Household Hauntings: The Frightening Reality of Appliance Neglect

 Don't Let Your Home Become a Haunted House

We’re a day late, but still very much in the spooky spirit at Appliance Rescue Service HQ! We’ve waited all year long for our favorite holiday, and we’re back with some of the terrors that can plague your home. Now join us as we dive into a haunted Halloween story that could take place in your very own kitchen. 

It's a dark and stormy night, as any good Halloween should be. You are baking away in your kitchen, looking forward to handing out goodies for the few brave trick-or-treaters. All is quiet in your home, and it’s looking to be a good night. 

 When you start smelling smoke, you think it must be the cookies you have going in the oven. But no, your oven isn't up to temperature yet, and the cookies are still in front of you. You open up the oven, thinking maybe there's something burning on the bottom, but no, there's nothing there, and yet the smell of smoke is getting stronger. 

You rush around looking for the source, and you keep coming back to your oven. That's when you notice there's a flicker coming from behind. Your wiring finally gave out and caught fire during the preheating stage. 

You rush to turn off the oven and grab your emergency fire extinguisher that you keep handy. Nothing else caught fire; nothing else has been damaged, except for the back of your stove and a bit of your wall. But the smell is gone; the fire is gone. 

You take a deep breath thanking heaven that it's not as bad as it could have been. Except now you hear a dripping. Drip drip drip. You take a deep breath and hope that the trick-or-treaters will forgive you because it seems like there's yet another problem. You start to search, and you find that this time, there is an issue with your dishwasher. It's a matter of your dishwasher valves having given out. You can't unplug it. You aren’t even sure where that plug is. 

So you rush to grab towels from your linen closet and throw them on the floor in front of it, praying that the damage won't be too bad and that you can catch it all in time. What else could possibly go wrong, you moan to yourself. 

Except it's Halloween, and that's a question you should never ask. As you kneel on the floor, picking up soaking wet towels to toss into the wash, there's a rattle, a rattle and a shake, and a vibrating unholy sound that is one part screaming metal and one part rattling of the chains of the Damned. 

You rush to your laundry room to find that it has rattled itself away from the wall and is even louder when you're standing in front of it. The clothes inside of it are perfectly fine, but you're not so certain about the wall. In rattling its way forward, your dryer has shaken down everything from the wall above it and is currently playing tug-of-war with both the electrical outlet and the vent housing. At this point, all you can do is pray that the lint catch has been cleaned recently and that it doesn't catch on fire as well. As you step forward to try and shove the dryer back into place, or maybe unplug it you, you slip. 

Your feet go out from under you, and you land smack on your back, feeling like you’ve been horribly maligned by someone designing a scene for one of the Final Destination movies. You stare up at the ceiling and notice that there are spots of mold creeping across your ceiling. Had they been there long? Were they the reason that this whole night had kicked off? Just one long hallucination induced by black mold? 

We hope you enjoyed that haunted tale, but take heed of the dangers that it represents. As taking care of your home and it’s needs means it will take care of you as well.  Other than the sounds that your dryer might make having been kicked up a little for narrative embellishment, everything we pointed out as a potential failure point for a non-maintained appliance can actually happen. All of these are issues that can occur in any home with any appliance. All of these spooky instances can and do happen in your home when appliances aren't cared for properly or regularly. Some appliances, like your oven or your dishwasher, might be able to get away with only yearly maintenance checks. Others, like your refrigerator, your dryer, or your ice maker, require more frequent checks, typically every 6 months if not every three. 

Appliance Rescue Service offers just that. We can work with you to set up a recurring maintenance schedule so that you don't have to worry about these issues. We review your appliances from top to bottom, looking for issues before they become hazardous to you or your home. If you're interested in finding out more about how we can work with you to ensure your home keeps running smoothly, you can give us a call at  ((214) 599-0055), or reach out to us through our website. We will work with you to set up a time that fits best with your schedule.

