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I was told by a technician that I need a separate surge protector for each appliance (washing machine, dryer, etc. They have electronic boards in them). I was also told that I need a special one for appliances and not the one used for electronic equipment such as computers.
Both recommendations seem wrong. A surge should be suppressed according to the power of the surge, nothing else. However, I'm not an expert and hence this question - is either (or both) of the recommendations correct?
If you want surge protection for each of these devices (up to you to decide if it's necessary) then plugging each of them into a surge protector is the simplest solution. As long as its certification provide the wattage required by the device, it should be fine -- depending on the device that may indeed mean you need something other than an office-style surge suppressor.
Depending on who made your breaker box and how old it is, it may or may not be easy to add whole-house surge suppression there. But some of those, unlike the plug-in units, do not provide a guarantee that protects the things you've plugged in, only the things wired directly to the house circuits. Depending on whether you just want the protection or want it guaranteed, and how much you want to protect, this may or may not be a good solution; it probably won't save you any money but I did it for peace of mind.
