DIY Troubleshooting

There are many things on appliances that you might be able to fix yourself. The trick is to know what you need to fix. Luckily, that could be an easy fix.

Find out the make and model of your appliance. Once you have that, look up the owner's manual for it. There is almost certainly a section on troubleshooting in the manual.

Follow the steps to determine the error code, and look up the problem online. If its a bit more complicated than you'd like to handle, just give us a call and we can work with you on fixing your appliance!

Is your fridge not cooling properly?

If your fridge isn't cooling very well, the problem easily could be the condenser coils.

The fix is a  really easy one. First you locate where your coils are. They are likely under or behind the fridge. Make sure you can easily access them wherever they are. After that unplug the fridge, so that you don't accidentally shock yourself. Use your coil brush to wiggle lose any dirt, dust, hair, or other particles, and vaccuum up anything else that remains.

If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to give us a call!

Do not slam the doors!

Doors on any appliances such as washing machine, dryer, fridge, freezer, or dishwasher can be broken with relatively little effort. If you slap the doors it could break the lid's switch or latch. Some replacements for something like this could cost upwards of $200.

Instead of taking care of the problem after the fact, take precautionary measures; don't slam the doors!

Do not overload your washing machine!

Your washing machine is a delicate piece of machinery. It needs to be used properly in order to function as intended. Failure to do so may result in damaged clothes, still-dirty clothes, managing the motor, and drainage issues.

The exact amount of clothes that you're supposed to put in varies depending on manufacturer, size, and model. However, a good plan of attack is to leave at least 6 inches between the lid and the top of the load. Feel free to get a ruler and measure it out exactly so you can gauge how full in the future.

Don't forget to wash behind your gaskets!

Dust, mold, mildew, and food particles can get stuck in your fridge's gaskets. Your gaskets help keep the cold air in, and if something is preventing a clean seal, it'll make your fridge not work as well.

This is an incredibly easy fix though. All you have to do is get a damp towel or wipe and clean it out!

Odd Tasting Water

Is your water or ice tasting or smelling odd? Chances are that you need to replace your water filter. Ideally, water filters should be changed every 6 months or so. Usually replacing them is easy enough to where you can do it on your own at home. Just look up the manufacturer’s instructions on how to do it.

Weird Ice

Is your ice tasting a bit funny? Is it not dispensing? Ice and odors can build up and can affect the taste of your ice and functionality of your ice dispenser. Luckily, this can be an easy fix. Take your ice bin out and dump all the ice out that is in it (and make sure the ice maker is off).  If there's any ice that is frozen to the bin, leave it out to melt. Once all the ice is gone, give it a good wash with soap and water! Once dry, put it back in and enjoy your tasteless ice!

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.

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

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

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.

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!

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!

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

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.