Additional Reading
Halloween Horrors in Your Home 

37 Reasons To Have Your Appliances Maintained Regularly

The Labyrinth of Limescale

Understanding, Locating, and Conquering the Calcified Culprit

Scale, it's a word that carries an air of mystery and intrigue, a term that defines simplicity and demands a closer look. While it might seem like a dry term, the realm of scale is a multifaceted puzzle, filled with mineral deposits, intricate chemistry, and solutions waiting to be discovered. In this article, we’ll begin to explore the enigmatic world of scale, unravel its mysteries, understand its origins, and uncover the methods to combat it.

Unraveling the Enigma of Scale

The term "scale," according to Dictionary.com, is described as "a coating or incrustation, as on the inside of a boiler, formed by the precipitation of salts from the water." It's not the most straightforward definition, is it? However, Wikipedia offers a more tangible explanation: "Limescale is a hard, chalky deposit, consisting mainly of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It often accumulates inside kettles, boilers, and pipework, especially in areas with hot water. You can also find it as a similar deposit on the inner surfaces of old pipes and other places where hard water has flowed."

Courtesy of MSDinc

It doesn’t sound that scary does it? But if you’ve dealt with it in your home you know that it’s a pain in the neck to try and combat. So, what does all of this mean? When rainwater goes into the ground, it dissolves minerals in the rock and carries them into your home's piping. In essence, scale is a stubborn buildup of minerals, primarily calcium carbonate, that tends to show up in various nooks and crannies of our daily lives, particularly in water-related installations.

Where Does This Mysterious Culprit Emerge?

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Having delved into the nature of scale, let's explore where this frustrating substance tends to make its presence known. Brace yourself; scale can appear almost anywhere where water gathers. We're talking about pipes, showerheads, faucets, fixtures, the bottom of your water heater, the bathtub, the toilet, sinks, and even tiles in wet areas. It doesn't stop there; it can also find its way into small appliances like coffee makers and kettles, and even humidifiers. In short, scale has a knack for infiltrating and establishing its presence wherever moisture is abundant. If your home has hard water, such as if you’re living off a well, or at a country house, you’re in even more trouble as scale will show up in your dishwasher, your refrigerator, your steam oven, and your ice maker.

The Quest to Descale: An Odyssey of Solutions

Faced with this challenging issue, the question naturally arises – how can one rid their living spaces of this unwelcome guest? Vinegar and citric acid often serve as the first-line, natural solutions, calling back to simpler times when household remedies reigned supreme. Yet, the stubbornness of scale has given rise to an entire industry, offering a plethora of products and methods for descaling.

A simple online search for descaling products can bury you with in a mountain of choices. You'll find hardware stores offering innovative DIY installations and retail giants like Walmart providing pre-packaged solutions. Don't forget the trusty old CLR Rust Remover, a tried-and-true choice found on the shelves of Lowe's. There are dozens of options, and all of them have people who swear by them.

Two of our favorite techniques for descaling are vinegar or ice & salt.

Vinegar is a technique that takes a bit of time to see it work, but it’s effective. For your dishwasher, your washer or your coffee maker, you’ll want to run varying amounts through at least once, before rinsing them with an empty run of just water.

Dishwasher - Take a dishwasher-safe container and fill it with white vinegar. Set that on the top rack of your empty dishwasher and run a regular cycle to disperse the vinegar throughout, making sure that you don’t add any detergent to the machine.

Washer - Add 1 cup of white vinegar to an empty washing machine and run it as normal.

Courtesy of Wikimedia commons

Coffee Maker - For a 12 cup pot - Pour in 4 cups of undiluted vinegar and 6 cups of water to an empty reservoir. Let that sit for 30 minutes and then run a full brewing cycle. Dump the pot, and run the 2-3 more brewing cycles of just water until the smell of the vinegar is gone.

What if you need a cup of tea right now though? Or you need to boil water right now and your kettle is the fastest method? In that case, you can dump a large cup of ice into your kettle, pour ⅓ c of water and ¼ c of salt into the kettle. Swirl the kettle around vigorously until your ice is melted, and pour it out. If you regularly descale your kettle, this should do the trick. If not, you might need to repeat the process another time or two.

The Diverse Descale Demands

It's essential to remember that not all scales are created equal, and the methods to combat them should be equally diverse. Items that can be submerged, like dishes, glasses, showerheads, and removable faucet parts, can be soaked in vinegar or cleaning chemicals overnight and then cleaned to remove the scale. An effective trick is to run vinegar through your dishwasher on an empty one-hour cycle, a solution that has proven itself through personal experience.

