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Life span of appliances

Eventually your appliances will wear out. Here is the average lifespan of some of the most common ones:


ApplianceYears
Air-Conditioners8-15
Boilers20-35
Compactors6
Dehumidifiers8
Dishwashers9
Disposers, Food waste12
Dryers13
Exhaust Fans10
Freezers10-20
Furnaces15-25
Gas Ovens10-18
Heat Pumps16
Humidifiers8
Microwave Ovens9
Range/Oven Hoods14
Electric Ranges13-15
Gas Ranges15-17
Refrigerators9-13
Washing Machine5 -15
Water Heaters10-11

Dishwasher Loading Tips

Minute-per-minute, using a full dishwasher saves more time and energy than washing dishes by hand. To ensure that you're loading your dishwasher right, here's a couple hints:

  • Put bowls in upside down. This prevents the bowl from filling up with dirty water. Same goes for cups.
  • leave some space between every item. Heat, water, and vapor need to touch every part of a dish in order to properly clean it.
  • Angle everything to ensure water doesn't sit on top of it.
  • Don't stack dishes
  • Put butter knives blade up, but all other knives blade down.
  • Do not put these items in the dishwasher: cast iron, pewter, delicate glassware, tin, sterling silver, china, anodized aluminum, and wood.
  • Only run the dish washer when its full, otherwise the dishes can get overheated and break or melt.
  • Make sure the arms can freely spin
  • Unload the bottom rack first. Moving the top one may cause drips to fall onto dry items
  • Always use the appropriate amount of detergent.
  • Occasionally run an empty cycle with white vinegar (a natural cleaner) to remove water buildup and food particles and kill fungi.

Christmas is Coming! Is Your Oven Ready?

If you're wanting to ensure that your Christmas dinner goes off without a hitch, NOW is the time to check your appliances. If you find that your appliance is in need of maintenance, call us at 208-344-6700 or stop by 607 N Orchard St, Boise, ID 83706 Mon-Fri 8AM-6PM.

The Month of Smells, Week 5: Dryer

Since they handle water, dryers can get smelly too! Luckily there's some easy tricks to prevent put a stop to this:

General deodorizing


Pull out your lint screen and clean it. After that, get your vaccuumm and put the hose attachment down the lint trap to get any further lint. After that, vaccuum behind and around your dryer. You may also want to go to your exterior vent and clean that out - ensure there's no clogs. If you're feeling particularly thrifty, you can open up your dryer and vaccuum the drum, but this is typically for professionals only.

After that wipe down the inside with a disinfectant like white vinegar.

Burning rubber


If you smell burning rubber, it means your dryer is broken. Continuing to use it will just break it further and increases the risk of a fire. Give us a call and we'll fix it for you.

Smell of gas


If your dryer is gas powered and you smell gas, you should shut your gas off immediately and check for leaks.

The Month of Smells, Week 4: Garbage Disposal

This is the appliance that probably gets the least amount of cleaning, because you never know when to clean it until it is in desperate need. Luckily cleaning it is a piece of cake! Here's the best tips:
  • Put citrus peels down the disposal. 
  • Plink - a garbage disposal cleaner 
  • Don't overload it. Give it stuff it can handle.
  • Baking soda and white vinegar 

The Month of Smells, Week 3: Oven

The last 2 weeks have chiefly dealt with appliances that include a water aspect. However, this week's is different; no water included. When cooking in an oven, some smells can linger and can affect future meals cooked in it. There's some very quick and easy ways to try to get those smells to no longer linger.
  • Fill a baking dish with an inch of water and put vanilla extract in it and turn your oven on low heat, while checking on it periodically
  • Bake a citrus peel (orange, lemon, lime, etc)
  • Fill a baking dish with lemon juice and turn your oven on low heat, while checking on it periodically
  • Fill a baking dish with white vinegar and turn your oven on low heat, while checking on it periodically
  • Scrub everything with a mixture of baking soda and white vinegar

The Month of Smells, Week 2: Dishwasher

When you pull your dishes out of the dishwasher, you expect them to be rather smell-free or even have a slight pleasent scent. However, if your dishwasher is in need of cleaning, you may be assaulted by a wave smells from mold and/or mildew. Luckily there are some tell-tale places that these smells come from that are easy to clean!

