year-old father, Alec Duthie, the writer behind Wheelchair John didn't ask ChatGPT to write it. Instead, the writer gave it personal stories and memories and asked questions such as 'Where would this story fit best?', 'Does this repeat something I've already said?' and 'Does this sound like natural speech?' The finished eulogy took almost twenty minutes to deliver, and afterward people said: 'That was a great eulogy. Thank you for sharing your relationship with him.'
ChatGPT · Personal · Source date:
- Find support and coping strategies for a loved one's Alzheimer's delusions with ChatGPTRecreated promptEvidence: Described by posterBeginner-friendly
The writer behind Alzheimer's Witness lives with Frank, whom the writer has loved for 44 years and who now has Alzheimer's disease. Living with Frank's delusions means answering Frank's questions quickly and soothingly, so the writer talks to ChatGPT, asking questions that ease Frank's mind and the writer's own. What the writer learned brought a better understanding of what Frank is going through and how to meet Frank's needs, and ChatGPT's strategies for coping with a delusion became 'an invaluable source of support and sanity when it is most needed'. In the writer's words: 'With AI, I no longer feel as alone.'
ChatGPT · Personal · Source date:
- Write a mother's obituary for the local paper with ChatGPT (partial)Recreated promptEvidence: Article or interviewPartial
Soon after Jeff Fargo's mother died, while Fargo was still emotionally raw, the mother's friends started asking about an obituary. Fargo asked ChatGPT for an obituary to memorialize the mother and typed for a really long time to capture the nuance of who the mother was. The result was printed in the local paper. Fargo felt it was passable and saw it as a gift, since it didn't take a lot of time or more emotional effort. Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell, who read it, found it 'serviceable' but almost 'templated', without all the emotional resonance Fargo had poured in, and suggests using AI drafts as a head start to edit and make your own.
ChatGPT · Personal · Source date: