CANTON, Mich. - November 13, 2006 - As the busy holiday season beckons, families will be counting heavily on their kitchen appliances, especially the cooktop. Chris Hall, president of RepairClinic.com®, and a former appliance repair guy, says broken cooktops can easily be fixed by consumers, with considerable savings over calling in a repairman.

"Sadly, there are thousands of people who have cooktops with one or more burners that don't work. People tend to get by without them because they think it might be difficult or expensive to fix," says Hall, whose company, RepairClinic.com, provides consumers with the information and parts they need to fix their appliances. "The good news is that do-it-yourselfers can quickly diagnose and fix most of the problems with their electric cooktops and ranges. We can supply the right part and show them how to do the job."

The burner elements (sometimes called coils) on a cooktop take quite a beating. Many years of pans being placed on them and moved around eventually take their toll. Here's how to restore a cooktop to "all systems go" status before the holidays.

Fixing a broken burner or heating element
- If it's clear that the burner itself has broken because it is burned in two, it can easily be replaced for around $40. Most burners swing up and away from the cooktop and can then be pulled out from the power receptacle.

- Tip: raising the burner in this way provides easy access to the burner bowls (sometimes called drip pans) beneath them. Hall recommends regular cleaning of these to prevent stains baking onto them.

RepairClinic.com sells replacement burners, coils and drip pans. Use the PartDetective to locate the correct part .

What if the burner works only some of the time?
- Often, before a burner actually stops heating, it will work intermittently. In these cases, wiggling the burner around before switching it on temporarily fixes the problem.

- This is a common sign that the burner's power receptacle is defective and needs to be replaced. RepairClinic.com supplies a receptacle repair kit for most cooktop models, and simple instructions that any homeowner can follow to fix the burner receptacle. Cost: around $10.

Is it OK to line the burner bowls with aluminum foil?
Over time, the shiny drip bowls beneath the burners can accumulate a lot of burned-on food stains. It's very tempting to line them with aluminum foil to hide evidence of cooktop disasters. That's a no-no, says Hall.

- Burner bowls play an important role because they reflect heat upwards to the pan and also (in the case of ranges with ovens underneath) provide important venting for the oven below.

- Using aluminum foil is also a safety hazard because it can easily make contact with the electrical connections and give the user a severe electrical shock.

- If they're beyond cleaning, replace them with shiny, new dishwasher-safe burner bowls for around $15. Click here.

What about smooth or glass cooktops?
Hall recommends careful cleaning of glass or ceramic cooktops using non-abrasive cleaners and special scrubbers. RepairClinic.com offers a selection of special accessories to keep glass cooktops in tip-top condition. Visit the RepairClinic.com accessories section to see them.

Many more tips and expert repair advice available online
Cleaning tips, maintenance instructions, parts and cleaning supplies for these projects and more can all be found at RepairClinic.com. Consumers can ask the RepairGuru, RepairClinic's online help wizard, for assistance with most every major appliance repair question.