The screen

In the bottom of the dishwasher there should be a cylindrical screen, and it may or may not have a cap on it. Remove this and clean any gunk out of it.

The arms

The thing that spins around and sprays water - that's what we're focused on. Food particles may get stuck on, in, or around the arms. Give these a good scrub!

The seal

Food bits can get stuck under the seal of the door. Wipe these down, but be careful not to break it!

The Month of Smells, Week 1: Washing Machine

Washing machines deal with 3 things:
  1. Dirty clothes
  2. Soap
  3. Water
Its no surprise that things can end up smelling weird. An unfortunate truth is that there may be build up, mildew, or even mold causing these smells. Luckily, they can be very easy to get rid of! We even have a couple of different methods:

Method 1: Natural

Run your washer on a large load with the hottest water possible *with no clothes or soap*. pour 3-4 cups of white vinegar the the water. The white vinegar acts as a disinfectant and kills the mildew and mold.

Let your washer mix the vinegar into the water for a minute and stop it again. Add in about 1/2 cup of baking soda. Let it run again to mix the baking soda in, and then stop it again. Let it sit for 30-60 minutes. After that let it finish the cycle. Run one more cycle with nothing in it to get any more residue, and repeat the process as needed.

Method 2: Chemical

This method is almost identical to the natural route, but we just use bleach instead. When the washer is filled with water, pour in 1 cup of bleach. Let it run the rest of the cycle, and then run one after that's just water to get any left over bleach washed away. Make sure that there is lots of air movement when working with bleach!

Furnaces

75% of furnaces producing no heat during the winter are due to a lack of maintenance. If you've procrastinated having your furnace maintained, now is the time to do it. Its starting to get cold, and before you know it, we'll have snow on the ground. Give us a call today at 208-344-6700

What We Do

Besides being the best appliance repair service in the Treasure Valley, we also sell a variety of top quality appliances that come with a warranty and a lifetime service agreement. Here are some examples of what we sell:


washers

dryers

washer and dryer sets

top-down fridges

side-by-side fridges

freezers

ovens

If you're in need of any of these, come into our store to get the best deal in the valley!

Even cooking

When using your oven, ensure that the pans and trays don't touch each other. You want the air and heat to be able to circulate all the way around them unobstructed. By not doing this it prevents your oven from doing it's job properly.

Crumb Tray

Toasters are an appliance that may not be used a whole lot. You might even keep it in your pantry when you're not using it. Because of this, you might not think to clean it very often. Cleaning your toaster is important, and ensures that it doesn't burn anything or catch anything on fire.

The first thing you want to do is unplug your toaster. The last thing you want to do is have it accidentally turn on!

After that, you should see a tab of some sort. This tab rather opens up the bottom of your toaster or slides it out. This is called the crumb tray. Throw all the crumbs away and wipe it down if necessary!

Calibrate Your Oven

A properly calibrated oven is important for baking your food perfectly. An oven that isn't calibrated can over or undercook your food and cost you money and the loss of a great meal.

The first step is to get an oven thermometer. This one on amazon is just over $5. You will use this to determine how accurate your oven's internal thermometer is.

Place the thermometer you bought from amazon in the center of the oven, and turn your oven onto 350 degrees. Give your oven plenty of time to pre-heat. Once it is pre-heated, check to see what the thermometer says inside. After that, move the thermometer around the oven and see if there are pockets that are hotter or colder. If it's accurate, it might just be you burning those cookies!

If your oven's temperature is off, give us a call! We'll fix it right up for you. Contact us at 208-344-6700, or come see us at 607 N Orchard St, Boise, ID 83706!

How to clean your washing machine


  1. Run an empty cycle and put a little bit of bleach in the water.
  2. Run another cycle with 2 cups of white vinegar and 1/4 cup of making soda.
  3. Remove the soap dispenser and thoroughly wash it with soap and water.
  4. Use water to wash the rubber seal on the door.

Clean your kids' toys quick!

Let's face it: kids are sticky. Their favorite thing to grab with their sticky hands are, of course, their toys. Cleaning them is a pain though, because you have to wipe all of them down, and getting in every nook and cranny is a pain. However, there is a much easier and faster way of doing it!

As long as the toys are durable, you can put them in the dishwasher! Simply put them in a cycle and take them out all squeaky clean!

