Appliance Repair - Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX

Appliance Repair - Dallas/Ft. Worth

How to protect your technically advanced appliances   

There are many ways to protect your appliances, from surge protectors to GFI  outlets. Refrigerators are the more expensive appliance thats also more expensive  to repair. Surge protectors and GFI outlets are a good idea to have but don't insure  complete safety of your appliance. Keep in mind that a refrigerator can be severally  damaged just by unplugging and then re-plugging back into the outlet to quickly. As  a rule, if your refrigerator is unplugged wait at least 5 minutes before plugging the  appliance back into the outlet. The cold control located in the refrigerator if turned  off (0) and then back on to quickly can have the same effect as quickly plugging  and unplugging the appliance. During thunderstorms when your lights flicker off  and then back on multiple times is also very bad for appliances and especially  refrigerators. If this happens turn the cold control setting located in the fridge side  of your refrigerator to (0) turning the refrigerator off OR if you have easy access to  the back of the refrigerator unplug and leave unplugged until you have a steady  source of electricity. The food in your refrigerator should be fine for several hours  as long as both doors remain closed. If longer than a few hours keep in mind that  its better to lose $100 in food than a $2000+ appliance. Appliances such as air  conditioners, deep freezers, wine coolers, ice machines and refrigerators all use  compressors to keep things cool. Compressors are the "heart" of any appliance  and when they fail its usually not cost effective to have them repaired or replaced.  Flickers of electricity is a compressor's worst enemy and can destroy those  appliances which contain them.     

Refrigerator cleaning tips:   

When cleaning your refrigerator always take care not to punch a hole in the  condenser or evaporator lines. The condenser lines on a refrigerator is located  behind the refrigerator in the compressor department. For older refrigerators, the  condenser is located behind the refrigerator and attached to the refrigerators back  wall. It's a good idea to clean your refrigerator once a year. If you have pets that  shed lots of hair you may consider cleaning the refrigerator twice a year.   Condenser coils will get clogged with lint and overheat the compressor and will  effect cooling if not attended to.   

One way to see if the coils in your refrigerator need cleaning is to open both doors  on the refrigerator and feel the mulligan. The mulligan is the wall that separates the  fridge side of your refrigerator from the freezer side of your refrigerator. If the  mulligan in your refrigerator is warm the condenser coils should be cleaned. The  mulligan in the refrigerator can get so hot that it will burn your hand. In this case,  the refrigerator condenser lines should be cleaned immediately.   

If you notice ice build up on the back wall of the refrigerator (freezer section), DO  NOT chip at the ice with anything especially ice picks or screw drivers. Instead it  has to be melted slowly so the evaporator lines aren't punctured. Ice build up on  the back wall of refrigerator is a sign of a bigger problem and should be diagnosed  by a professional refrigerator repair technician. If ice build up is present in the  refrigerator its best not to melt but instead once again call a Dallas refrigerator  repair technician. Melting of the ice build up in the refrigerator will make it harder to  diagnose the appliance.    

It is usually easier to clean condenser coils on a refrigerator with a vacuum cleaner  but you can also use a special brush that can be purchased at any appliance parts  store or your local hardware store. On General Electric (GE) refrigerators 2000  model and newer, old tooth brushes work great. Evaporator coils, located behind  the inner back wall in the freezer should never be cleaned except by a  professionally trained refrigerator service person.   

When cleaning refrigerators that have the ice bucket located in the refrigerator  (freezer) door care should be taken not to get any type of cleaning solution in or  around the optical laser eye that scenes ice level. There is a small computer board  on both inner sides of the refrigerator wall that has to stay dry. 

On top and bottom refrigerator models be careful not to get any derby in or around  the drain hole. Drain hole is located behind the freezer wall but theres usually a  small gap between mulligan and refrigerator freezer back wall where food etc., can  get eventually clogged. If the drain hole gets clogged in the refrigerator, freezer  back wall will have to be taken off and hair dryer will be needed to defrost the  ice/debrys blocking drain hole. 

My refrigerator isn't cooling and I hear a Hmm..... CLICK sound. 

This is one of the most common refrigerator problems and can lead to severe  refrigerator problems if action isn't taken right away. First, if your refrigerator is  having this problem you should immediately unplug or set cold control to zero. Cold  control setting can be found in the fridge side of your refrigerator usually the knob  that has numbers 0-9 on it. On digital model refrigerators either hold down the  power button until unit switches off or set digital temperature to zero. If action isn't  taken right away your compressor could overheat and burn out causing a higher  refrigerator repair bill.  Your refrigerator will need to be serviced by a professional.   

