Welcome
Welcome to the October 2005 edition of the RepairClinic.com newsletter.
This month, you'll find tips and tricks to keep your washer and dryer
spinning.
Message
from the RepairGuru®
In this month's newsletter, you'll find all you need to know to ensure
your washer and dryer operate safely and efficiently. But make sure you
have the right parts before you start - you can find them all at RepairClinic.com.
Unlike other repair-advice firms, which frequently use third-party companies
to fulfill their orders, RepairClinic.com has a huge in-house inventory
of parts for more than 75 brands of appliances - allowing us to provide
the fastest possible service. In fact, we ship more than 92 percent of
parts on the same business day you order them!
Keep
Your Washer and Dryer Spinning
Before the hectic holiday season hits, now's the time to get your washer
and dryer in top form. Chances are, they appear to be running smoothly,
but regular use does take its toll and some major problems may be lurking.
You certainly don't want to risk returning from a relaxing holiday vacation
to find your washer hoses have burst and flooded your home. And, just
as important, your dryer must be thoroughly cleaned of all lint to prevent
fires, and to operate efficiently.
Even though there don't seem to be enough hours in the day, these simple
tips make it easy to get these appliances in order. Are you ready?
Inspect your clothes washer - First, let's talk about your clothes
washer. To understand your washer's design, check out our detailed
washer illustrations.
Your washer probably has black rubber hoses that connect it to the water
supply. Over time, these hoses deteriorate, so it's important to inspect
them at least twice a year. Add that to the list of things to check each
time you change your clocks in the fall and spring.
You should inspect your hoses for any splits, cracks, blisters (run your
hands along them and feel for potential problems), or corrosion around
the fittings. If you find any of these signs of wear, it's time to replace
them.
Replace washer hoses - Just taking this simple step can protect
your house from the enormous disruption and expense of water damage. To
be on the safe side, the RepairGuru recommends replacing the rubber hoses
with hoses encased with stainless
steel (this prevents bursting - and these hoses last longer).
Begin by turning off the water supply to each hose. If your supply valves
are old, rusted or corroded, it may be tough to shut them off. In that
case, you may need to turn off the water to the house and consider replacing
these valves. You may need help from a plumber for this task.
Next, relieve the pressure on the water lines by turning the washer on
to a warm fill cycle for five seconds. Label the household valves and
washing machine inlet valve HOT and COLD to make it easier to install
the new hoses correctly. Use slip-joint, or adjustable, pliers to loosen
the hose-ends from the water supply. Be careful not to squeeze the hose-end
too much while loosening the connector or it may deform and then become
harder to unscrew. If hose-ends are really tight or corroded, you might
try applying a thread-penetrating solution such as Rust
Buster and leaving it to penetrate into the connector for an
hour or two. Be sure to unthread the hose-end counter-clockwise.
Once you've got them unscrewed, don't forget there could be still a fair
amount of water in the hoses. The RepairGuru suggests you have a bucket
or container handy to catch the water that's still in the hoses as you
lower the hoses away from the water supply. Now, remove the hoses from
the machine itself. All washing machine water inlet valves are made of
plastic, so the hoses should be easy to remove.
As you prepare to install the new hoses, make sure there are washers
in each end of the hoses to prevent leaks. Attach the hoses to the water
supply first and run some water through them to clear out any rust or
calcium deposits. Next, inspect the inside of the water inlet valve on
the washing machine and clean out any rust or calcium deposits from the
small screens inside the valve. Start by threading the new hoses onto
the water inlet valve by hand to avoid cross-threading. Avoid over-tightening
the hoses or you just might make removal more difficult the next time
you take care of this task.
Now, your washer should be ready to go! Take a break and then move on
to your dryer.
Letting your dryer vent - Each year, there are thousands of dryer
fires in the U.S., resulting in injuries, deaths and untold property damage.
To operate safely and efficiently, your dryer must have a clean venting
system. Even the smallest hint of lint - especially when it's blocking
airways - can catch fire under the right circumstances, or lead to a deterioration
in dryer performance.
As a rule of thumb, expect 45 minutes of drying time for a standard load.
If your loads need more than 55 minutes, and you're sure the clothes are
not coming out of the washer too wet for a normal drying cycle, you might
have a clogged vent.
You can easily clean your dryer venting with these simple steps and the
right tools. To understand your dryer's design, check out our detailed
dryer illustrations.
First, pull your dryer away from the wall. Disconnect the vent tube from
the back of the dryer. Clean and inspect your venting tubes at least once
a year, or more often if you use your dryer frequently or have a long
vent that leads to the outside of the house.
With the vent tube disconnected, you should clean the vent ducting. We
recommend special vent
cleaning brushes which make the job easier and can reach the
sometimes long distances from the machine to the outside wall. If you
have a lint brush, follow the instructions provided with the brush. If
you don't have one of these brushes, you may need to disassemble each
section of the duct to clean it out by hand.
You should always outfit your dryer vent tube with a rigid
aluminum version. While allowed in most cities, flexible aluminum
vent tubes are prone to catching lint and will clog much sooner than rigid
aluminum. Never use white plastic vent tubes: these are no longer accepted
by the national building code and are even more prone to trapping lint
and then becoming blocked.
Join dryer ducting to the machine with aluminum foil tape, rather than
with duct tape or screws. Despite its name, duct tape can melt under the
high duct temperatures while screws that protrude into the vent give lint
a perfect place to build up.
Now it's time to clean the dryer itself. A condenser brush and your vacuum
cleaner's crevice tool are the best combination to clean the lint filter
itself as well as the slot where the lint filter is inserted and the dryer's
internal ducts. In extreme cases, you may need to disassemble part of
the dryer to get to and remove the lint. See our detailed
dryer illustrations to see how your dryer is assembled or ask
our RepairGuru for more specific help.
Outside the house, clean the lint out of the vent cap (or hood) using
a dryer vent brush and vacuum cleaner. Inspect the outside cap to be sure
the wind flap is working properly, and clean it if necessary. If it has
louvers instead of flaps, be sure all louvers are in place and working
properly.
To provide a better fit for your vent we have available a large selection
of venting elbows, adapters, and special kits for installing vents in
tight places. Click
here for our venting accessories.
Great job! Now you can forget about your washer and dryer - except for
your compulsory laundry duties - for another six months.
Next month: Get your range/oven ready for the holidays!
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