Trash Compactor Maintenance

The trash compactor is a handy home appliance, but its uncommon enough to where people might not know how to care for it properly. Here are 3 basic tips to ensure your trash compactor keeps working in tip top shape!

1. Keep it clean

Once a month open it up and scrub anypart that comes in contact with garbage down with disinfectant and/or degreaser. This prevents build up and odors.

2. Deodorize

Once its all clean, its time to go on the offensive. Spray some deodorizer in to not only elimate any lingering unpleasent scents, but prevent future ones as well.

3. Air Filter

If your trash compactor comes with an air filter, remember to change that at least twice a year. This can prevent smells from building up even further

Garbage Disposal Maintenance

You almost never think about your garbage disposal. You wash bit of food off the dish you were washing and down into the drain to be grinded up. After that, you don't worry about your garbage disposal again until its time to start over. However, failing to do the proper maintenance can be a costly and smelly mistake. Here are the top maintenance habits you should have for your garbage disposal:

Run!
Run your garbage disposal often, even f you're not disposing of anything. This prevents rust and buildup.

Clean the blades
Pour some dish soup and let it run for a minute.

Back to the grind
food materials such as chicken and fish bones, egg shells, and fruit pits are not only ok but good for the garbage disposal. They scrape and clean material off of the blades and the walls.

Not the whole enchilada
Big items should be cut into smaller bits so they don't overwhelm the disposal.

Blackout!!

If your fridge dies or the power goes out, you have about 4 hours till your fridge is at room temperature. Keep the doors closed as long as you can, because letting in warmer air significantly shortens that 4 hours.

If at all possible, find a cooler and put your perishable food in there until you have a new fridge or the power is back on.

Signs you need to replace your water filter

Filtering your water makes sure that you and your family remain healthy. A water filter should be a top priority since we drink so much water. Usually you want to replace your filter every 3-6 months, but here's some of the biggest signs that you need to change your filter:

  • Water tastes funny
  • Water smeels weird
  • Water isn't completely clear
  • water pressure has dropped
  • your fridge or filter tells you its time

If you have one or more of these, there's a good chance you need to change your water filter sooner rather than later.

Now is the time!

Your air conditioner has been working hard. Its been working so hard, that it likely needs a boost about this time of the year. Head on down to our store and pick up an air conditioner filter so you can keep your home nice and cool.

Seals

Seals are an important thing in large appliances. From fridges, freezers, ovens, and every dryers they are essential to ensuring that your appliance performs effectively.

If your seal is broken or otherwise needs replacing, call us and we'll get you fixed in no time!

REMINDER: Now is the time!

Now is the time of the year when your dyer vents have been filling up and need cleaned out! Letting your dryer go much longer will clog it with lint, making it harder to dry, wasting electricity, and heating flammable lint. For a great tutorial on how to clean the lint out, go here.

Summer is upon us, and our freezers are feeling it!

With hotter temperatures, comes higher energy bills to keep your freezer running at it's best. However, those bills can be lowered by making sure your freezer is working properly. Here's 3 tips to get your freezer working at it's highest efficiently.

Clean Coils

Cleaning the coils is essential to having any freezer running effectively. Besides getting the occasional dust out of the way, you should also unplug and wash the coils with warm, soapy water at least once a year.

Defrost

If your freezer ends up accumulating an inch or more, it is time to defrost. Ice any thicker makes the freezer retain bad smells, not keep things as cold, and wastes a lot of electricity. To defrost, unplug and remove everything from the freezer and keep all of it as cool as possible in another fridge or freezer. Keep the freezer unplugged and defrosting till the ice is gone. After that, wipe it dry.

Air Circulation

For a freezer to run its most efficiently, it needs to have enough for air circulation to go all the way around it. This makes it so that the coils don't get dust faster, and need to be defrosted less often.

One of the best ways to raise your property value

Boise's housing market has recently seen a major boom. So much so, that the market can't keep up with the demand. If you're wanting to make your house more appealing to potential buyers, you have to make your house stand out. One of the best ways to make your house more appealing is to get new appliances, like stoves, fridges, and washers and dryers. Its such a good method, HGTV ranked it among it's top 10 ways to raise property value.

If your appliance is in need of an upgrade, come see us today!

