9 Different Gas Dryers, at 3 Different Price Points

Ratings/Reviews/Opinions

If you’re looking at getting a new dryer in the coming year but aren’t sure yet what you want to spend, we’ve got you covered. This week we’re digging through three different price ranges to find the best gas dryers available for purchase and what each will get you.

Some of the benefits of a gas dryer versus an electric are cost and drying speed. Over time a gas dryer is going to cost you less money when compared to an electric dryer. It will also dry faster because the heat is spread more consistently throughout the drum. 

Lowest Price Range But Still Solid.

If you’re in need of a dryer fast and now, this is the category for you. Maybe your old one broke down, and you need something to work while you’re researching what you really want. Or perhaps you’re looking to replace one in a  property you own. These dryers are, as of writing, all priced between 500 to 750 dollars. 

Whirlpool WGD7500GW -Top Loading Gas Dryer       Price: $672

Features: 

Moisture Sensor

Electric Controls

Signal for end of cycle (and the ability to turn it off if it annoys you.) 

Drum Light 

Santize cycle

Features It’s Lacking

Stainless Steel Drum

Customizable Programs

Steam Option

WiFi Connectivity 

It’s not stackable

Kenmore 78132  - Side Loading Gas Dryer         Price: $700 

Features: 

Wrinkle Guard

Moisture Sensor 

Capacitive Touch Controls 

End of Cycle Signal 

9 Different Dry Cycles

Features It’s Lacking

Stainless Steel Drum

Custom Programs

WiFi

Samsung DV40J3000GW   Side Loading Gas Dryer      Price: $675

Features

Moisture Sensor

8 Preset Dry Cycles

Lint Filter Indicator

Reversible Door

End of Cycle Signal

Features It’s Lacking

Stainless Steel Drum

Custom Programs

Steam Option

WiFi Connectivity

Our favorite out of these is actually the Samsung. One of the things so many of us forget is to  empty out the lint filter, which is one of the most common causes of fires in dryers, and within the home in general. Although it doesn’t have all of the features of the other dryers we will be showing you, it is a workhorse that is well rated by those who have purchased it in the past. 

Mid-Range Pricing With More Bells

These three sit in the middle of the curve. On one hand, you’re still not spending a huge amount of money, but on the other hand, they come with many of the features that the top tier dryers also have. These three are all between 1000-1100 as of the time of writing. 

LG DLGX3701W   Side Loading Gas Dryer     Price $1100 

Features

Ultra Large Capacity

WiFi accessible with ThinQ 

Steam Option

Moisture Sensor

Wrinkle Care

Duct Clog Indicator

Aluminized Alloy Steel Drum 

Smart Diagnosis 

“EasyIron™ Option lightly moistens clothes to make ironing easier and more efficient”

Custom Programs

Features It’s Lacking

Stainless Steel Drum

Kenmore Elite 71552   Dual Opening  Price: $1000

Features

Moisture sensor

Electronic controls

Steam option

Stainless-steel drum

On/off end of cycle signal

Drum light

End-of-cycle signal

Reversible Door

Samsung  DV42H5000GW   Reversible Side Loading Gas Dryer   Price: $1000

Features

Reversible Door

Wrinkle Guard

Drum Light

App Based Diagnostic

Child Lock

Internal Dryer Rack

Moisture Sensor

LED Display

Features It’s Lacking

Stainless Steel Drum

Steam Option

WiFi

Out of the mid-tier set, our favorite is the LG. This one not only has custom programs so you can save your preferred settings, but it also has a setting dedicated to making ironing easier. It also has a duct sensor to let you know when your vent is clogged, which is a wonderful safety feature as far as we’re concerned. To top it  all it has a smart diagnostic app, which means that you’ll have an easier time of pinpointing what’s wrong and whether you need to call in a professional or if you can fix it yourself. 

All Of The Bells and Whistles With The Price To Match

Last but not least, we have the newest and shiniest set of dryers. Not only do these have the best reviews for gas dryers currently, but they also have the most bells and whistles. These range from 1200 and up as of writing. 

LG DLGX9001V     Side Loading Gas Dryer   Price: $1895

Features

Moisture Sensor

Electronic Controls

Steam Option

Stainless Steel Drum

End of Cycle Signal (with the ability to turn it off if that annoys you.) 