Purchasing used appliances 

Purchasing a used appliance can be like purchasing a used rental car, unless you  are a very skilled mechanic its probably not the best of ideas. The same concept  should be keep in mind when considering the purchase of a used appliance. There  are hundreds of company's in the Dallas area that sell used appliances and most  of these company's are honest respectful business's. But as with any type of  business including appliances sales service and repairs theres always a few bad  apples to keep an eye out for.   

When considering the purchase of a used appliance its a good idea to ask about  the type of warranty, length of warranty and warranty conditions. Most used  appliance sales company's will not have a technician dispatched to the customers  home or place of business in the event that the purchased used appliance shall fail. While this does not constitute a dishonest used appliance sales company by any means, it can be a red flag and a really big hassle for the customer to have and bring the appliance back to the place of purchase to  have repaired. A "top-notched" used appliance sales company would have an  appliance repair technician dispatched to the customers home and repair the  appliance instead of bringing the appliance back to the place of purchase.  There are several other factors when contemplating the purchase of a used  appliance,

• How was the appliance transported?
• Appliances such as refrigerators must be transported in the upright  position. If a refrigerator is laid on its side, if even for a few seconds,  can leak the oils inside the compressor into the condenser lines.  Afterwards the appliance may work fine for a few months but there is a  chance the compressor will overheat and burn out destroying the  appliance.
• Gas dryer appliances should also be transported with care. These  appliances have an igniter thats more fragile than glass. If the  appliance is banged around to hard the igniter can acquire cracks that  will decrease the integrity of the igniter.
• Gas stove and oven appliances have the same igniter's and should be  moved with care. Buying a used appliance that hasn't been  transported properly can cause all kinds of problems at the customers  expense.
• Wear and tear of used appliances
• Appliances with moving parts tend to wear out faster than an appliance  without moving parts. Washing machines are the only type of  appliance that contains a transmission a lot like a cars transmission. If  the washer was overloaded a lot by the previous owner of the  appliance with too many large towels at once or huge heavy blankets  while washing there will more than likely be damage to the  transmission. If the transmission fails on a washing machine the  appliance is not worth repair.
• Refrigerators or any other type of appliance that contains a  compressor may have been damaged in a thunderstorm, flicker of  electricity, moving or may have a slow leak in the sealed system. When  the system is recharged it will cool just fine for several months but if the  original leak within the sealed system is not fixed properly freon will  eventually leak out and lose its cooling capabilities and possibly burn  the compressor out.
• They don't make appliances like they use to
• Remember those old rounded 30 year old refrigerators made by Norge  with that awful green color and those old Frigidaire refrigerators  manufactured by General Motors (GM)? On occasion, we still service  and repair these bullet proof appliances that have lasted for decades.  Nowadays we have all major appliances with very advanced gadgets,  washing machines with digital read outs and touch screens,  refrigerators with plasma TV's in the doors and an optical laser eye that  senses ice capacity. One thing to consider when purchasing an  appliance whether it's a used appliance or a brand new appliance, the  more gadgets the appliance has the more you will pay for the appliance  and the more you will pay to have it repaired. The more gadgets the  appliance has - The more gadgets that can break - Try and keep it  simple!

Washer Tips 

Washing machines aren't meant to wash huge loads of clothes all at once. Sure,  they can wash a lot of clothes at once and you will be satisfied that instead of  washing three loads of laundry you did it all in one. Washing machines that are top  loaders such as Kenmore and Whirlpool washers can become off balance and jump  around when they are overloaded. When washing bath towels in your washer never  wash more than five towels at a time. When bath towels become wet they are very  heavy and can cause damage to the washers transmission if too many towels are  washed at once. Never wash more than one big blanket at a time as the washers  transmission can become damaged again. If the transmission of a washer fails the  washer is not worth the repair cost.   

All washing machines have a safety switch that when opened during a spin cycle will  immediately stop the washer. This is to prevent a child from being able to put their  arm into the washing machine during a spin cycle. Take care not to put anything  heavy onto the washer lid or not to bend the washer lid. If washer lid is bent it will  prevent the latch from making contact with the washer safety lid switch. If this  happens the washer will not spin or drain the water from the washing machine. Lid  will need to be adjusted in order for proper contact of the washer safety lid switch. 