Additionally, there's a thriving market for spray-on descalers, catering to those searching for quick, hassle-free solutions. The array of choices in this category can leave anyone feeling somewhat bewildered.

Conquering the Scale Beast: A Whole-House Approach

While we've explored individual solutions and targeted remedies, there's a compelling case to be made for a comprehensive approach to scale eradication. The idea of descaling your entire household's plumbing might sound like a formidable task, but it promises long-term freedom from scale's tyranny. A comprehensive guide from Landmark Home Warranty suggests such a technique, offering a detailed blueprint to tackle the scale epidemic at its roots. We can’t say whether it works or not, having not tried it ourselves, but if anyone out there has, we’d love to hear!

But what about the major appliances in your home? Your dishwasher, your water heater, and your washing machine are all at risk of falling prey to the scale. These appliances are not only essential but often expensive to replace. When scale infiltrates their systems, it can lead to decreased efficiency, increased energy consumption, and even costly breakdowns.

If you're facing issues with your major appliances due to scale buildup or any other problems, Appliance Rescue Service is here to help. Our team of experts specializes in appliance repair and maintenance, ensuring that your appliances run efficiently and smoothly. Don't let scale disrupt your daily life. Reach out to us at our website or give us a call at((214) 599-0055), and we'll take care of your appliance concerns. With our help, you can keep your appliances running like new and enjoy peace of mind in your home.

Additional Reading

Why Aren’t My Dishes Getting Dry?

Dishwasher Tips: Help Your Dishwasher Clean Better – Just in Time for the Holidays!

Icemaker Not Making Ice? This Could be Why

37 Reasons To Have Your Appliances Maintained Regularly

How You Can Avoid Costly Repairs

If you're like most homeowners, you rely heavily on your major appliances to keep your household running smoothly. From refrigerators and washing machines to stoves and dryers, these machines make our lives easier and more comfortable. But did you know that regular maintenance is necessary to keep them working properly? In this article, we'll explore why it's important to have your major appliances maintained on a regular basis. So sit back, relax, and let's get started!

Let’s take a look at what it means to keep your appliances ‘maintained,’ shall we? 

Maintain  - 

To keep in an existing state (as of repair, efficiency, or validity) : preserve from failure or decline.

So, it’s a matter of regular repair to keep your appliances from decline or failure. That makes sense. 

What problems can regular maintenance prevent? 

When we send out our technicians to your home for a top-down maintenance check, they’re going to look at all of your appliances. Your refrigerator, oven, range, ice makers, dishwasher, washer and dryer, everything gets checked. Why? Because everything has small ways that they can go wrong, which, if caught, can prevent an exorbitant repair bill for you. 

Refrigerator Maintenance

When it comes to the refrigerator, many things need to be cleaned on a regular basis. Your condenser coils and fan need to be cleaned regularly so your fridge doesn’t have to work as hard to keep cool. You’ve also got the water filter, which should be checked every six months, and some refrigerators also have an air filter that needs to be changed yearly.  We also check the defrost drains, as those also need to be cleaned yearly. The one thing that needs to be checked regularly, but not necessarily messed with, is your door seals. Making sure the seals are still shutting properly means that your fridge will close and cool properly, rather than trying to cool your entire kitchen. (Because that is an electric  bill none of us need.) 

Oven Maintenance 

For your oven, one of the first things that needs to be checked is the temperature. It sounds odd, but imagine if you try to bake a cake at 350*, but your oven is actually at 400* and only reading at 350? That can and does happen. So we check any time we’re called in to ensure that everything is working as it should. We also look at the cooling and convection fans to make sure they’re spinning easily to cool or circulate the air within your oven.  From there, we’ll make sure that the door seals are still good and that the elements aren’t overheating, either due to a fault or summer heat. Finally, if you have a gas oven, we’ll check the igniters. They need to be cleaned regularly to ensure you don’t have a buildup in the line or the oven. As we mentioned in a previous post, it’s best to leave this to a professional so that you don’t accidentally break something and cause a gas leak. 

