Archives: 2012

It’s in most kitchens  and looks great when it’s clean and smear free, but how do you keep it that way?    There are lot’s of commercial cleaners available to purchase and some do a great job, but how do you know the best method to use..

Knowing how to clean stainless steel appliances is necessary to ensure the best cleaning results without damaging the device. Today, this material is utilized extensively in the construction of virtually any household appliance. Stainless steel is non-corrosive and rust proof, which makes it the perfect low-maintenance construction material for a large number of products. Added to this is the fact that this is a material of great strength. As a result, you see stainless steel commonly used in the making of hardware, cookware, cutlery, and practically every type of home appliance. Read more

Limescale is a big problem in the United Kingdom,  in just a short period of time the build up of this deposit can take a hold on your kitchen and laundry appliances causing them to be less energy efficient and if left untreated long term damage may be caused.

Understanding the causes of washing machine limescale build up and removal techniques can prove to be vital if you are dependent on a hard water supply. A salient feature of hard water is the fact that this type of water will contain magnesium and calcium in higher percentages than you would normally expect to find. The problem here is that trace amounts of these minerals are left clinging to any container or surface that the water comes into contact with. Limescale is a distinctive side effect of hard water and visually exhibits as a whitish, scaly deposit that is left behind. Every time hard water passes through your washing machine, these deposits are left behind in the washer drum, hose, pipes, seals, and various other parts.  Read more..

We take having  a freezer for granted, but what if it was to stop operating as it should?  If your freezer is full of food then you could be in for a hefty financial loss.  Understanding the basics of freezer maintenance will help keep your freezer operating for longer.

Dealing with most freezer problems can be a relatively simple task for any person that has a basic knowledge about these appliances. Most commercial freezers are similarly designed and utilize standard components. As a result, troubleshootingfreezer faults is generally a uniform process and there is no great variation in freezers of different brands. Components such as the compressor, evaporator, and condenser are present in all freezers. For the most part, you will find that most common freezer faults can be traced to a lack of proper maintenance or incorrect usage. Studying the product manual can help you gain a better understanding of some of the components and parts of the freezer. Read more

A fridge rarely get’s maintained but there are some common problems which you may have encountered, this guide should help you to identify any problems and guide you in the right direction for easy maintenance ideas..

Dealing with fridge problems is a fact of life, and at some point everyone has had to deal with some type of malfunction. Certainrefrigerator problems are quite simple to tackle and may be easily solved by most people. However, any issues related with the pressurized gas system utilized by the fridge for cooling, will require specialized help. Before you start any home repair project, it is important to understand that there are basically 2 types of refrigerators, falling air fridges and forced air fridges. A basic understanding of their working can help you understand some of the more common fridge faults.  Read more

If your coffee maker is no longer producing that perfect cup of coffee, or it has other problems then understanding some basic maintenance for your machine could ensure longevity and a great tasting coffee.

The electric coffee machine has to be one of the most handy kitchen appliances in use today. People have grown used to the convenience of having hot, freshly ground coffee available at the flick of a switch. However, any coffee machine problems could prevent you from enjoying that first cup of coffee in the morning. There are quite a few factors that can affect the appliance’s ideal functioning, ranging from serious electrical issues to other problems such as hard water deposits that affect the taste of your beverage. Ultimately, coffee machine maintenance is essential to ensure the productivity of the appliance.  Read more

It’s one of the most popular modern day household appliances,  commonly used and also prone to the odd faulty part which you can replace yourself..

The microwave oven has to be one of the most popular household appliances ever devised. With its operating simplicity and speed of performance, it is an essential part of the modern kitchen. Owing to our dependence on such devices, it becomes necessary to learn the basic skills required to tackle common microwave problems.  Read more

This time of year your tumble dryer is bound to be getting plenty of use, the more we use them the likely hood of running into problems increases.  we have outlined some common faults and simple fixes to assist you in the event of tumble dryer failure…

Generally speaking, tumble dryers are fairly strong, robust machine and the occurrences of tumble dryer problems can be quite isolated. Most tumble dryer faults can be quite straightforward to deal with and can be fixed by anyone with basic electrical knowledge.