Drum Light

Custom Programs

Duct Blockage Indicator

14 Different Cycle Options

WiFi Capable

LoDecibel Quiet Operation

Features It’s Lacking

Internal Drying Rack

Maytag MGDB955FW    Side Loading Gas Dryer   Price: $ 1295

Features 

PowerDry Cycle 

Moisture Sensor

Extra Interior Fin 

Steam Cycle

Sanitize Cycle

Magnetic Door Latch

Stainless Steel Drum

Internal Drying Rack

Custom Programs

End of cycle Signal

Duct Blockage Indicator

Features It’s Lacking

WiFi connectivity

Kenmore Elite 71632   Top Loading Gas Dryer     Price: $1250

Features 

Moisture Sensor

Electronic Controls

Steam Option

Stainless Steel Drum

End of Cycle Signal (with the ability to turn it off if that annoys you.) 

Drum Light

Internal Drying Rack

Custom Programs

Duct Blockage Indicator

Features It’s Lacking 

WiFi Connectivity 

Once again, we have to give this round to the LG. Although the price tag is nothing to sneeze at, it has the features that we expect to see. Not only is it the only one on the list that is WiFi capable, which makes your life easier, it is also engineered to be quiet. 

Those are three sets of different gas dryers at three different price ranges. Which one do you think you’re going to go for? Do you have any that we missed? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page. We’d love to hear from you. 

If you have an electric dryer and you want to stick with that, don’t worry. We’ll be covering the same topic for you soon enough. 

If on the other hand you came here because you need someone to fix your current dryer, we are more than happy to help. We aim to be the best appliance repair service in McKinney and the surrounding areas and that means keeping your home running. Whatever appliance malfunction you’re dealing with, we won’t stop until we fix it or you tell us you’re done. You can reach out to us by calling us at ((214) 599-0055) or by making an appointment on our website. 

A Note About Pricing

Pricing on our blog is for reference only and may be subject to change. Prices fluctuate as demand and sales occur. We make every attempt to provide accurate pricing at the time of publishing. Please call the stores linked in the article for the most accurate pricing when you do your own research or purchasing. .

Additional Reading:

What You Want to Know About Heat Pump Dryers

Dryer Deep Dive

6 Things Your Should Never Put In Your Dryer

Why You Need To Clean Your Dryer Vent 

9 Things Your Dryer Hates

Festive Foods for 2021

Easy Foods To Snack, Munch Or Nibble For A New Year’s Eve With Friends

We've done it. We are all in the home stretch of this strange, almost universally awful year. And you know what that means - it's time to look ahead to 2021!

With New Year's Day so close at hand, now is the time to start planning. No, definitely not those pesky new year's resolutions we all forget about by the end of January... We're talking about planning the party! Clearly finishing up 2020 is something worth really celebrating - perhaps not with all your friends quite yet (better to be safe now than sorry later), but certainly with your household.

So gather up the kids and some supplies and let's get to work on some party snacks.

Cracker Stacks

Of course, meats and cheeses and crackers are the go-to spread for a party. Easy, classic, fun, and reasonably healthy, they hit nearly all the boxes on the checklist in one go. But why not make it a little more interesting for the holiday? Design some cracker stacks to look like analog clock faces, counting down to the new year!

Ingredients:

1 17 oz box Cheez-It Grooves Sharp White Cheddar crackers

1 16 oz bag Margherita Sliced Hard Salami

2-4 oz brick Colby Jack cheese

2 Tablespoons sour cream (or ranch dressing, or onion dip)

Tools:

Cheese grater sandwich bags, scissors

Instructions:

Using the widest holes on the cheese grater, shred up some of the colby jack cheese. Your goal is about a quarter cup of shreds. (Please don't just buy a bag of pre-shredded cheese, as it's coated in starch so that it doesn't stick to itself or anything else - that defeats the purpose of it sticking to the salami later.)

Open up that box of Cheez-Its and separate the broken chunks from the intact crackers. Use the whole ones for this recipe, but save the pieces and crumbs in a sealed sandwich bag for the next recipe! Go ahead and pulverize those broken pieces so you have mostly small crumbs.

