A home appliance, domestic appliance or household appliance, is a device which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. Appliances are divided into three types: small appliances, major appliances, or white goods, and consumer electronics, or brown goods. This categorization is reflected in the maintenance and repair of these types of products. Brown goods typically require high technical knowledge and skills (which get more complex with time, such as going from a soldering iron to a hot-air soldering station), while white goods may need more practical skills and force to manipulate the devices and heavy tools required to repair them.