There is a good chance that your vacuum cleaner is not working as well as it should be, over a period of time and with use your vacuum cleaner’s performance will start to deteriorate and you might not realise…

For the most part, the basic construction of most vacuum cleaners is essentially the same and troubleshooting common vacuum cleaner faults can be reasonably simple. While the act of vacuum cleaner fault finding can be relatively straightforward, it might be advisable to seek professional help if there is a failure with any integral component. Safety is always a key issue while executing home repairs, and if you lack the requisite protective gear, the services of a trained service engineer might be the better option. However, this article can help you understand some of the more obvious causes of common vacuum cleaner faults.  Continue reading here

It is a simple and easy procedure to carry out this job but worth knowing as a faulty heating element is a common fault.

Safety first: always unplug the device from the mains power supply!

If your clothes are not being cleaned properly and you have noticed the door glass is not warm when your washing machine is in action the chances are your heating element has developed a fault and no longer working.

Washing machine elements can be located at the rear or the front of the machine

• Remove the access panel from your appliance by undoing the screws positioned around the edge.  Once the panel is removed you should notice the heating element straight away.  Make a note of how the element is wired or take a photo so you know exactly where to reposition the wires on the new part.
• Now unclip the wires that are attached to the existing element and then loosen the nut and the retaining clip.
• You should now be able to work the element loose and remove the element completely from the washing machine.
• Now take your new element and put it into place and retighten the nut.
• Reattach the wires into the correct places using the notes or picture taken earlier.
• Reposition the access panel and tighten the screws.

Your appliance is now ready for use again

Remember this is a general guide and changing the element on your washing machine may vary from this guide.

Selecting the correct washing machine element for your appliance

You will need to know the make and model of your appliance to ensure you select exactly the right part to fix your machine,  choose your manufacturer from the list and then enter your appliance model number into the search box or select from the list.  In some cases you will be presented with an alternative part and a genuine part, the alternative parts are generally less expensive but are still very high quality parts. Using genuine parts if you can afford them is still the best option. http://www.yourspares.co.uk/washing-machine-element

The most common cause of an oven no longer heating up is a failed oven element or cooker element, replacing the oven element yourself in most cases is relatively simple and will cost a lot less than calling out a service engineer.

Safety First

First of all you should always unplug the device and ensure that there is no electricity supply reaching the appliance.

Remove your element

The next thing to do when replacing your cooker element is to remove the old one, first open the oven door and remove the back plate form inside the oven,  these are held in by several screws which all need to be removed before you can pull the back plate out.  You should now be able to see the cooker element or oven element and notice that there maybe some visual signs of wear and tear being the cause of your ovens heating problems although this is not always the case.

You should now also notice the screws that are holding the oven element in place, these will need to be removed to free the element from it’s position.  Now disconnect the wires that are attached to the element but be careful not to let the wires fall into the appliance, if this happens it may take some time to find the wires and may require rear access to the appliance to relocate the wires.

Install the new element

Now the old faulty cooker element has been removed it is time to replace it with the new one.  Again this is usually straightforward.  Put the new element in to place and reinsert the screws and tighten them up.  Reconnect the wires to the new element and make sure they are fixed tightly to the new cooker element.  Put the back plate back into position and screw it up tightly,  in  some instance you will have to push the reset button if your cooker or oven is fitted with an RCD (circuit breaker)

Your appliance should now be ready for use but if further problems occur then it is worth calling out a service engineer to assist with fault finding and part replacement.

Locating the correct element

http://www.yourspares.co.uk/oven-elements

It’s easy to find the right element for your oven, grill or cooker, choose by selecting the manufacturer of your appliance and then either select or enter your model number.  You may see that there is more than one element showing for your appliance so in these cases it usually means that there is a genuine and a pattern (non genuine) element available for your cooker.  The genuine type is usually more expensive and generally of better quality than the pattern parts although the pattern ones are still excellent value and all are made to the correct specifications.