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For your washing machine to function optimally and last for a long time, you need to observe a set of best practices. Wondering which are these practices? Here they are as given by washer repair professionals:

Separate the garments

As much as clothes appear similar, they aren’t—they are made from different materials with different cleaning instructions. To avoid damaging your outfits, check the clothes tags for washing instructions.

While most clothes are machine washable, check the tags for further instructions as some clothes might get damaged. For example, some might shrink if you clean them using hot water, while others might not be able to handle bleach.

You should put aside clothes labeled as dry clean or hand wash only.

Besides separating the clothes by the material they are made from and their cleaning methods, also separate by color. Separate the lights from the darks and wash them separately.

If you are wondering what should go where, here is a guide:

Darks: These include dark blues, blacks, greys, dark purples, and dark reds

Lights: These are whites, yellows, pinks, light greens, light blues, and lavender.

Whites include anything that is 100% white. You should avoid washing the whites with other light colors.

Jeans or dark denims: They tend to bleed their color, and you should wash them in their separate load.

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Use the right washing cycle.

The wash cycles determine the speed at which the washing machine spins. Most washing machines have two primary speeds: a speed that agitates or tumbles the clothes with water and another that spins the water out of the clothes.

The cycle you choose should match the fabric of the cloth. There are four main cycles you can use:

Delicate cycle: The delicate cycle uses the slow approach, where it’s meant to reduce agitation and prevent wear and tear. While it’s highly effective at preventing the clothes from getting damaged, it doesn’t properly clean them.

Normal cycle: This cycle goes with a fast approach where it tumbles and spins fast. It’s highly effective at cleaning extremely dirty and sweaty clothes, and it’s the cycle that most people use regularly. Using this cycle, some of the best fabrics to clean are denim, cotton, towels, and beddings.

Special cycle: You will find these cycles in modern washing machines. The cycles vary in functionality and among washing machines. For example, you will find some machines that will sanitize, others steam, and so on.

Permanent or perm press: The perm pres cycle goes in a fast/slow approach, and it’s best for fabrics that need fast agitation to clean but a slow spin to prevent wrinkles. You should use this cycle when cleaning synthetic fibers such as knits, rayons, acetates, and polyesters.

You should use this cycle because synthetic fibers are known to pill or even create small balls of fiber, and spinning the fabric slowly prevents the piling from coming about.

Use the right temperature.

The same way you should use the right cleaning cycle is the same way you should take caution and use the right cleaning temperature. If you do your research, you will find that most experts recommend that you clean your clothes with hot water, which is for a reason.

When you use hot water, you not only have cleaner clothes, but the hot water also sanitizes clothes and kills germs. It also dissolves detergents more effectively and removes any built-up grime, so your clothes look cleaner and brighter.

While hot water is great, it can shrink the clothes, fade the fabrics, or even set certain stains. Some people have even pointed to the hot water being an expensive addition to their energy bill.

If you don’t want to use hot water, use water at different temperatures, especially if the materials in question allow it.

The common options include:

Cool water: You can use cool water if cleaning delicate items or items with dyes that might bleed. Cool water is also ideal for clothes that aren’t necessarily dirty.

Warm water is best suited for cleaning dark colors and moderately dirty loads.

If you are unsure about the right water temperature to go with, get the input of a professional appliance service.

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Call 877-959-3534 for an Appliance Repair Quote!

If you are like other homeowners, you want to get the most from your dishwasher. And the beauty is there are plenty of tips you can use to your advantage. Which are these tips? Here they are as given by appliance repair professionals:

Always start with a clean dishwasher

Before you place the dishes in the dishwasher, ensure that the dishwasher is clean. You should note that if you put the dishes in a dirty dishwasher, dirt and debris will get into the dishes, and you end up with even dirtier dishes than you started with.

Every few days, inspect your dishwasher and ensure no debris is hanging out in the bottom of the appliance. A great way to do this is to remove the screen and filter and rinse them. Thankfully they are easy to pop back in, and you can do it even if you have never done it before.

Besides this, make it a habit to place a cup of white vinegar in the top rack and run it in an empty dishwasher on a regular wash cycle. This will clean most of the gunk and deposits, leaving your appliance fresh and clean.

Soften your water

Hard water can sometimes be too hard on the dishwasher. Besides leaving hard-to-clean deposits, it can sometimes make it impossible to get sparkling dishes even after cleaning them for a long time.