Toss two tablespoons of sour cream (or ranch, or dip) into a sandwich bag, press out the excess air and seal the bag. Take your scissors and make a tiny, tiny cut at the corner. 

For the base of the stacks, we started with Cheez-It Grooves sharp white cheddar crackers because they're very cheesy - their flavor helps make up for how little cheese we'll be adding at the end.

On top of each cracker, dot some of your sour cream and place a slice of salami. (If you'd rather take the extra cheesy route, you can melt a little of the cheese on the crackers before you place the sour cream and salami.)

On each slice of salami, place a small dot of sour cream in the middle. This is now the center point of your clock face. Those wide shreds of cheese you just grated can now become the hands of the clock, and your sour cream dot should hold them in place. If they're too wiggly, place a dot of sour cream at the ends also. Set them to whatever time you want - we think it's cute to count down from 11:00 to midnight, but it's also kind of frustrating when they're eaten up out of order - so to each their own.

Squash Fries

This is the reason we told you to save all those broken bits and crumbs from the crackers - they'll become part of the breading for these baked fries.

It's tough to measure out how much crumb you'll have to start with, because every box is a little different, but your goal is about 3/4 of a cup total. However much you're missing from that 3/4 cup, just add that much in Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (or whatever else you have on hand - we've also made up the difference with a "shake-n-bake" packet previously).

Ingredients:

3/4 cup crumbs (combined smashed Cheez-Its, Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, etc.)

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon dried parsley

2 eggs, beaten

2 large yellow squash

Tools:

Shallow dishes for egg and crumbs, knife, cutting board, baking sheet, spatula, cooking spray

Instructions:

Wash and dry your squash, trim off any questionable pieces with a sharp knife, and slice the squash into strips about 1/2" thick. Thinner strips will cook up quicker and crispier, so please shorten your cooking time if you adjust the size. No one likes burnt fries, be they squash or potato in origin.

Mix together your crumbs, garlic salt, white pepper and parsley in a shallow dish.

Spray your baking sheet lightly with the cooking spray. 

Drag the squash strips through the beaten eggs and allow any excess to drip off. Move immediately from the egg to the breadcrumb mixture, and roll the squash through the crumbs until well-coated.

Place your coated squash on the baking sheet and repeat until all the strips have been given the same treatment. Leave a little room between the strips on the baking sheet - it'll make turning them over easier later.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, turn them over with a spatula, and bake another 25 minutes. You'll know they're ready when they're golden and toasty looking.

What do you think? Do you think you’ll test out these recipes for your New Year’s party? Let us know over on our Facebook page or in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.

If your appliances have been acting up after Christmas, we’re here to help. Whether you live in Richardson, or Dallas or the surrounding areas, we want to work with you. You can call us at ((214) 599-0055) or go to our website to make an appointment.

From our family to yours, have a happy new year!

The Top 7 Kitchen Trends of 2021: Our Predictions

What we expect to be most popular in Garland and the surrounding area. 

2020 is almost over and that means many of us are looking at making changes in our lives and in our homes. For many of us that means looking at the top trends that are going to be popular in the coming year. We're taking a look at the top 7 to see what companies are predicting will be popular in 2021. 

- Colored Stone Counters And Backsplashes

Like we talked about with paint colors it's time to bring color into the kitchen. We at ARS love this idea. Let's move away from sterile White and try out different patterns and natural stones. Bonus points if you want to get the look without spending a ton of money you can do peel and stick tiles for your backsplashes. This also means that you can change them out more easily and test out which ones you like best. 

- Mixing Materials

People spent a lot of time in their kitchens this last year. Learning how to make sourdough, cheeses, or just mastering basic cooking. People want their kitchens to reflect them and part of that is bringing in new materials and textures. We fully expect to see cabinets in wood and wood-textured panels for filling in small spaces around the kitchen.

-Multifunctional spaces 

In the coming year, even more, people are going to be working from home. For many of us, this means having an office space that we can close away. It's not always feasible within the way your home is set up though to dedicate an entire room to an office. Companies have started responding to this new need by offering furniture that can serve both as storage and as a small desk without taking up much space when not in use. We expect to see furniture and design ideas that expand on this need over the next several years. 