Garbage Disposal Problems

Garbage disposals are a nifty addition to the modern kitchen. It eliminates waste so easily you literally just throw it down the drain. However, this appliance occasionally needs maintenance. Here are two of the most common problems and fixes for them:
  1. If you (or your kids) put too much down the disposal, and it's not working, there's an incredibly easy fix. First, fish out as much out of the drain as you can. After that, look under the sink and look at the actual disposal. On the bottom there should be a button which  resets it. You should be good to go.
  2. If the motor is running, but the blades aren't spinning, you may have something jamming the blades. If you can't get it out with your hand, there's still an easy fix. Grab an Allen wrench and turn the bottom bolt of the disposal. This positions the blades to where you should be able to get the jam out.
If you need any other maintenance help, give us a call!

Baking Soda in the Fridge?

Putting baking soda in your fridge does nothing to keep your fridge smelling fresh. This myth was perpetuated by Arm & Hammer to sell more baking soda.

A more reliable way to get a smell out of a fridge is to put activated charcoal in a cookie sheet and leave it in there for a couple days. Activated charcoal is what they use to filer fish tanks and is a great odor absorber.

The best way to get smells out is to regularly clean your fridge!

Fridges in the Heat

June is here and summer is upon us! With June brings even hotter temperatures. While you know how to keep cool by going to the pool, how will your refrigerator act with to the heat?

When the temperature raises outside, your fridge has to work harder to keep up. If your fridge isn't in tip top working shape, it could spell disaster for your food, or even the fridge itself.

The best way to keep your fridge working properly is to do the following:
  • Keep your fridge several inches away from the wall
  • Clean the condenser coils frequently
  • Keep your house at a cooler temperature
If your fridge needs maintenance or does break down, give us a call!

Optimize your Dryer

Here's a couple of hints to help your dryer work even more efficiently:
  1. Put your dryer close to the exhaust. If your air has a shorter distance to move, that means less energy is used and its less likely to get clogged.
  2. Smooth piping for the exhaust is better than pipes with pleats. Its more direct than having to move over the pleats.
  3. Air drying always saves energy

Clean your Dryer!

Build up in your dryer? Luckily cleaning your dryer is a piece of cake. Follow these simple steps to clean your dryer!

  1. Wipe down the inside of the drum
  2. Use a dry cloth to wipe down the lint trap and the vent.
  3. Use the hose attachment on your vacuum to suck out any more lint in the vent.
  4. Clean the lint trap with warm and soapy water (but let it dry first).
  5. Very gently open the top of the drying and vacuum the outside of the drum. If you don't feel confident in prying, don't feel obligated to do so.
  6. Repeat in 3-6 months!

How to clean a dishwasher

First things first: pull out the bottom rack and make sure there isn't and food bits around the drain that's causing a clog.

If you're good there, put a cup of white vinegar in the top rack and run the empty dishwasher on hot. White vinegar is a cleaner and disinfectant and it works even better with hot water.

Lastly, put one cup of baking soda in the bottom of the dishwasher and run a short hot cycle. This gets any stains out and gives your dishwasher a fresh smell!

De-stink Your Sink!

Garbage disposals have to do a lot, and its no surprise that they periodically need to be cleaned. Luckily, doing so is super easy and quick. Here's how you do it:


Pour half a cup of baking soda down the disposal, then pour a full cup of white vinegar on top of it. This will make it all fizzy sounding, which is normal. Let it sit for a couple minutes. In the mean time, go boil a kettle or pot of water. Once it is boiling, pour the water down the sink. This helps get things loose easy to clean off.

After that, put two drinking glasses of ice down the disposal. Then grab rock salt (normal salt will work, just not as well) and put it over the ice. Turn the sink's water on and turn the disposal on. Keep the disposal on until you can't see the ice anymore. This gets the gunk off of the blades of the disposal.

After that, keep running the water and the disposal and get the citrus of your choice, a lemon, orange, or lime, and put them down the sink. This helps deodorize your now clean sink!

4 Tips on How to Dry Your Clothes Faster

1. Clean out your lint
Lint build up is the #1 thing that prevents effective drying. Keep it clean to dry your clothes fast!

2. Wring out your clothes before you put them in the dryer
No use in drying it in the dryer when you could take a lot of the water out yourself.

3. Put dry towels in with a load
This makes it to where the towels absorb much of the water. Divide and conquer the water!