Hard water leaves a white residue on glasses and silverware, which is off-putting.

To avoid this, soften the water before it gets into the dishwasher. If you can’t do this, regularly clean the dishwasher with vinegar to prevent deposits from forming. It also doesn’t hurt to use a special water softening rinse aid after cleaning.

Load it up right

How you load your dishwasher goes a long way toward determining the results you get. Of course, you come out with clean dishes if you load the unit properly. For you to properly load the dishwasher, you need to follow a set of rules that include:

Place the cups in the top rack and place them between tines. Never place the cups on top of the tines.

Plates and bowls go on the bottom rack, with the dirty side facing the water spray. As a rule of thumb, ensure that the dishes don’t all point in the same direction.

Place the pots, pans, and baking dishes angled down so the water spray can reach the insides.

If you will be cleaning larger items such as pans and baking sheets, ensure that you place them on the sides of the dishwasher. This way, you are sure they won’t block the spray arm or the detergent from the door.

Always stagger the utensils so that some are up and others down. Doing this ensures that the dishes don’t get nested together, and every inch of the utensils gets clean.

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Use the right amount of detergent.

You might have the impression that using huge amounts of detergents will make your dishes much cleaner, but this isn’t the case. Using too much detergent costs you a lot of money, scratches your dishes, and makes the glasses cloudy.

Whether using powder, liquid, or pods, always use less detergent than is recommended in the package.

Run the sink first

Before pressing the start button on your dishwasher, run hot water in your kitchen sink first. Doing this ensures that the water is already hot when the cycle starts, and your dishes get cleaner.

Don’t shy away from cleaning other items.

The dishwasher is only meant to clean dishes, right? Well, this isn’t the case. Besides your standard cookware and serve ware, you can clean plenty of other household items susceptible to germs.

These include baseball caps, plastic toys, golf balls, plastic combs, cabinet handles, etc.

While you can clean other items with the dishwasher, dishwasher repair professionals recommend you don’t mix them with the dishes. As a rule of thumb, run a separate, gentle load.

There are plenty of items you can clean with your dishwasher, but there are equally many others that shouldn’t see the insides of your unit, as they will get damaged or even damage the appliance. Before you put anything inside the dishwasher, first confirm that its dishwasher safe.

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The post appeared first on Express Appliance Repair

Call 877-959-3534 for an Appliance Repair Quote!

The refrigerator is one of the most hardworking appliances at home, and you should make yours function efficiently and better so that you get ultra cold food and save money on your energy bills. How do you make your fridge function better? There are plenty of ways as given by appliance repair professionals.

These ways include:

Keep the temperatures at 37 degrees Fahrenheit

To keep your appliance functioning optimally and protect the food from spoiling, keep your refrigerator temperature at 37 degrees Fahrenheit.

This calls you to regularly test the temperature of your appliance and set it accordingly.

To test the temperature of your appliance, place a thermometer in a glass of water and check the next day.

The freezer should always be at zero degrees Fahrenheit and to test the temperature, you need to place the thermometer between the frozen foods and then check the temperature after 8 hours.

To save even more money, set the fridge temperature to as high as 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the freezer at 5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Remove items from the top of the fridge.

The top of the fridge might seem like an ideal place to store the cereal boxes and other junk, but it isn’t. The reason for this is that placing items here increases the chances of heat getting blocked from escaping, and as a consequence, the compressor works harder than it should; hence you always have a high electric bill at the end of the month.

An overworking appliance also has a short lifespan, so when you repeatedly place items on your fridge, you increase the chances of the appliance breaking down and have to buy a new one.

Ensure that the door has a good seal

One way to ensure that your fridge is in perfect working order and saving you as much money as possible you need to keep the door closed at all times.

You should note that you can close the door, and still, the cold air escapes, forcing you to pay a high monthly bill. To ensure this doesn’t happen, inspect your door and ensure that it has a good seal. One way to make this possible is to close the door on a piece of paper or dollar bill.

If you cannot do this, adjust the refrigerator gasket or replace it to prevent the cold air from escaping.

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Turn off the anti-Sweat heater.

Most refrigerators manufactured after 1993 come with a switch that allows you to choose between exterior energy-saving and moisture-reducing modes.

When you set your fridge to exterior moisture reducing mode, the heater kicks on to keep the condensation off the outside of the refrigerator.

Setting the fridge to energy-saving mode saves 5-10% of energy.