-Fluidity between inside and outside

As we talked about over the summer people are breaking down the line between inside and outside. There are not just outdoor kitchens, but outdoor living rooms, offices, and even bedrooms. And people are also looking to bring the outside in with a resurging interest in not just individual plants scattered throughout the home but entire gardens. As Time continues we expect to see this trend go in many different directions.

- All Black Kitchen

We expect the trend of the all white kitchen to continue for at least a few more years. However, there is also a trend that we have seen over the last year towards sleek and elegant all black kitchens. While we don't expect this one to catch on in Texas, you might see it pop up in some of your friends’ or relatives' homes. After all, the South has to deal with quite a bit more heat than just what your oven puts off. 

- Gold Finishes

Over the last decade we've had copper and bronze finishes. We've had aged versions of both. And stainless steel has still reigned supreme. In the coming year we've seen companies hinting at offering gold finishes for everything from your faucets to your stove knobs to your refrigerator handle. The question is going to be whether we get aged gold next.

-Portable Fixtures

When so many of us have been trapped in our homes for the last year, and the threat of another full closure on the horizon, it's no surprise that we're restless in our homes. We want to move from room to room, to get up and pace. To that end our lights and audio elephant are becoming more portable. People don't want to fight with wires and plugs to try and get things positioned around the home when you move from place to place. Instead companies are starting to offer ways to take the lights with you as you move. 

Those are our top seven predictions for the trends of 2021. We probably missed some, after all we're only human. Let us know your predictions for the coming year in the comments below or over at our Facebook. 

If you found this page not because you're looking for how to remodel your kitchen or home in the coming year but because your appliances are driving you up a wall you've still  come to the right place. We aim to be the best appliance repair company in all of Garland and the surrounding area. You can make an appointment by calling us at ((214) 599-0055) or setting up an appointment on our website. We're here to keep your home running.

Freezer Comparisons: Miele versus GE: Who Does It Better?

Ratings/Reviews/Comparison

As Covid-19 stretches longer, and warnings of a nation-wide shutdown loom, many of us are looking at food preservation of one sort or another. The first spot that many of us look at is our freezers. Everything from individual ingredients and spices to full meals can be stored away and frozen. 

 What happens when you and your freezer are on the outs though? Its started to have keep different sections colder than others, or it says it’s at 0*F but really, it’s more like 10*. 

In those cases, many would start looking around for a new freezer. Which to choose though? A freezer is a freezer right? It keeps things cold, and that’s all that matters. Well, not necessarily. Let’s take a look at two of the best rated in the industry and see how they tackle the issue. 

Features of GE - FUF17DLRWW

Starting off let’s look at GE, an American staple. 
-Garage ready

GE knows that the temperatures an American homeowner has to deal with varies widely from one state to the next. To appeal to the broadest market, they’ve made sure that their freezers will maintain temperatures in your garage whether it’s 0*F or 110*F. 

-The highest rated upright freezer lineup in the industry 

Based on the combined data of different major appliance retailers nationwide, GE is rated as the 

best upright freezer in the industry. 

-Lock with key

If nothing will do but to keep your spouse out of your ice cream, or that set of cookie dough you’re saving for Christmas day, this model comes with a lock. (We’re sure there are other reasons that you might need a lock on your freezer, but we all know the need to protect the ice cream.) 

-Clear slide-out freezer bins

Part of the package for this model is four full width, clear-sided freezer bins that slide all the way out, to make it easier to find what you’re looking for. Instead of hunting on your hands and knees, you can grab out the bin you need and look through it on a table, and close the freezer in the meantime. It’s a win for your hands and your electric bill. 

-Audible temperature alarm

What’s worse than getting a meal ready and coming back to the freezer later to find out that you left it open, and now things are defrosting? Not much in our opinion. That’s why GE’s freezer offers an alarm if it gets below a certain point. 

-Exterior electronic temperature control

We’ve talked about how it maintains your set temps, and how it lets you know if that’s changing. But when it comes to actually setting the temperatures, GE is still thinking of you and how to keep your food cold. They’ve placed the temperature controls on the outside, eliminating the need to open the freezer to adjust them. 

-Turbo Freeze

After you’ve grabbed what you need, shut the door and gone about your day, the freezer sets off an extra cold blast of air to bring temperatures back to normal. 

