Thanksgiving Appliance Repair Checklist 2018
Thanksgiving is right around the corner and if you are the lucky one chosen to cook, you’d better make sure your appliances are in working condition.
Holidays bring added stress to appliances as they often work harder during this time of year. Here are some of the appliances you need to check out before the holiday season rolls in.
Avoid Stove Oven Failures Before Thanksgiving
The stove is one of the appliances that will feel the heat this time of year. We recommend giving your oven a good cleaning and testing it for proper function.
However, DO NOT SELF-CLEAN your oven the night before. Many failures happen after a self-clean.
Self-clean your oven at a time that is less painful if a failure occurs. You are going to place higher demands on your stove for the holiday season, you need to make sure all the burners are cleaned and can light.
If you do have burners that keep turning on and off, not igniting, or keep tripping the breaker, you’ll want to troubleshoot and resolve your problems to make sure it’s ready to cook up that turkey!
Common Reasons Why Dishwashers Fail
While the stove is in charge of cooking, the dishwasher gets the fun job of cleaning. If you do not have a working dishwasher this time of year, you could be needlessly suffering.
The dishwasher will take on numerous loads on Thanksgiving. You can troubleshoot your dishwasher for basic cleaning and operation.
Many issues can be resolved by you. See our dishwasher blog for tips on how to improve dishwashing results.
One tip is to turn on your kitchen faucet and run the hot water until it is hot before you turn on the dishwasher, the target temperature at the kitchen faucet is 130 degrees. By turning on the hot water first, the dishwasher can pull hot water versus starting with cold.
Use high quality detergent and rinse aid. We can ensure your hands don’t have to do the cleaning this year!
Prepare and Organize Your Fridge for Thanksgiving
If you are ready for the holiday season, you probably have your fridge fully stocked. We recommend cleaning out the fridge before buying all the holiday goods.
Old food left in the fridge can lead to nasty smells, poor tasting ice, and can taint fresh food.
Dirty condenser coils behind or underneath the fridge can place excess strain on the compressor or even cause it to overheat.
Don’t assume that the kids left the door open if the fridge seems warm.
Tune-Up Your Washer to Keep it Running Efficiently
Another essential appliance is the washing machine. Take care to load the washer appropriately to avoid off balance issues.
Check the pockets of your clothing to ensure no foreign object gets stuck or damages your drain pump.
Avoid using too much detergent and stick to the recommended amount to avoid buildup and excess suds. Remember, more detergent doesn’t meet cleaner and more softener doesn’t mean fresher.
If you are still unable to get the washing machine to function, a repair technician can help alleviate your holiday stress.
Common Problems with Dryers
Like many appliances in the home, we tend to forget about maintaining them until they have a problem. Does your dryer take multiple cycles to dry? Do your clothes have marks they didn’t have when they went in?
To ensure your dryer is operating at peak performance and your clothes are ready for all the holiday events, you’ll want to perform simple maintenance, such as cleaning out the lint filter and clearing the vent lines.
If your dryer is located near the furnace, the excess lint gathering around the dryer becomes kindling for a furnace. Not only will this prevent fires, but it can also reduce stress on your clothes dryer.
How to Troubleshoot Your Wine Cooler
If you and your family want to toast to the holiday with a bottle of wine, you’ll need to ensure that your wine cooler is up to par.
If you think your cooler is not at the right temperature, place a thermometer in the cooler to determine the precise temperature. Allow the thermometer at least a half-hour to arrive at the accurate temperature.
Wine should be kept at 40-to-65-degrees Fahrenheit. In addition to keeping an eye on the temperature, ensure humidity levels are just right.
If it’s too dry, it will likely damage the wine. On the other hand, too moist will deteriorate the labels on your bottles.
The ideal level for your wine cooler is around 50-80% humidity.
Serve Your Thanksgiving Food Hot with a Warming Drawer
One of the dilemmas during the holidays is how to serve all of your food hot when the turkey takes up most of the oven space. Fortunately, a warming drawer keeps food hot, safe, and flavorful.
As a general rule, perishable foods should stay out of the “danger zone,” which is 40°F-140°F.
When something goes wrong, it can cause some headaches on the big day.
First and foremost, check the power source for your warming drawer to ensure that energy is on-route to your appliance.
If it has power but isn’t warming up, there could be an electrical, technical, or mechanical failure, which requires a repair technician.
The Benefits of a Trash Compactor During the Holidays
Cooking and hosting a big holiday meal can lead to a large amount of trash. Fortunately, having a trash compactor during the holidays can help homeowners consolidate a large amount of trash into a single bag.
To ensure your trash compactor works efficiently on Thanksgiving, make sure to only use trash compactor bags.
If a traditional trash bag is used in a compactor, it will most likely puncture or tear due to the extreme force of a full compacted load of trash or get stuck in the ram mechanism.
When to Replace Worn Out Appliances
Most appliances last between 10 to 15 years, so if they’re reaching the end of their life, it may be time to replace them before they get put to maximum use on Thanksgiving.
Keep in mind that if you choose an energy-efficient replacement, you may receive a tax credit.
Contact iFiX for Your Thanksgiving Appliance Repairs
For additional holiday appliance tips, give iFiX, LLC a call today! We hope you and your family have an enjoyable holiday season.
One Response
I didn’t even think about how something from one of my pants’ pockets could get stuck in the drain pump. My wife and I have a newborn so we need to use the washer often. Hopefully, we can remember to always empy our pcokets before washing anything.