4. Make your dryer vent hose shorter
This one is a bit more labor intensive, but could help tremendously. The shorter the hose, the more efficient your dryer becomes. 

How to easily and quickly dry your shoes!

 Tie the shoe laces together tightly.

Put the shoes in the dryer, but have the shoe laces to be outside of the dryer. This allows the shoes to dangle against the door in the dryer. Put on low heat and dry your shoes!

4 Simple Water Heater Maintenance Tips

1. Keep it clear

As cluttered as the garage might be, its a good idea to keep items away from your water heater. 

2. TURN THE WATER OFF!

This water is HOT! You don't want to be tinkering with the water heater and accidentally give yourself 2nd degree burns. Make sure you turn the water off before you start fixing the water heater!

3. Type

The first solution to any problem is identifying it! To do this, you should make sure you know what kind of water heater you have. There are natural gas, electric or propane, tank-type, and tankless-types. 

4. Drain

Debris and sediments can build up in your water heater, which causes them not to work as well over time. Once a year its a good idea to drain your water heater.

7 Top Hints When Working on Your Appliance

  1. Be aware of sharp edges
  2. Tie back long hair
  3. Wear proper safety gear
  4. Unplug the Appliance
  5. Work in well lit areas
  6. Remove all jewelry
  7. Lift with your legs, not your back
If you're unsure about doing any work on your own appliance, call us at 208-344-6700 or stop by at 609 N Orchard St, Boise, ID 83706

Too any Burn Brownies? Your Oven May Need Re-calibrating.

Are your brownies always turning out burnt? Your oven may need to be re-calibrated. Luckily, the re-calibration process is easy.

You first need to make sure your oven really needs to be re-calibrated. The tried and true method is to put a cooking thermometer in the oven and see if it says what you put the oven at.

If you don't have an oven, there's another way. Make 2 small cups out of aluminum foil and put a spoonful of sugar in each of them. Set the oven for 355 and put one of the packets in. After 15 minutes, increase the temperature to 375 and leave both for another 15 minutes. If the first cup's sugar is still white and the second melts and turns brown, your oven is calibrated. If both cups' sugar stay white, your oven is too cool. If both are brown, your oven is too hot.

If your oven needs re-calibrating, give us a call at 208-371-8676

Refrigerator Tips (part 2)

6. Clean your Coils
The condenser coils at the back of the fridge are important to keeping your food cold. Make sure that there isn't any built up dust around them! Check your coils at least a couple times a year.

7. Frosty - no man!
If the frost in your freezer is 1/4 inch thick, its time to do something about it because your freezer is working waaay harder than it needs to. Thaw out your freezer and get that frost out for a nice reset button!

8. Put a lid on it!
Don't put containers of liquid in the fridge without a lid. The moisture will get in the air of the fridge and will make the compressor work harder than it has to, and not to mention frost and/or condensation.

9. A clean fridge is a happy fridge!
The last tip is another no brainer, clean your fridge! Build up in the fridge can cause your fridge to work harder than it has to, and it can cause problems for other food products as well.

Refrigerator Tips (part 1)

1. We have the meats!
Store seafood, chicken, and all other meats on a bottom shelf. This prevents their juices from dripping down onto your other food.

2. Overload!
Don't overload your fridge. The air in fridges must circulate, and if it can't do that, food wont be properly cooled.

3. Chill
Try letting food naturally cool before you put it in the fridge. Putting in hot food just means your fridge has to do double duty to get it cooled!

4. We are closed.
An obvious tip is to keep the doors shut as often as possible. Keeping the doors open for a half hour while you're trying to figure out what to eat lets all of the cool air out and your fridge will have to start over with cooling it.

5. Smell ya later!
To combat odors, fill a clean old sock with activated charcoal. Activated charcoal absorbs smells and prevents them from spreading. Its used in fish tanks to filter the water and keep the smell down. It can do the same for your fridge!

Dryer Tips (Part 2)

5. I'm Going In!!
Once a month unplug the dryer and inspect the inside of it. Wipe down the inside of it to remove any lint or build up. If you don't clean it, this residue will transfer over to your clean clothes!

6. Clean the Vents!
A no-brainer is to clean the vents. Doing this will improve your dryer's performance and will save on energy bills.