Stove/Ranges/Cooktops Maintenance 

Your stove or cooktop is checked at the same time, especially if you have a gas version. We want to make sure that the pilot lights are not having issues and that the burner ports and igniters are clean. 

Ice Maker Maintenance 

We’ve mentioned just recently that your ice maker needs regular maintenance, and that includes both free-standing ones and those that are built into your refrigerator. This means that when you ask for a maintenance check, we’ll be looking at them, no matter what type you have. 

For both types, we’ll check the water flow to make sure it’s working as it should and giving you a full ice tray. If you have an in-refrigerator ice maker, we’ll want to check to ensure that there aren’t any Tephlon chips, as that has been noted as a serious health hazard. For a freestanding ice maker, we’ll want to go for a thorough cleaning at least once a year, if not every six months. From there, we’ll also check in on the pressure switch and be sure to clean the condenser coils as well. Those are just as important to your ice maker being able to breathe as they are to your refrigerator. 

Dishwasher Maintenance 

Your dishwasher has one of the longest lists of things that need to be checked, because there are so many parts packed into a small area. We’ll look at your seals and clean them as well, if needed, as well as the filters for your dishwasher. We want to look at the spray arms to ensure they’re not clogged and at the heating element to ensure that it’s still heating and not damaged. The draining process of your dishwasher will also be checked so that you don’t get an unfortunate overflow situation. We’ll also make sure to run a dishwasher cleaner once a month if you schedule that often. 

Washer Maintenance 

Finally moving out of the kitchen, let’s head over to your laundry room. Here, we’re going to take a look at your washer first. We’ll make sure that it fills properly on both hot and cold settings, as well as ensuring that it drains properly. We’ll want to take a look at your hoses to ensure there isn’t any damage or kinks in the line that can lead to issues. We’ll also make sure to clean the door boot and coin trap if your unit has them. We’ll also check on the springs or traps and run a cleaner on a monthly basis. 

Dryer Maintenance 

Our last stop, at least for this tour, is your dryer. Here, we’re not cleaning as much as we’re double-checking everything. We’ll check your venting to make sure that it isn’t obstructed by lint, debris, or clothing that the dryer goblins have stolen. We’ll also make sure that the vent chute and filter are clean and ensure that air is flowing freely through the machine. We will ensure that your dryer is rotating smoothly and without any unusual sounds.

Disclaimer: Although we’ve laid things out in this order, it doesn’t mean that our technicians will go in this order, as it varies on a number of factors. 

With that, which appliance do you think should be checked over most often? Let us know over on our Facebook page! 

If you want to get started on having your appliances regularly maintained, you can reach out to us via our contact page or by giving us a call at ((214) 599-0055). 

5 Energy Efficient Dishwashers for Your Home

 5 Dishwashers Across The Board In Terms Of Price And Efficiency, With All Sorts Of Features. 

With prices for energy set to go up this year and again next year, we're thinking quite a bit about what "energy efficiency" means to us. We're looking at different appliances and methods around our homes and office to see what we can do to make things better. This week we're looking at energy-efficient dishwashers with 5 of the best on the market. 

Each of the different dishwashers we're looking at has two additional ratings we wanted to consider in addition to their price. The first is the kilowatt per hour per year average. This is not actually how many kilowatts per hour you're using, as your blogger initially thought. A kilowatt-hour measures the energy an appliance uses in kilowatts per hour. For example, if you clean your floors with a 1,000-watt vacuum cleaner for one hour, you consume 1 kWh of energy. When you see kWh on your monthly energy bill, it’s a measurement of your electric appliances’ wattage and the amount of time you use them. So if you use that vacuum for 1 hour a week, for a full year, by the end of the year, you'd have used 52 kWh just for that vacuum. 

The second rating is the water factor. The water factor is the number of gallons used per cycle per cubic food of the dishwasher. The lower that factor is, the more efficient the dishwasher is, and the lower your water bill... at least in relation to this.   But every bit counts, right? 

So since we're looking at Energy Efficiency this week, we wanted to include these numbers so that you can get a feel for not only what a dishwasher might cost you now but also over time. 