-ENERGY STAR® Qualified

All of that, and it’s still Energy Star rated, which means it’s saving your food and your wallet. 

Features of Miele -F 2471 Vi

Now let’s head over to Germany and check out what their giant, Miele, has to offer. 

-Separate water and ice dispensers.

Instead of having to worry about your water freezing in the line, and thus breaking, Miele made it simple. They gave both the water dispenser and ice dispenser their own lines to run off of. 

-Handleless design

If you’ve looked in a decor magazine over the last year, or seen some of our own posts on the matter, you’ve seen that the trend is to have your appliances look more like cabinets. For many of us, this also means a handleless design. Miele is right on board with this trend. 

-Push2open for convenient door-opening assistance

Following right on from the previous feature, they’ve engineered the freezer with an easy push to open system. No handles would seem  like a problem, but thanks to this, you don’t have to worry. A light push and the door pops open. 

-Light floods the interior thanks to LED elements – 

The lights in this freezer are all LED elements, which means they’ll live longer and provide a truer light as well. 

-Communication with the machine could not be easier – WiFi Conn@ct

Why worry about your freezer when you’re out and about? With the Miele app you can check on your freezer no matter where you are. Worried that it’s too warm? You can see that by just pulling out your phone.  Or if you don’t have your phone handy, you can just ask Alexa. 

-Convenient control thanks to color touch display MasterSensor

Miele offers an easy to use exterior display for adjusting the temperature settings. 

-Defrosting is a thing of the past

Miele MasterCool appliances offer a NoFrost system. This system keeps cold, dry air circulating around the appliance so that ice doesn’t build up inside the cabinet. It eliminates ice buildup on food also, which means that you can always open and close drawers easily. All of this together has the additional benefit of protecting the freezer’s evaporator units, and being energy efficient. 

Comparison 

After looking at both of them, which do you prefer? The American workhorse or the German glitz? We’re still debating about which one is better ourselves. On the one hand, the GE freezer is perfect if you’re looking to turn your garage into a  second pantry. We could see this being especially useful if you’re a hunter, or have a large family. On the other hand, the Miele fits into your home beautifully. It fits into the connected home of the future, and the NoFrost system means that it also cuts down on the amount of food waste you have to worry about. 

What are your thoughts? Do you have experience with either brand? Let us know over on our Facebook page, or in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you! 

On the other hand, if you’re not looking to replace your freezer just yet,it just needs to have someone take a look, you can always give us a call at ((214) 599-0055). You can also set up an appointment via our website. We aim to be the best appliance repair shop in Carrollton, whether you need help with fixing your freezer, kicking your washer back into shape, or just doing some preventative maintenance, we’re here to help. 

Easy as 1-2-3 Christmas Cookies

Great for Gifts, Parties, Or Just You!

There are just under two weeks until Christmas. In fact, last we looked at a calendar, there are twelve full days until Christmas Eve... At which point the kids are likely going to start commenting that Santa needs some cookies.

In our house, it's tradition that the cookies for Santa are always homemade. The recipes and quantities may change from year to year - and honestly, sometimes we just get caught up in the rhythm of measure-knead-roll-cut-bake-cool-repeat, and end up making way too much.

So, for us, cookies are also Christmas gifts for the other households in our family. A little tray or box of handmade treats is also a cute, enjoyable and inexpensive long-distance (or socially-distanced) way to tell someone else you're thinking of them in this unconventional holiday season.

If homemade cookies sound a little out of your league, don't fret. These aren't terribly difficult. They're among the most crowd-pleasing recipes we know, and they are extra easy to personalize.

We'll start with a go-to favorite: Almond Puff Cookies. We've been making this recipe for almost fifteen years now, and it has never failed to impress. They're soft and fluffy, almost cake-like in texture when fresh. These don't really lend themselves to decorating with royal icing like sugar cookies because of the way they puff. A quick egg wash is often all we do to jazz them up. We like to cut these into bell, star and ornament shapes and wash them with different colors, but we've also included a handful of other decorating ideas your family might enjoy.

