50% Rule

Appliance repair can get very costly, often going into the hundreds of dollars. Is it worth keeping an appliance that is so costly to repair?

A good rule of thumb is the 50% rule.

The 50% rule is simple: If your appliance is 50% through its life or repairs will cost 50% of what its worth, its a better idea to get a new appliance.

We are open to buying your broken appliances to use as parts and sell you a new one!

The Dollar Test

Refrigerators work hard, and often they work harder than they have to. The seals on fridges often wears out, leaving the cold air the ability to escape.

A good test to see if you need to replace this seal is the dollar test.

The test is simple: take a dollar and close your fridge on it half way in the fridge. If it stays, the seal is fine. If it slips, you need to replace the seal.

a good seal lowers energy bills and keeps your food chilled and ready to eat!

Don't clean under you oven's knobs

While we all know a clean oven is a happy oven, you shouldn't clean under the knobs. The knobs to your oven are a part of an electrical system that tells the oven how much to heat it's coils.

When you put water on an electrical system, it could short circuit it, electrocute you, or both.

If a short occurs, then it'll be a service call for us to come out and fix it for you.

If its an electrocution, a hospital trip or funeral would be in your future.

The best plan of action: don't clean under your knobs!

Condenser Coils

Condenser coils are the coils in the back of the fridge or freezer that cool and condense the refrigerants, which keep your food cool.

When these coils gather dust on them, these coils have to work even harder to remove heat, which means they need to work even harder.

You should clean these coils at least twice a year. Why not clean them this weekend?

Freezer Gaskets

With the heat going full force, freezers are working overtime.

If your freezer's gaskets (the rubber seals) have gunk in them, are cracked, or otherwise not working, it could mean that your freezer is sucking energy or slowly thawing your food.

If you need help replacing them, give us a call today!

A Gas Stove MUST

Gas stoves tend to live longer than their electrical counterparts by a couple years. However, they only do if you do this one thing to them:

CLEAN THEM!

Debris and spills build up can prevent the gas from burning the right way, and create more wear and tear on the stove.

When cleaning, make sure the gas is off and you take all the proper safety precautions.

Summer is in full swing!

Summer is here and it feels so good!

If you're reaching into the freezer to enjoy a popsicle, you may see a lot of ice building up in there.

This ice prevents your appliance from running as well as it could, and this makes it use up more electricity.

To correct this, take all of the food out of the freezer and put it into a cooler on ice. Unplug your freezer and leave it open. Let all of the ice dethaw. Once it has, wipe up excess water. Then sanitize it all down before you plug it back in.

Enjoy your otter pops this summer!

Warning signs of a clogged dryer vent

Each year there are 2,900 house fires caused by a dryer that has been improperly maintained which resulted in 31 injuries and 5 deaths. There is a great need to make sure that your dryer vent is clean, because it is life threatening if it's not. You should clean your vent out at least once a year, and clean out the lint trap every time you use the dryer. Here is a quick list of some signs that you need your vents cleaned out:

• The top of your dryer is hot when in use
• clothes take a long time to dry
• There is a burning or musty smell when dryer is in use
• Your clothes smell burned or musty
• Your clothes are unusually hot after being dried
• You can see lint coming out of the vent from outside
• Excessive amounts of lint are caught in the lint trap
• The room is hot when the dryer is in use
• Dryer just stops working
• The exhaust termination ( the flap where the airflow goes outside) doesn't open when dryer is on
• For gas dryers there's a carbon monoxide leak

If your dryer vent is clogged it should not be delayed. Give us a call today at 208-385-9074

Is the self clean cycle on your oven enough?

Having your oven clean itself is a very tempting chore to do, or in this case, not do. You can just switch it on and it takes care of itself, right?

Unfortunately, the self-cleaning oven feature isn't as effective as a good old fashioned scrubbing. It just can't be beat.

If you're wanting to put some elbow grease in, make sure the oven is unplugged and the racks are taken out. This might also be a good time to check to see if the seal on your oven is damaged.