LG 24-inch LDF454HT - Longest Warranty  & Uses the least amount of water 

Price $698 - 849    

Energy Use (kWH/Year) 258 kWh/Year

Water Factor: 2.9

Quad wash - Washes from four different angles at once. 

Silent work - Has a 3 stage filtration system to trap food particles as it works to reduce noise and make the dishwasher more efficient. And it tops out at 48 dBA. 

Dynamic Dry - dries dishes faster and more thoroughly 

3rd Rack- Offers a third rack for storing ladles, spatulas, knives, and the like. And with the careful setup of grooves, it protects your knives from being tossed and banged around. 

App Connectivity - This title is so much more than just that. There is an NFC tag on the dishwasher that you can tap your phone against to transfer new cycles from your phone to your dishwasher. And more important, in our opinion, you can troubleshoot your dishwasher the same way. 

We like this one for the silent work feature. The quieter a dishwasher is, the better, in our opinion.

Samsung StormWash DW80R5061US - Best Overall 

Price  $899–$1,100 

Energy Use (kWH/Year): 239

Water Factor: 3.5

Storm Wash - Powerful rotating spray jets clean at every angle for tough-to-reach spots. 

Auto Release Door - At the end of a wash cycle, the door opens to allow air to circulate more freely. 

3rd Rack -  A third rack for utensils, and it has extra teeth so that they don't rattle around. 

Quiet Wash - 42 dba 

Adjustable racks - The top rack can be moved up and down when washing larger items like pots, pans, and glassware.

For the Storm Wash, we were most interested in the Storm Wash feature. The dishwasher is supposed to be powerful enough to use rotating jets to reach everywhere, delicate enough that it doesn't damage your dishes. However, it's still got a water factor that is low enough to be considered energy efficient.  We find that rather impressive. 

Bosch SHE3AR72UC Ascenta 24" White Full Console Dishwasher - Strongest Brand Name & Best Budget Option

Price $549

Energy Use (kWH/Year) - 269

Water Factor: 3.2 

PrecisionWash - precision arms target all of the stuck on  food so that you don't have to do multiple washes. 

Sanitize Options- The Sanitize Option operates at a higher temperature and can be selected to achieve the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) standards of cleanliness, eliminating 99.9% of bacteria, and enhances your drying results as well. 

Goes though almost 500 different quality checks before being sent to market. So the price might not be as high as others on the list, but the quality is. 

Sometimes you really do get a good option at lower prices. Although the Bosch doesn't have any of the features that our other dishwashers do,  it's still a solid option that will last you for years, without breaking the bank, and that includes your electric and water bills. 

Miele G 7366 SCVi SF AutoDos

Price: $2,199

Energy Use (kWH/Year)- 230

Water Factor: 3.2

AutoDos With Power disk - Analyzes the amount of dishes within a load and dispenses only the amount of detergent needed. 

FlexLine Basket design -  Racks have extra flexibility for dealing with dishes of different sizes. 

Quick Wash - Washes dishes in 1 hour

All Dry Feature- Opens the door when a cycle is done 

Offers Washing cycles for general dishwashing, fine china, children's dishes, high sanitization, for pots & pans, and for grates and filters. 

Ecofeedback: Shows you the estimated amount of electricity and water used when you select a program on the display. 

The Miele dishwasher has been on our radar for a while, and we're intrigued by the AutoDos feature the most. Although it's not a revolutionary concept in general, this is the first time we can think of it being applied to your dishwasher. 

Frigidaire FGID2479SF 24" Energy Star Fully Integrated - 

Price $1079 

Energy Use (kWH/Year) - 270

Water Factor: 3.5

OrbitClean® Wash System Clean dishes with OrbitClean® Wash System, which uses four times more water coverage for a complete clean. 

3rd Rack Serving utensils and tools are mealtime-ready with our Store-More™ removable third rack, which offers easy loading and unloading access.

Automatically Adjusts Cycles

DishSense™ Technology automatically adjusts the cycle time based on the level of clean that your dishes need for an efficient clean.

Status Indicator Floor Beams

Convenient LED Floor Beam Indicators illuminate the floor with a blue light when your dishes are washing and a green light when they are clean.

We swear we're not a bunch of cats pretending to be appliance technicians. We're just impressed by the status indicator and find it useful. 

