Food Waste Disposer Jams

Big No-No

Many kitchens are equipped with a food waste disposer, often called a garbage disposal.  These will occasionally jam with too much fibrous material or a hard foreign object.   Jamming is where the motor hums but the grinding mechanism doesn’t spin.   When this happens we may be tempted to stick our hand down in there to pull stuff loose but this is very dangerous should the disposer suddenly come to life for some reason.  Never, ever stick your hand into a garbage disposal!

Instead of groping with your fingers and risk losing them, start

Who Makes Your Kenmore Appliance?

Sears sells a lot of major appliances under the Kenmore brand and you may have one.  Did you know that Sears doesn’t really make appliances?  Instead they have major appliance manufacturers build them and brand them as Kenmore.

So your Kenmore refrigerator may really be a Whirlpool design using Whirlpool parts.  Or that Kenmore front-load washing machine may really be a Samsung.  Not that it matters much, but maybe you just want to know.

It may be important to know this when

Must-Have Tool: Power Screwdriver

One of the most useful tools a handy homeowner can have is a cordless (battery) screwdriver.  It has numerous applications and is particularly useful for doing a lot of electrical and appliance work.  Many screws on fixtures, receptacles and switches are an inch long or more and take dozens of turns to tighten or remove each screw.  This power driver makes short work of all that turning.

Same thing for working on appliances where you have many sheet metal screws that must be removed to get inside.  If you have ever assembled furniture or a tool or toy (Some Assembly Required), you probably wish you had a power driver.  Hanging window blinds and driving mounting screws in walls also begs for a cordless screwdriver, as does installing a ceiling fan (especially the blade screws).  If you work on cars they come in handy as well since you often have to remove many screws to get inside certain compartments.  Almost anywhere you need to turn a screw, a power screwdriver

Protect Your Expensive Appliance

Many newer appliances have sophisticated controls with pushbuttons and displays.  Electronic controls are great features but are susceptible to power line voltage surges.  Many a fancy washer, dryer, oven, dishwasher or refrigerator has required expensive repairs after a thunderstorm or other electrical disturbance.  The control boards can’t handle power spikes and when they blow it’s usually at least $100 for parts cost alone, not to mention labor.

The good news is that there is easy and inexpensive insurance available

Refrigerator Coil Cleaning

If you keep your refrigerator condenser coils clean it will save monthly operating costs by allowing it to run more efficiently.  It will also save you big bucks in the long run because making the fridge more efficient means it runs less frequently and will last longer.  The compressor won’t have to work as hard to keep things cool inside.

This applies to freezer-only units as well.  After all, a refrigerator compartment simply borrows cold air from the freezer.

Details and instructions are found in the  Refrigerator Coil Cleaning  topic.

Washing Machine Water Hoses

Have you checked your washing machine water hoses lately?

If not, you could be in for a nasty surprise soon.  The cheap, basic washer hoses have a life expectancy of only five years or so.  Some won’t last that long; hopefully yours will, but you won’t know without inspecting them.  If a hose fails you could have hundreds of gallons (or more) of water on your laundry floor, spreading throughout the house until it finds a place to leak out.

Washing machine hoses tend to fail

Water Leak Indicator

Did your water bill suddenly increase?  Do you suspect a hidden water leak for some other reason?  Wondering about new stains on walls or ceilings?

The good news is that you have a useful tool in your yard to confirm or rule out a leak: your water meter.

Many water meters have a low-flow indicator, also known as a leak detector or tattler.  It is typically a small triangle or star shape on the face of the water meter, sometimes centered on the main dial.  This low-flow indicator moves with very little water flow so you can sometimes catch even a dripping faucet (although you may have to watch it for awhile for such a small leak).  If you can’t locate your water meter, check for guidance in the  Utility Shutoff  topic.

To use the water meter to check for leaks,

Appliance Tips

Useful and sometimes surprising tips on operating and maintaining appliances.  Mostly geared towards major appliances but a few small appliance tips are included.

Highlights of the topics include:

Utility Shutoff

Know how to shut off utilities in an emergency or other necessary situation.  Teach older, responsible family members how to do this with info from the  Utility Shutoff  topic.  It may just save lives and property someday.

Dryer Vent Cleaning

Clothes dryer fires are one of the leading causes of home fires and are almost always due to lint in the vent.  Minimize this risk and improve clothes dryer efficiency at the same time.  Save your home and save money by keeping your dryer vent free of lint.

Make sure you are not using a plastic or thin foil vent hose, either.  Find out what you should be using instead.  Read all about these important safety issues in the   Dryer Vent Cleaning  topic.