This simple maintenance may help keep your oven staying hot for years to come!

Things to do before the repairman arrives

There are a few things that you should keep in mind before the repairman arrives at your house to fix your appliance. It will make life easier for both you and for the repairman.

Time
We tend to be pretty good about our appointments, but sometimes things run over or under time. Its a good idea to have some extra time before and after the appointment set aside in case this happens.

Know what's wrong
Be able to communicate how your appliance isn't working, and how it may be on the fritz. If you have the make and model of the appliance before you call us, we can be even more prepared.

Watch where you're going!
We might need to get some equipment in and out, and maybe even the appliance. Make sure there is a cleared path for us to get around.

Down, boy!
Make sure your animals are put away. it is safer for you, us, and them. We want to make sure there aren't any accidents!

Payments
Its a good idea to ask how much repairs might cost. If you ask us before hand, we would be happy to give you an estimate.

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.

Electric Range Not Working?

One common problem with electric ranges is the prongs. Sometimes they can get bent inwards and they don't handle the electricity right, which means the element doesn't heat up.

Luckily, this is an easy fix.

When the element is 100% cool, unplug it and take it out. This would be a great time to clean it if it's in need of a great scrubbing. Then bend the prongs (pictured red in the diagram) outward. This makes it much more likely that the element will be able to have the electricity flow through it and heat it properly.

Everything Is Defrosting, So Should Your Freezer!

Its starting to warm up, the sun is coming out more, and you may have even seen some squirrels running around.

While everything is coming out of the big freeze, it might be a good idea for your freezer to do the same.

Take everything out of your freezer and into a cooler, unplug it, and leave the door open. Let it completely defrost. When the entire freezer is room temperature, sanitize it.

Finally, you can put everything back in and enjoy a more functional freezer!

The Secret to a Long Life For Your Appliances

The secret to a long life for your appliances is a simple one. Cleaning is the secret to appliance longevity. When gunk builds up, it makes the appliance work harder and thus shortening the life of the appliance.

By using this one trick, you could keep your appliances for years longer than if you didn't.

So now you know! Now go and clean every nook and cranny of your appliances!

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.

How to check if your gaskets are good

This is a very simple fix to ensure that your gaskets on your fridge or freezer are still good. Open the door and shut it with a dollar bill in it.
When you try to pull it out, there should be a little tension - you can't just pull it straight out.

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.

Christmas is Coming! Is Your Oven Ready?

If you're wanting to ensure that your Christmas dinner goes off without a hitch, NOW is the time to check your appliances. If you find that your appliance is in need of maintenance or a new appliance, call us at 208-385-9074 or stop by 530 N Orchard St, Boise, ID 83706 Mon-Fri 9:30AM-5:30PM.

The Month of Smells, Week 5: Dryer

Since they handle water, dryers can get smelly too! Luckily there's some easy tricks to prevent put a stop to this:

General deodorizing

Pull out your lint screen and clean it. After that, get your vaccuumm and put the hose attachment down the lint trap to get any further lint. After that, vaccuum behind and around your dryer. You may also want to go to your exterior vent and clean that out - ensure there's no clogs. If you're feeling particularly thrifty, you can open up your dryer and vaccuum the drum, but this is typically for professionals only.

After that wipe down the inside with a disinfectant like white vinegar.

Burning rubber

If you smell burning rubber, it means your dryer is broken. Continuing to use it will just break it further and increases the risk of a fire. Give us a call and we'll fix it for you.

Smell of gas

If your dryer is gas powered and you smell gas, you should shut your gas off immediately and check for leaks.

What We Do

Besides being the best appliance repair service in the Treasure Valley, we also sell a variety of top quality appliances that come with a warranty and a lifetime service agreement. Here are some examples of what we sell:

washers

dryers

washer and dryer sets

top-down fridges

side-by-side fridges

freezers

ovens

If you're in need of any of these, come into our store to get the best deal in the valley!