Which of these was your favorite? Which one fits your needs best? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page. As always, we'd love to hear from you. 

If you're not happy with the idea of buying a new dishwasher and would rather just fix the one you have, we can help. You can reach out to us on our contact page or by giving us a call at ((214) 599-0055). At Appliance Rescue Service, we're here to help. 

7 Areas to Clean Today to Prevent Home Disasters Tomorrow

Also known as: Seven areas to keep clean if you don't want a bigger mess.

Table of Contents

Gutters

Air Ducts 

Dryer Duct

Refrigerator Coils

Washer Filter

Dishwasher Filter

Shower Drain

The worst thing about washing machines is that they have to be cleaned. Most of us don’t even think about that. The problem is that by not doing so, you can end up with some horrible messes. Absolute disasters of messes if we’re being honest.  It’s not just your washing machine though, it’s also several other places around your home that need to be cleaned regularly to prevent a variety of disasters around the home. 

Gutters

When To Do It: Twice a year, best at the end of fall and spring. 

Why To Do It:  If your gutters aren't cleaned regularly, you will get a buildup of leaves and other debris. Not so big a deal, until that starts to rot in summer or freeze in winter. Then the gutters get heavier and over time will start to pull away from your house. Or they might just overflow in certain sections where you don't see it. Which if you're lucky, will lead to an overwatered section of your garden. If you're not lucky it can lead to a molded wall and destabilization of your home's foundation. 

How To Do It:  To put it simply, you'll want a three-step process. First, you want to go by eye to look for areas that are damaged or overflowing, or possibly pulling away from the roof. From there you'll need a ladder so that you can go ahead and dig everything out. Whether you're dealing with compacted leaves and debris or just some slight build-up, you'll want gloves and a  trashcan at least. Your final step is using a hose, to check that you've gotten everything cleaned out.  For a more in-depth guide, check out the additional reading at the bottom of the post. 

Air Ducts

 When To Do It: Every 3 to 5 years, fewer if you have pets that shed. 

Why To Do It : This one isn't as obvious a threat to your home.  For many of us it just means a little extra hair or dust floating in our homes. Over time though it can lead to mold, mildew, and fire hazard in your home. Which can sound weird. Mold, mildew and a potential fire hazard? Yup. During the wetter times, air can become trapped in the ducts and the build-up, leading to mold and mildew spreading throughout the ducting system and your home. During dry seasons though, when the material trapped in the system is bone dry, you can end up with a fire hazard. 

How To Do It: Call a professional for this one. While all of the others can be done with only one or two tools, in order to do the best job of cleaning out all of the ducting in your home, you want to call a professional in. (Sadly, that's not us.  We'll happily fix your appliances though!) 

Dryer Duct

When To Do It: Twice a year, best in spring and fall. 

Why To Do It: Much like your air ducts, your dryer duct is sucking dust, dirt, pet hair, dander, and other materials out of the air and your dryer. That gets caught in the dryer duct and over time it becomes compacted. This is a fire hazard, especially given how dry it is kept. While cleaning out your lint trap every time you run your dryer is a good start, it's doesn't get rid of everything. Cleaning it out will also make your dryer work more efficiently and effectively, allowing for air to flow freely. 

How To Do It: Always start with unplugging and disconnecting your dryer from any sources of power, be it gas or electric. From there, take a vacuum and clean up as much of the inside of the dryer, and the vents inside and outside as possible. Then, use a dryer tool to work the lint-free inside the duct itself. This is a long-handled tool with a brush attachment that you can pick up at your local hardware store for relatively cheap. Once you've done that, grab your vacuum again and suck up everything from where you were working on the duct and from inside the duct itself.  Reconnect everything carefully, turning the power back on as the final step and you're good to go! 

Refrigerator Coils

When To Do It: Once a year, more often if you have pets that shed a lot.

Why To Do It:  The coils are part of the system that keeps your refrigerator cool. If the coils are covered in dust and hair, then your refrigerator has to work overtime and will have a shorter life for it. 

