New!! Appliance Tips

Ryan has agreed to my suggestion of writing weekly appliance tips on my blog. They can be found each week located on the right hand side of my blog. The tips will be listed in "Ryan's Appliance Tips". Be sure to check back every week for a new tip!

Here's what Ryan had to say for this new section, " I have been an appliance repair technician for 5 years. I work for a company that has been in business for over 50 years. I hope to provide you with tips that will help improve the life and performance of your appliances."

This is his first tip:
This week’s appliance tip is for those of you that have a High Efficiency washer. These H.E. washers include any front loading washer and the new Cabrios by whirlpool, GE Harmonies, and the Maytag Bravos. It is very, very important to only use detergent that has the H.E. logo on the container. Almost all brands have H.E. versions. The difference is a regular washer uses about 60 gallons of water per load, an H.E. top loader uses a maximum of 25 and the front loaders uses a maximum of 15 gallons. Regular detergent is about 80 percent water softeners. Failure to use H.E. soap can seriously damage or destroy your expensive washer.

Bonus tip: powder soaps dissolve better then liquids and will improve the longevity of your washer.


Thanks Ryan!!



I am adding the older appliance tips here for future reference

Dishwashers

If you are traveling for the Holidays or not going to be using for dishwashers for more than a few days, it is important to pour 2-3 large glasses of water into the bottom of the dishwasher. The water helps keep the seals and gaskets from drying out and will prevent the dishwasher from leaking.

If your glasses and dishes are coming out of the dishwasher spotted or have a filmy look to them, you might have a build up of mineral deposits. This will look like a chalky build up around your sprayer holes.
To solve this problem use Tang. Just fill up the soap compartment with Tang and run a normal wash cycle. The citric acid found in the powdered drink mix will loosen any deposits and will help unclog the washer to make it clean more efficiently.
To finish cleaning your dishwasher, mix equal parts of vinegar and baking soda in the soap compartment and run a normal cycle. This will make the inside look like it’s new.

Getting Rid of "musty smell" in front loader washing machines

After you run a load of clothes prop your washer door open. Closing your washer door prevents proper air flow and supports mold and mildew buildup.

Also using non HE(high efficency) soap can also cause this problem. Finally, not using a hot water cycle can help cause mold growth.

Try running a couple of cycles with hot water and bleach only(no clothes). Check to see if your washer has a sanitize or clean cycle. Wipe out the folds of the rubber below( front gasket) also.

I don't know how well they work but, there is a new product out called "Afresh" that is a HE washer deodorizer.


Freezers
This tip is about freezers with manual defrost. If you are wanting to defrost your freezer to make room for the holidays; make sure you do it correctly. When you turn your freezer back on after defrosting it, DON’T turn the temperature knob all the way down. (This will not cool the freezer down faster.) This causes the compressor to work harder and will result in faster frost buildup. All freezers have an optimal temperature setting which should be used. This will be indicated on the temperature selection.

Ovens
This week’s tip is for self cleaning ovens. Using the self cleaning option on an oven is about the most stressful process you can do to an oven. Self cleaning makes the oven work very hard and reach temperatures that it doesn’t normally have to endure. This extra work and heat can cause an oven to break down (If there are any weak parts of your stove, it will break during a self cleaning cycle.)

Most people like to self clean their ovens before a major holiday, i.e. Thanksgiving or Christmas. You will want to self-clean your oven at least two or three weeks before. This will give your local appliance repairmen time to get out to service your oven and possibly order parts if needed. At work, we are extremely busy about a week before the holidays from everyone waiting to self clean their ovens. 90% of our business during this time is from self cleaning ovens.

Cleaning Your Dishwasher

If your glasses and dishes are coming out of the dishwasher spotted or have a filmy look to them, you might have a build up of mineral deposits. This will look like a chalky build up around your sprayer holes.

To solve this problem use Tang. Just fill up the soap compartment with Tang and run a normal wash cycle. The citric acid found in the powdered drink mix will loosen any deposits and will help unclog the washer to make it clean more efficiently.

To finish cleaning your dishwasher, mix equal parts of vinegar and baking soda in the soap compartment and run a normal cycle. This will make the inside look like it’s new.


These tips are for garbage disposals

If your disposal gets clogged, try pouring a half of a box of baking soda down it. Then, add 1 cup of vinegar. When vinegar has stopped fizzing, add another cup and wait a half hour. Run hot water down the disposal to rinse it out. This should take care of any minor clogs.

As a maintenance tip, occasionally put egg shells in the disposal and turn it on. This will scrape away any deposits left inside the disposal. Also, putting citrus fruit wedges down the disposal will make it smell fresh and will take odor away.

And finally, make sure to always use cold water when running your disposal. This will prevent fatty deposits in your pipes