Are you wondering how long do dishwashers last? According to appliance repair professionals, they last an average of 9.5 years.

The appliance’s lifespan is hugely dependent on how frequently you use the unit.

An average household runs its dishwasher five times a week. This means that if you run yours more than this, it’s bound to have a much shorter lifespan and vice versa.

For example, if you run your unit more than five cycles a week, it will last for seven years, and if you run it fewer than five cycles a week, it will last for even 15 years.

How do you extend the life of your dishwasher?

Would you love your dishwasher to last for as long as possible? There are several things you can do. These things include:

Always load your dishwasher correctly

How you load your unit goes a long way towards determining how long it lasts. As a rule of thumb, you should never overload the unit, as you will inhibit its ability to clean the dishes properly. Overloading the dishwasher also creates unnecessary strain, which prevents the dishes from cleaning properly and makes the dishwasher overwork, which drives it to an early grave.

To be safe, learn how to load the dishwasher properly. This calls for you to place the different items in the right places.

Throw away the bones and food scraps before loading the dishwasher

While some powerful modern dishwashers in the market can handle food scraps, it’s still not safe to throw filthy food scraps and bones in the dishwasher as they prevent the dishes from cleaning as well as they should, so you should always remove dirty dishes.

There is also the risk of food getting stuck in the filters and causing significant damage over time.

Clean dishwasher safe items

Dishwasher companies will advertise that you can clean anything on the dishwasher, but this isn’t the case. There are some items that are hand wash only, and it’s for a good reason. This is because some of these items can damage your dishwasher.

To protect your unit from damage, take your time to analyze anything you put in the dishwasher. As a rule of thumb, don’t put anything there that doesn’t belong.

Keep the dishwasher clean.

The dishwasher is always clean as there is water flowing through it, right? Wrong. Like the other units in your home, you need to clean the dishwasher.

One of the parts you should ensure that is clean is the food trap. All dishwashers have a rubber trap at the bottom of the drain that prevents the drain from clogging. Every few months, remove the trap and clean it to keep it in top working condition.

You also should clean the dishwasher filters and door seals.

When doing the cleaning, always use vinegar as it not only removes the built-up gunk, but also gets rid of awful odors. To clean using vinegar, pour a cup of white distilled vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher, then run an empty cycle. The vinegar will clean out any debris stuck in the crevices and throughout the machine’s interior.

Wash the dishes with hot water

When it comes to the water you use when washing the dishes, always use hot water. Hot water cleans the dishes and kills bacteria, so you have clean and safe-to-eat dishes. Hot water also prevents debris and residues from building up in the dishwasher, so you have an easy time cleaning it.

Use the right detergents.

Besides using hot water, you also should use the right dishwashing detergent. Dishwasher repair Alexandria professionals recommend you only use detergent meant for the dishwasher. And when using the detergent, don’t use a detergent that is more than the manufacturer recommended amount.

As much as a detergent might appear harmless, note that using the wrong one can lead to pipe, filter, and even drainage damage.

If you aren’t sure about the right detergent to use, get the input of a professional.

The post How Long Do Dishwashers Last? first appeared on HVAC Repair, appliance repair. The post appeared first on Express Appliance Repair

Like the other kitchen appliances, cooktops also develop a myriad of problems that you need to fix to continue using the unit. Which are these problems? Here they are as given by cooktops repair professionals:

Failure of the electric cooktop to turn on

You will switch on the cooktop, but it fails to come on. You can’t cook with an appliance that won’t come on, can you?

One of the reasons an electric cooktop won’t turn on is if you haven’t plugged it in. Before you start investigating other issues, check whether the appliance is properly plugged in. Also, check whether the outlet is functioning correctly.

Use a multimeter or test it using any other small appliance such as an iron or blow dryer to check the outlet. If you do this and still it won’t come on, get in touch with an experienced electrician to help troubleshoot it.

Sometimes you will find the outlet providing power, but the cooktop doesn’t work. If this is the case with your appliance, your unit might be having problems with the internal components.

If you have never fixed a similar problem before, let an experienced professional help out.

Failure of the gas burner to light

If you have a gas furnace, the gas burner will sometimes fail to light. And like the above problem, this issue can be brought about by several factors.

Before you go deep into the problem, observe what happens when you try to light the burner. You should hear a clicking noise and smell gas coming out of the valves. If you hear a click but can’t smell anything, the problem might have to do with gas flow.

If you smell gas but don’t hear any clicking, the issue might be within the ignition switch.

You should turn the appliance off and unplug it to fix the problem. Follow up by removing the grate and burner cap, then clean out all the loose food debris, and once done, reconnect the wires that might have gone loose.

If this doesn’t fix the problem, you might need a new igniter or look into the gas connection problem.

Failure of the electric coils to heat

When you turn on your electric cooktop, you expect the coils to heat so that you can cook. So, it’s out of the ordinary when you turn the unit on, but the coils don’t heat.

You will often have this problem when you have a loose connection between the coils and cooktop. If the problem came about after removing the coils for cleaning, you might not have properly put them back.

To fix the problem, you need to check whether you have correctly installed the coils, and if there is anything stuck between the coil element and stove.

The coils will also fail to heat if you have an issue with the cooktop’s internal ignition switch, which provides you with action you need to heat the burners.

If you have never diagnosed the problem before, don’t try to fix it yourself, as chances are high you will cause more problems. Instead, let an experienced professional help you out.

Gas stove clicking all the time

It’s normal for the gas stove to click when you switch it on, but if the clicking continues long after the burner is lit, you have a problem. Sometimes the clicking is too much that it prevents the burner from lighting.