Image courtesy of Mark Florence

How To Do It: Start by transferring as much of your food to a cooler as you can, to lighten the load. Then unplug it and go looking for the coils. Sometimes they'll be under a panel in the front, on the back, or on top if you have a built-in unit. Once you've found your coils, you'll want to grab your vacuum and a dust mask, these coils are going to be covered in a very fine dust that you don't want to breathe in. Now use a long-handled brush to gently scrape away at the coils. You want to go on top of them and between them, trying to remove as much of the dirt as possible. Once you're done with that, vacuum up all of the ick and go enjoy a hot shower. 

Washer Filter

When To Do It: Once a month.

Why To Do It: Your washer filter, as we've discussed in the past, catches much of the larger debris and soap scum that comes off of your clothing during the wash.  If that filter is covered over, with soap, with dirt, with debris, then the water can't pass through and it will begin to back up. It can even lead to the washing machine flooding over, and you needing to clean or even replace your floors. 

How To Do It: Most of the time, a front-loading washer is meant to save you pain and annoyance... Sadly that's not the case when it comes to cleaning your filters. Look on the front for a  small door, and lay out a towel and something like a casserole dish. On opening the door you should find a hose and a drain pump filter. Pull the plug from the hose and let the water empty out into your dish. There's going to be a fair amount of water in there, and it's probably going to reek and be full of ick. Once nothing else is coming out, unscrew the filter, wait for water to stop dripping out of that, and pull out the filter. It will probably have slime on it, and you might even find coins. No, this isn't where the goblins stash all of your lost socks (sadly.) Dump out the filter, and use an old toothbrush and some warm water to scrub it clean. 

If you have a top loading machine, you're in luck! The filter is going to be in the drum or on the back, but check your manual if you can't quite find it. Once you've located it, it's easy to pull out and rinse with hot water. 

Dishwasher Filter

When To Do It: Once a month 

Why To Do It: Your dishwasher filter is much like your washer filter. It collects dirt and food debris and keeps it from going out with the water. (Because that would lead to the drain becoming clogged over time.) At first, this issue can lead to dishes not getting cleaned properly, and with time to the machine flooding. Not fun!

How To Do It: Remove your lower rack and look for a mesh filter on the floor of your dishwasher. If you don't see what we're talking about, grab your manual to find out where the manufacturers hid it. Found it? Ok, at this point, it should be a matter of unscrewing the filter and rinsing it with hot water and soap, and then pop it back in. Nice and easy, and it keeps your kitchen from flooding. 

Shower Drain

When To Do It:  Some will say when the water becomes ankle deep. We say you should do it as soon as you notice the water is beginning to back up.

Why To Do It: Flooding bathtubs. That's all we have to say. And just. EW.  

How To Do It:  Grab a facemask, some old clothes, and a drain snake. Some people will say to start with a drain cleaner, like draino but as long-hair having people, we suggest starting with a snake. Wriggle it around until it goes all the way down your drain and then draw it out. It's going to be gross. It's going to be a lot of hair, dirt, and soap scum. We know.  Depending on when the last time this was done, you might have to do this more than once. Once you've pulled everything that you can out, grab a kettle, boil some water and send that down the drain. Let that do its work and then an hour later, you can hit the drain with a drain cleaner. For best results, we advise letting that sit overnight, this way it's undisturbed for several hours.  If that doesn't clean up the issues with water backing up, we'll advise calling a plumber as the problem could be more than just a clog in your drain. 

Congrats you've just tackled seven of the most common problems in owning a home. As you saw each of these problems can cause serious issues, many of them involving water, soap, and ick going everywhere. Did we miss any areas? Are there appliances or other major areas that you're curious about how to clean? drop us a line over on our Facebook page or in the comments below. We'd love to hear from you. 

If doing all of this cleaning hasn't solved the issues that your refrigerator, washing machine, dishwasher or dryer are giving you, you might want to give us a call. We'll work with you to set up a time that fits your schedule, and help to not only determine what the problem is, but more importantly, to fix it. At Appliance Rescue Service, we're not happy until we've gotten your appliances back in tip-top shape. 

You can call us at ((214) 599-0055) or reach out to us on our contact page to set up an appointment time that works for you. 

Additional Reading:

Gutters 

Cleaning Your Refrigerator

How to Deep Clean Your Dishwasher

Dryer Duct