Everyone’s heard of the laundry tricks that can miraculously remove stains and restore old garments. Most of us are not good at these tricks and we often barely remember to stain-treat a shirt before washing it. But keeping our washers in good condition is a different story. Laundry additives can harm or help your washer, and even the longevity of …
The direction that your laundry machine doors open seems trivial – right up until it isn’t. Nothing is more frustrating than a dryer door that opens the wrong direction, against the washer, or into the path. There are many reasons why you might have a preference for which way your dryer opens. Normally, this is defined by the arrangement of …
Refrigerator maintenance is an important part of keeping your kitchen clean and your power bill modestly sized. A fridge that has not been maintained will use more electricity than it needs to. It might not reach optimal temperatures, and it might even be more prone to mold growth in the compartments and water lines. Fortunately, keeping a household refrigerator is …
Oven won’t start? Oven always set to the wrong temperature? It might be a deep electrical problem with your oven, a faulty thermostat or heating element, but it might just be the selector switch. For ovens that do not have digital button controls, there is a central selector switch that controls the temperature of your oven. In older models, the …
There are many who prefer to have hard water in their house. It tastes better and they often say it feels better when used for washing than soft water. The unfortunate truth is that while you may enjoy your hard water, you will pay a price for it at the cost of your appliances. Appliances that use hard water often …
Washing clothes used to be an enormous hassle involving huge washtubs of boiling water, wash boards, and washing people with hands that were constantly red and chapped. Washing machines have given us some incredible freedom in terms of clean clothes at home, whenever we want them. The convenience is so great that we can throw clothes in the washer before …
Any appliance in your home has the potential to trip your circuit breaker. The breaker in your home was installed in order to protect both your home and your appliances. If one appliance draws too much power so that it may become a fire hazard, then the breaker trips and it cuts off power in order to protect that appliance …
Refrigerators have several vital functions that work together to make a useful appliance. In addition to cooling coils, air circulation, and the defrost cycle, your refrigerator also responds to the thermostat control. Or it should. The thermostat control allows you to decide how cold the fridge and freezer are. Do you want your fridge cold enough to freeze milk or …
Dryers have a few distinct functions that work together. They heat, they tumble, and they channel hot moisture-filled air out of your clothes. But when one of those three functions stops working, your clothing stops getting dry. If the dryer stops heating, then the other functions simply flop wet clothes around for half an hour with very little effect. Without …
The oven in a home is part of the house’s unique personality. Each of us learns to work with the oven we’ve got, as they often come with the house itself. Some ovens run a little hot or cool, some cook better on the right or left sides. These variations, while normal, are inconvenient. They can even throw off your …