If you notice water in front of the washer unit first check the drain hose to make sure  it is securely in the drain pipe and that hose is fastened at the back of washer unit.   Fill the washer with water and advance to the spin/drain cycle. Spin/drain cycle can  be found on the washer's timer knob and is usually labeled spin or drain cycle.   Once you have filled the washer with water and advanced the washer timer to the  spin/drain cycle look around the back of washer unit and check all hoses for leaks.   Also check the washer drain hose at the wall to see if drain hose is overfilling out  the drain pipe. If water is overflowing out the washers drain pipe try pouring some  type of drano into the drain pipe. If this does not solve your problem you may need  to contact a plumber to fix the drain pipe. Also check your washers water hoses hot  and cold, that connect at the back of washer unit, for leaks or any type of corrosion  that may have built up over the years. 

After checking the above items for water leaks on your washing machine and you  still can't find the source of the water leak you may need to contact a professionally  trained washer repair technician to diagnose the problem for you. 

WARNING! Please never attempt to take apart your own washer unit. I  cannot stress this point enough. There is a water sensor switch on your washer unit  that is connected to a tube. This tube can easily come off of the washers water  level sensor switch and overflow the washing machine. The washer will overflow  and can flood your whole house causing thousands of dollars in damage. It's best  to have a trained appliance repair technician to service your washer for you. 

Oven/Stove/Range   

Tips on oven and stove cleaning   When cleaning your oven take care not to spray oven cleaner into the electronic  panel on your oven or stove. When cleaning the inside of your oven always be  careful when around the electric oven heating element. The heating element if  handled roughly can break or disconnect from the wiring harness. On gas ovens  never spray any type of cleaner on the oven igniter. As mentioned on our home  page the igniter is more fragile than glass. The gas oven igniter is the piece in the  oven that glows "white" hot. Also, if you have to handle the glass oven igniter try  not to touch the glass part of igniter with your fingers. Try not to bump the oven  igniter while cleaning the oven as small cracks can form in the oven igniter  decreasing the integrity of the oven igniter.    When cleaning your stove top or under the stove top beware of wires. You risk the  chance of getting electrocuted when handling wires inside the stove top or oven.   Always (unplug/flip breaker) to your oven or stove and ranges before any type of  cleaning.   

Dryer   

Dryer efficiency tips   There are two basic types of dryers:

• Gas Dryers
• Electric Dryers

 Electric dryers use 220 volts of electricity to make them run properly. If you have an  electric dryer that turns but wont heat there may be an easy solution to solving your  dryer problem. Electric dryers require the full 220 volts to turn and heat. There are  two circuit breaker switches in your breaker box for the one dryer outlet. Sometimes  one of the breaker switches will flip making your dryer appear to be having  problems. If your dryer will turn but will not heat, check your breaker box to see if  any of your breaker switches aren't on. If one of the dryer breaker switches is off  your dryer is only running on 110 volts of electricity. Your dryers lights will come on   and the dryer will turn but it will not heat. Check your dryer breaker,  sometimes the breaker can appear to be in the on position but in actuality one could  be off. It's a good idea to turn both dryer breaker switches off and then back on.   Turn dryer on for 30 seconds or so, open the door and feel for heat. If your dryer is  still not heating, you need to hire a professionally trained dryer repair technician.     

Gas dryers unlike electric dryers only require 110 volts electricity and gas to  operate. If you have a gas dryer that isn't heating well, there are a few things to  check before calling a dryer appliance repair man. First check your gas dryer lint  filter for blockage. Gas dryers are really big on air flow and if that air flow isn't  perfect your gas dryer will not heat properly. Next, if you are still having problems  with your gas dryer, check the vent lines for blockage. Pull the gas dryer out from  the wall and take the dryer vent line off the wall and off the dryer vent connection.   Put your hand in the dryer vent line and check for blockage. You can also check  the gas dryer vent connection into the machine a bit. If your gas dryer vent line  goes into the wall, go outside and check for blockage there. I have found misc  animal nest in dryer vent lines on occasion. Small little critters love dryer vent lines  for warmth during the winter. If all this fails and your gas dryer is still having heating  problems you need to call a professionally trained gas dryer appliance repair man.      

WARNING! Never attempt to work on any dryer whether its a gas dryer or a  electric dryer. Electric dryers carry twice the voltage of a regular 110 volt outlet.   Electric dryers carry 220 volts of electricity. Serious injury or death can occur from  taking apart an electric dryer. Gas dryers should also only be serviced by a  professional appliance repair person. Furthermore, moving of an old gas dryer can  result in gas leaks. If you smell gas, get out of your house immediately and call the  local authorities. 

Microwave 

You should never put any type of metal object into a microwave as it causes a short  and could harm the microwave and personal injury can incur from this. We strongly  urge our customers not to attempt the repair of their microwave. Microwaves should  be serviced by a professionally trained microwave appliance repair technician. 

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