Turn off the anti-sweat heater to save energy and keep your appliance functioning better.

You should note that a newer fridge might have automatic moisture control that eliminates the exterior condensation without needing a heater.

Clean the condenser coils

The condenser coils play a crucial role in keeping the fridge’s insides cool. Unfortunately, over time, they collect a lot of dust, and if you don’t clean them, you damage your unit.

By cleaning the coils, you put less stress on the condenser, consequently extending the life of your fridge.

You can clean the coils yourself but for the best results, let an expert help you.

To avoid injuries, remember to unplug the appliance. Also, use a good quality vacuum or brush to do the cleaning.

Keep the fridge properly organized.

You might have the impression that properly organizing the fridge is just part of good housekeeping, but this isn’t the case as it also plays a vital role in determining how effectively and efficiently the fridge functions.

Besides having an easy time finding the food you need in a properly organized fridge, the condenser works less hard to get the temperature back to the set level, which means a reduced energy bill.

Refrigerator repair professionals recommend you remove items from your fridge, remove the items that have expired, then organize the refrigerator according to your preferences.

In addition to keeping your fridge organized, make it a habit to keep it full most of the time.

Call 877-959-3534 for an Appliance Repair Quote!

The post appeared first on Express Appliance Repair

Call 877-959-3534 for an Appliance Repair Quote!

When your dishwasher does its job right, it provides convenience and cleanliness. It also contributes to your family’s health. One way it does that is by draining away wastewater through the air gap. When your air gap leaks, it indicates a problem. The last thing you want is for wastewater, with the bacteria it contains, to flow back into your dishwasher. You need to eliminate that air gap leak, and the obvious way to start is to figure out why it’s happening. The most likely answer is that it is clogged, and the way you deal with it depends on the severity of the clog.

Is the Air Gap Obviously Clogged?

Most of the time, you can make this dishwasher repair yourself. First remove the metal casing from the air gap and then take off the plastic top. Depending on the make and model of dishwasher, this plastic top may unscrew or it may lift off after pinching the sides. Once you have access to the air gap itself, check if you can see any material clogging any part of the air gap. If so, simply remove it with tweezers.

Is There A Hidden Clog?

If there is no clog visible, try blowing the clog away. Simply place a roll of paper towels over the air gap and blow hard through your end of the tube. You’ll be able to tell how significant the clog is from the air resistance. Hopefully, a couple of powerful blasts will dislodge any clog. Finally, pour hot water down the air gap to deal with any greasy particles. If you can’t get any air movement or a clog is still present, you may need to snake it out.

Are There Dangers In Snaking Out the Clog?

Forcing a tool through the pipe must be done carefully. Traditional snakes are too big, so you’ll need to use something else. A long bottle brush works well, or a length of cable. Push the tool slowly and carefully through the larger hole at the bottom of the air gap outlet, and work it back and forth as you progress. Don’t exert too much force; you could puncture the tube, creating an entirely different problem. Watch the drain in the sink or garbage disposal, and when you see the end of the tool emerge there, you know you’ve dislodged the clog.

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What About Vacuuming a Clog?

Another strategy when your dishwasher is clogged is to vacuum the clog away. This eliminates the possibility that you’ll damage or destroy the tube with the snake. Take your wet/dry shop vac and put the hose end on the air gap outlet. Be sure the switch is turned to suction. Fill the sink or disposal area with hot water, then turn on the shop vac. The force of the suction should dislodge the clog. Allow about a gallon of water to run through after the clog is cleared, about 30 – 40 seconds.

What If There Is No Clog At All?

If you have determined that there is absolutely no possibility of a clog, then there’s one last thing to check before calling the experts at Dave’s Appliance. If you have just had a garbage disposal installed, and suddenly your dishwasher is backing up all over the place, the likely culprit is the small insert where the hose connects to your garbage disposal. This knock-out insert should be removed at installation, but sometimes it isn’t. Obviously with nowhere to go, the wastewater goes everywhere. Simply disconnect the hose, hold a screwdriver against the insert and tap the end of the screwdriver with a hammer until the insert is pushed into the disposal tank. Once this blockage is removed, your dishwasher air gap should work perfectly.

Keeping your air gap in good working order is important for your dishwasher’s proper function, and more importantly, for your family’s health. If you have concerns about your dishwasher air gap leaking that you’re not comfortable dealing with, call the expert’s at Dave’s Appliance.

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