DIY Appliance Repair Tips

Wait! Before you get the itch to hire an appliance repair in Silver Spring for assistance, you can keep your appliances in good condition with a lot of the tips below.

1. Smelly Washing Machine

A bad odor in a washer defeats the point of owning the appliance! If you’re in the process of trying to get your clothes so they are fresh and clean, but the machine isn’t cooperating, run an cycle without clothes/laundry in hot water with 2 cups of white vinegar and 1/2 cup of baking soda to eliminate the unpleasant smell. This problem frequently occurs in front-loading washing machines. To eliminate odors in the future, prop the door open after washes to let it dry out.

2. Inefficient Refrigerant

A warm fridge is not a welcome sign. A warm refrigerator will not keep liquids cold or refreshing, and the food on the inside might also be in danger of becoming spoiled! In some cases, your refrigerator won’t need professional repair; the inside could just need a cleaning. Or the coils on the back panel of the unit are overdue for cleaning.

Unplug the refrigerator and move it far from the kitchen wall prior to vacuuming the refrigerator coils. If you don’t notice instant cooling improvement, it is time to hire a professional appliance repair service in Silver Spring for a diagnosis.

3. Clicking Igniter on Stove

If the igniter on your gas-powered stove clicks nonstop and the burner does not light, inspect to make sure your burner top is tightened and properly aligned. You could also notice this if you’ve recently had a boil over or spill on the top of your stove.

Otherwise, the source is probably a clogged igniter. To clean the igniter, first remove the burner cap and wipe off any particles. You can also use a metal clothes pin to scrape dirt from the grooves of the igniter. If that does not fix the issue, it’s safest to not take a lighter apart without the right training; enlist a professional appliance repairman to investigate the problem.

4. Broken Garbage Disposal

A kitchen sink’s garbage disposal comes with self-protection in the form of an overload trip switch. If it gets filled up, overheats, grinds for too long, or has a different issue, your garbage disposal could simply have to be reset instead of replaced. Be sure the switch is turned OFF. Next, find the switch on the disposal unit beneath the sink and then press the button. If the switch won’t stay in, just wait a few minutes and press it again. Turn on the water and press the switch on.

If the disposal is filled up with food and you only hear a humming sound and not the grinding of waste, you could need to manually twist the disposal blades with a hex key tool to eliminate the jam. Next, press the reset button to get the disposal working again. If these tips don’t get things working like it should, do not succumb to the temptation to shove one of your arms down in the disposal to figure things out. Be smart and arrange service with a professional appliance service in Silver Spring.

5. No Power from Outlet

In the kitchen or bathroom, the outlets should be installed with GFCI capabilities in order to protect homeowners against harm in wet environments. If a GFCI electrical outlet isn’t generating power, press the red “reset” switch to see if that restores power.

If not, or if you are trying a standard outlet, make certain that a breaker has not tripped in the home’s breaker panel. If you are not sure if a circuit breaker has been tripped, switch it so it is in the OFF position and back onto the ON position. Please remember, safety around electricity is critical. Should you have doubts, call a professional technician.

6. Wobbling Washing Machine

A wobbling washing machine will often create quite a startling banging and isn’t a ideal process to wash clothes. If your washer is abruptly shaking around, the unit might be broken. In order to fix this issue, rotate the legs of the appliance to lower or lift each corner until it’s balanced. Another likely scenario is that the unit is not balanced. Crack open the lid and arrange the clothes so they’re more evenly dispersed in the drum of the washing machine.

Doing this could help the washer to not need to work quite as hard. If you try to arrange the clothing a couple of times to no avail, do not ignore the issue. You may have a loosened motor or drum mount to fix, which can be easy enough for a professional repairman to fix. But continuing to operate your washer when it has this problem could damage other components and cause a worse repair down the road.

Call for Help

If these suggestions are able to solve your broken appliance, you will want to schedule an appointment from Metro Appliance Repair!

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