Almond Puff Cookies

Ingredients:

5 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 c butter, unsalted, melted

4 eggs

2 tsp almond extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Egg Wash (optional)

1 egg (well-scrambled) per each color you intend to make

2 drops food coloring per color

1 teaspoon water per color

Alternative Decoration Ideas (optional)

Sprinkles

Powdered sugar

Slivered almonds

Sweetened coconut flakes

Melted chocolate drizzle

An example of what the egg paint can look like.

Tools:

Mixing bowls (2), rolling pin, cookie sheet(s), cookie cutter(s), small dishes for egg wash (divide by color), pastry brush, cooling rack, space to make a mess (100% not kidding here, especially if the kids are assisting)

Instructions:

Sift together your flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in one mixing bowl.

In the other mixing bowl, whisk together your extracts, eggs, and cooled melted butter. We do NOT want to cook the eggs quite yet, so please allow your melted butter to cool a little before this step; ideally it's still liquid, but not scalding hot.

Knead together the contents of both mixing bowls. If you feel like the dough is a little too stiff, feel free to add a tiny bit of water to it, but don't go overboard. Too much liquid can't be undone, and a wet dough is very difficult to cut into shapes.

Once you've established a nice lump of dough, squish it down into the bottom of the mixing bowl and put the whole thing in the fridge for about 15 minutes. We like to use this fifteen minute break to start making the egg washes, but if you chose another decoration, you're free to relax for a few.

After your fifteen minutes are up, start preheating the oven to 400.

While the oven heats, turn out your dough onto the counter and roll it to about a quarter inch thick. If you feel like there's not enough room on the counter for the whole ball of dough, divide it and toss half back into the bowl for now. Save yourself the headache of having to pull dough out of the backsplash or from under that knife block you couldn't find another place to put (no, we've never had this happen to us - gee, why do you ask?).

Grab the cookie cutters (the objects, not the little minions you may or may not have clamoring in the background). Either you or your helpers should cut as many shapes as you can from the dough you've rolled out, peel away the excess dough, and gently transfer the shapes to your cookie sheet. Be careful not to stretch or distort them during the transfer - if they're stretched, they'll bake up lumpy and uneven.

If you find yourself struggling with the process of transferring, you might consider rolling the dough out on a cutting board or a sheet of wax paper before cutting your shapes. Having an extra layer you can just pick up and flip over the cookie sheet sometimes makes it easier to get the cookies from Point A to Point B without creating oblong ornaments or lopsided stars. Another trick to try is chilling the cut shapes before moving them to the cookie sheet with a thin metal spatula. If you do use a spatula, try to find a smooth one without slots (as the slots risk tearing up the undersides of your cookies).

Repeat the rolling, cutting, and transferring of shapes until you're out of space on the cookie sheets, or out of dough, or out of patience, whichever comes first.

Once your shapes have been arranged on the cookie sheet, you've reached the ideal time to add an egg wash. Use your pastry brush to lightly coat the tops of your cookies with the color of choice. Try not to use too much, just cover it with a thin layer. You don't want it to puddle around the edges on the cookie sheet, as that gets messy and difficult to clean later.

If you're not doing an egg wash, coconut flakes and slivered almonds will hold up well in the oven, and even toast a bit - but sprinkles will lose some of their color to the moisture in the dough, and that color will leak all over the cookie, so it's better to add them, the powdered sugar, or the chocolate later, after the cookies have been removed from the oven.

Bake your cookies 5-8 minutes at 400 degrees. You'll know they're ready to leave the oven when the edges are golden, the centers are puffed up, and the egg wash (if you used it) is set and shiny.

The cookies are still very soft at this point, so allow them to cool for about two minutes before you move them from the cookie sheet to the cooling rack, where they'll finish setting up.

Should you want to do any further decorating, let the cookies cool about ten more minutes on the cooling rack to ensure they're fully set and ready to be moved about (or boxed up for giving).

After you’ve tried out this week’s recipe, consider letting us see? We would love to get pictures over on our Facebook page to see how your cookies turned out. 

If on the other hand you need your oven fixed, or any of your other major appliances, we can help. Just call us at ((214) 599-0055) or make an appointment over at our website. We aim to be the most reliable appliance repair in Addison and the surrounding areas, and we want to keep your home running smoothly. Whether that’s an oven that won’t heat right for making cookies, or a washing machine that won’t drain right, we’re here to help.