This will happen when something is blocking the burner, and all you need to do is to check and ensure that the burner cap hasn’t been knocked out of place and there is no debris blocking the holes.

You should inspect the unit for any blocking material and remove it using a paperclip or any other slim, metal object.

If you remove it and the clicking continues, you might have excess moisture trapped in the cooktop, and you need to towel off the stovetop or point a fan at the cooking surface to soak up the extra water or grease.

If you do this and still the clicking continues, your appliance must be having a deeper sitting problem, and you should have it looked at by an experienced appliance repair Springfield professional.

The post 4 Common Cooktop Problems And How To Fix Them first appeared on HVAC Repair, appliance repair. The post appeared first on Express Appliance Repair

You need to use your refrigerator properly for it to function optimally and keep off a refrigerator repair professional. How do you do it? Here are tips on the proper use of a fridge:

Keep the used foods at the front

It’s common to open some foods then, after partially using them, return them to the fridge.

Many homeowners aren’t conscious of where they put the opened foods, which is wrong.

The right way to do it is to place the opened foods at the front of the fridge shelves, in front of the newer items. This way you are sure that you use the opened items before you move to the sealed ones.

Some homeowners will say they can remember the bottle they have opened, but this isn’t the case. Even if you place a label on the foods, don’t mix them with the unopened ones.

When storing the leftovers, move with haste and keep them before they enter the danger zone. If storing large amounts of the leftovers, store them in several small, shallow containers that will cool faster.

Remember to date them and keep them as fresh as possible by removing as much air from them as possible.

Put the non-perishables on the fridge doors.

The less perishable foods such as juices, fruits, and others respond better to temperature fluctuations, so you should put them on the fridge doors.

Remember that you will open and close the fridge door, so ensure that the foods you place here can withstand the temperature changes without changing their taste or texture.

Keep the raw foods at the bottom.

Raw meat and fish belong at the bottom of the fridge where the temperatures are lowest. These areas also don’t experience a lot of temperature fluctuations when you open and close the refrigerator.

Since the raw foods tend to be highly perishable, placing them at the bottom means that you put them away from the other foods, hence you don’t worry about them contaminating the rest of your foods.

As you put the raw foods at the bottom of the fridge, remember to keep them sealed and free of leaks.

Keep the refrigerator below 5 degrees centigrade.

You should keep your fridge below 5 degrees centigrade so that you can keep all of the food cool, fresh, and full of flavor. You are sure that even the highly sensitive milk won’t get spoilt at this temperature.

Don’t overstock the fridge.

It’s easy to be carried away and stock more than your fridge can carry, when you don’t want to make another trip to the grocery store.

As much as you will save a trip to the grocery store, overloading your refrigerator is not a wise thing to do as it prevents the air from circulating as well as it should, which, as you can guess, means that your foods don’t remain as cool as well as they should.

There is also the risk of the fridge overworking when you overload it, which drives it to an early grave.

What is the best thing to do instead?

The right thing to do is stock just the right amount of food in your fridge.

You are better off making another trip to the grocery store within the month than overloading your fridge and damaging it.

Clean the fridge once a week

At least once a week, remove all the foods in the fridge and clean them. Before returning any of the foods, find out their expiry date and discard them if necessary. You should also discard any food you aren’t sure whether should be in the fridge.

Parting shot

These are some wise fridge tips to keep your refrigerator in top working shape.

Don’t wait for your fridge to break down if you can afford it. Hire an experienced appliance repair Alexandria professional at least once a year to go over your unit and fix any issues your appliance might be having.

This way you prevent larger problems from resulting down the line, that might be too expensive to fix.

The professionals will also help you know expert tips to keep your appliance in top shape.

The post Proper Use of Refrigerator Tips first appeared on HVAC Repair, appliance repair. The post appeared first on Express Appliance Repair

When you need a new dishwasher, there are many options you can choose from. While each one has its own features, one of the more critical choices you must make is between a stainless steel or plastic tub.

It will not take long to discover that a stainless steel tub is more expensive than a plastic one. Your budget is essential, so which one do you choose?

Benefits of Stainless Steel Dishwasher Tubs

A stainless steel tub can hold up to heat and hard water better than plastic. The water temperature in a dishwasher gets as high as 160 degrees Fahrenheit to kill germs and bacteria. A plastic tub can warp and leak when exposed to high temperatures over a long period. Hard water can also cause a plastic tub to warp. 

A stainless steel tub uses less power energy.  A stainless steel tub only uses 450 watts as opposed to the 600 – 750 watts of energy used by a plastic tub. 

Stainless steel is more durable and lasts longer than plastic. Plastic is likely to crack and require a replacement. A stainless steel tub is also less likely to stain than a plastic tub.

Stainless steel tubs are better able to absorb sound, making them less noisy than plastic tubs. They produce as much as 10 decibels less noise than a plastic one. This noise reduction means that a dishwasher with a stainless steel tub is less disruptive to the household when it is running.

Stainless steel tubs use conduction, which means that the dishes dry faster. Stainless steel pulls in heat and turns it into condensation, which drops to the bottom of the dishwasher instead of becoming a puddle on the plates.

At Sarah’s Appliance Repair, we recommend a stainless steel dishwasher tub. While stainless steel may cost a little bit more upfront, the extra cost will be worth it because of all the benefits it provides in the short-term as well as saved money in the long run by avoiding the cost of replacement parts.

Having issues with your current dishwasher? Give us a call today at 505-835-1927 or text 505-388-0900.

The post Should I Buy a Dishwasher with a Plastic or Stainless Steel Tub? appeared first on Appliance Repair New Mexico.