Words of Wisdom to Cut Down on Appliance Repair Service Downtime

Did you ever realize that of all the calls made to appliance repair service shop
s, the need for a large number could be obviated if people would just use a litt
le common sense in the way they used their appliances and other labor saving dev
ices? All of us learn to use our appliances, our washing machines, dryers and di
shwashers growing up watching our parents use their first machines. If we think
we observed and learned our lessons correctly, why is it that we are always stil
l constantly assailed with all kinds of little doubts - the same ones as always
- like should I really rinse out all the dishes before putting them in the dishw
asher, or surely 3 scoops won't do for this load like the soap guide says - shou
ld I add in an extra measure?
The thing is, the old-school home appliances we grew up with were first- or seco
nd-generation ones. They were inefficient, used a lot of water, and as a consequ
ence of that, a lot of soap as well. Appliances have evolved so much since then,
as any mechanic at an appliance repair service shop will tell you. These machin
es today take in a lot less water (environmentally friiendly and all). But we st
ill remember the amount of soap we are used to using - habits from before. And o
n top of that, soaps are ten times more powerful and concentrated too now - than
the ones we used to know. When we use the same amount as we used to 20 years ag
o, we end up putting in maybe ten times as much as we need to. And we end up dam
aging our clothes, our dishes, and our appliances.
Apparently, we are all quite too shy to actually admit we need instructions, and
we don't ever even crack the manual. But reading the instructions on the deterg
ent carton is a great way to begin. Those soap manufacturers have washed hundred
s of loads on dozens of machines, to determine how much you need to use. Taking
their advice is a way to not go wrong. As they make better and better soaps, the
y revise on the instructions, the quantities they recommend you need to use. Wha
t you used to use five years ago even, no longer applies. If you would notice, t
he liquid laundry detergent bottles have different kinds of caps now, to better
help you see the new levels you need to fill them to. Put in too much soap in a
dishwasher or a washing machine, and you get stiff and dull clothes that are mor
e prone to mildew, or dull glassware.
But really, you would do a lot better to use only half what the soap box says. I
f you have a front loading washing machine for instance, chances are, that it ha
s the label HE on front. That stands for High Efficiency. They use less soap tha
n ever before. If the porthole doesn't show any suds at all, that's a good sign.
As any appliance repair service man will tell you, basically, if you see any s
uds at all in any kind of washing machine, that does show you that you used at l
east a little soap more than you needed. Here's a way to test. Put four or five
clean-washed items of clothing in your front loading washing machine, and use th
e hot water setting with no soap or anything at all. Let it wash with plain wate
r. Chances are, you'll soon see a certain quantity of suds. Those are from the l
ast time you over soaped your laundry. It isn't uncommon that people have to was
h and clean water several times, just to get the soap out from last time's wash.
It's pretty simple with the dishwasher. You never fill the soap receptacle all t
he way. And rinsing your dishes mostly clean before you put them in only wastes
all the water, and makes your machine less efficient. The soap in the machine ne
eds to see some dirt before it will work properly. All you need to do is remove
large bits of food, is all. When you load the machine, make sure that the larges
t dishes are at the center where they will receive more water pressure. And put
the large dishes away from the center, towards the back.
Did you know that most appliance repair service centers get their busiest days d
uring the holidays? That's because most homes feel that the holidays are a great
time to get the oven self-cleaning feature turned on. The self-cleaning feature
heats the oven up to impossible temperatures to get all the gunk out. If your o
ven isn't in top condition, this is about the time it is going to fail. So if yo
u don't want to see your holiday dinner plans crash and burn, a great idea would
be to leave the self-cleaning, until after everything is done.