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Home Alone? RepairClinic says: Don’t Leave your Appliances Stranded While on Vacation

Canton, MI—August 4, 2010 - According to the appliance repair experts at RepairClinic, also known as RepairGurus, when you go on vacation, it’s generally a good idea to have a friend or neighbor keep an eye on your home while you’re away. Most think of theft, fire, or other household problems as the greatest risk, but many homeowners have had the unexpected surprise of finding water leaking from a broken hose, or spoiled food in their fridge when they return from their vacation. Nothing ruins a wonderful, just-vacationed feeling than the sight of appliance disaster just inside the door of your home.

When it comes to appliance vacation disasters, there are a few potential scenarios that can occur, making the homecoming a little more “exciting” than you might like: 

•     Water leaks from a refrigerator or freezer onto the floor.
•     Refrigerator stops running—food thaws and spoils.
•     Dryer fire.
•     Washing machine line busted—water through the floor and/or ceiling.
•     Freezer thaw—food and ice melt, forming a puddle on the floor.

The solution: don’t wait until something goes wrong to give your appliances some attention. Here are some simple preventive steps you can take to help avoid vacation appliance disasters:

1.    Carefully pull your fridge out from the wall (using the Glide n Guard floor protector to prevent scratches and gouges); then, check the water lines to be sure they aren’t loose, that they are securely connected, both at the water source and at the fridge. 
2.    Regularly clean your dryer lint screen after each load and check the vent behind the lint screen for lint buildup—use the vacuum cleaner attachment from repairclinic.com to remove excess lint . 
3.    Keep the fridge condenser clean by removing lint, hair and other debris using the condenser brush, to keep your fridge running efficiently. 
4.    Check the water hoses on your washing machine for cracks, blisters, corroded fittings, leaks or other signs of stress. If any of these conditions exist, replace the rubber hoses. For even more peace of mind, simply replace old rubber hoses with more durable stainless steel hoses, built to last much longer. 
5.    Monitor the temperature in your fridge on a regular basis. Keep a thermometer in your refrigerator and monitor the temperature on a regular basis so you will be able to see if the temperature is dropping before disaster occurs.

Summer is a good time to do some general appliance maintenance, before school starts, when families are very busy. “Even if your appliances seem to be working fine, a little preventive maintenance is always a good idea” says Chris Hall, President, Repairclinic, and former appliance repairman. He recommends that you give your appliances routine checkups, just like you take your children to the doctor for their annual health exam. “It can save you a lot of money and headaches later, if you do the preventive work up-front,” says Hall. “The appliance maintenance calendar on the RepairClinic website is a great help to get you started.”

About RepairClinic.com

RepairClinic.com® is an online retailer of replacement parts for household appliances, vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers, and outdoor power equipment. RepairClinic has an extensive inventory of more than one million parts for over 100 different brands and has an incomparable return policy allowing any part to be returned within 30 days for money back. RepairClinic assists more than 75,000 customers each month with free repair help, including videos, diagrams, and customized repair diagnosis. RepairClinic operates an 86,000 sq. ft facility in Canton, MI, that employs over 100 employees. For more information, please visit www.RepairClinic.com.

For media inquiries, contact:

Raina Bell,
PR Manager,
RepairClinic.com,
734-495-3079 Ext. 266