What causes the lights in the house to pulse (get brighter) when an appliance (like the washer) comes on?

Every time my washer, central air, refrigerator, or any other appliance turns on for it's normal cycle...all the lights in the house get bright for about a second and then go back down. What causes that and is it something I can fix myself?|||it a surge of electricity|||It Has Everything to do With the amperage draw of the appliance..As it begins its cycle it draws curent from the main power supply causing a slight drop in amperage everywhere else like a mini brownout. To stop this you would have to have more current available at the source with the properly rated wiring for the job.|||You may have a bad neutral wire connection at your meter or your breaker panel. Check them for tightness.