7. Watch Carefully
If your dryer isn't drying properly or is making loud noises, you may want it inspected. Leaving an issue untreated will just make it worse.

8. A Balancing Act
If your dryer is off balance, it can cause performance issues and eventually ruin your dryer. Make sure all 4 feet of the dryer are level and on the ground.

9. Inspect the Belt
There is a belt that turns the drum of the dryer. The belt needs to be checked for wear-and-tear at least once a year. If there are any worrying problems with the belt, replace it! This will prevent any future disastrous problems with the dryer.

Dryer Tips (Part 1)


 
1. Less is More
You may be tempted to fit a couple of more shirts into the dryer to save on time, but if you overload the dryer you may lose more than just time. Consistently overloading the dryer can lead to your dryer giving out. To prevent this, just load it with a more reasonable load size.

2. Go Liquid
Using liquid detergent in the washer can help your dryer. It creates less lint than its non-liquid counterparts, which means less wear-and-tear on your dryer.

3. Clean, Clean, Clean!

Remember to clean the lint filter after every load! Double check before a load! Just make sure it gets clean! Not only will it make your clothes dry faster, but lint build up in the ventilation system could spell disaster for your house.

4. Right Place, Right Time.
Make sure there is plenty of space around your dryer. It needs space between it, the wall, and the washing machine for proper lamentation and proper clothes drying power!

Washing Machine Tips (Part 2)


5. Use the right amount of detergent
Don't listen to the detergent packaging, follow the washing machine's manufacturer's manual. If you have soft water, you may also want to reduce the amount of soap you use.

6. Keep it clean!
Residue can build up in the machine. Clean the inside once a month to prevent residue buildup.

7. Clean the dispensers
If you have a dispenser for your soap or softeners, clean that out once a month as well. Build up here can cause a loss of function, so make sure it stays clean as a whistle!

8. Squeaky clean!
Detergent can spill on the outsides and get in cracks that can cause problems with internal functions. If there is a spill, clean it up!

9. Rust?
If paint has chipped off, repair the paint job immediately. Otherwise your machine can start to rust!

Washing Machine Tips (Part 1)

1. Inspect your Hoses
The connections from the hoses to the machine can show signs of weakness, and should be checked a couple times a year. Any cracks or bulges indicate that you should replace the hoses. Most manufacturers recommend you replace the hoses every 5 years.

2. Prevent Flooding
If your machine floods, you want to minimize or prevent water damage. A water shutoff system, which prevents water flow when a malfunction is detected, is a great addition to your machine. Another great one is an overflow pan, which catches any dripping or flooding water.

3. Don't Overload

Loading your machine at the proper limit is essential to preventing any malfunctions.

4. Keep it level
If your machine is on a slant or all 4 legs are not on the floor, it could cause problems and wear out your machine quickly. Take steps to make sure your machine is properly positioned.

Fridge Maintenance Tips


1. Check the Seals
A seal that doesn't seal properly, you'll be spending more money cooling what's inside. If its not sealing properly, make sure that food isn't stuck in it. If there's no food, try the dollar-bill test: close the door with the bill in the door so that its half in/half out. If the dollar slips out, call the pro's.

2. Clean Coils
If the condenser coils are covered in gunk and dust, the fridge wont cool properly. Unplug the fridge and clean them at least twice a year.

3. Is the Price Right?
Make sure your fridge is set to the recommended temperature: 37 degrees for fridge and the freezer at 0 degrees.

4. Fill 'er up!
Fridges are made to work properly with food in them. If you eat out most of the time, just throw some jugs of water in there.

5. Be a Boy Scout: Be Prepared
If the power goes out, don't open it. Doing so will let the cold air out and they wont be able to get cold again, potentially ruining the food inside.

Still Need a New Year's Resolution? Check Out This Checklist!

Cleaning and checking our appliances for problems can be a difficult thing to remember, but it is very important to do. If you're still looking for a New Year's resolution, doing that simple maintenance is a great idea! Here is a chart we made to help you remember to do it. Print it off and put it somewhere you'll be able to see it every could months!

ChoreSpringSummerFallWinter
Clean and check washer and dryer



Clean and check hose connections on washer and dryer



Clean and check dishwasher for leaks



Clean and check fridge for leaks



Check water heater for leaks



Clean and check seal on oven