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Spring has finally sprung! With nicer weather comes the urge to bust out the yellow rubber gloves, vacuum and mop to give your house a good scrub down. Now is also the perfect time to spring clean your home appliances!

Properly maintaining them will likely add years of life to your home appliances, and preclude the need for replacing them for a long time. Here are some easy ways to “spring clean” your appliances without spending hours and hours cleaning. Follow these tips and your home appliances will be sparkling clean!

Dishwasher Spring Cleaning Tips

Pull out the dishwasher racks and wipe down the inside of your dishwasher with warm, soapy water. Scrub the rack’s wheels with a toothbrush to get all the hidden bacteria out. Then fill the detergent cup with Affresh Dishwasher Cleaner (recommended by our Appliance Repair Experts). This will get any lime deposits, stains, and icky odors out of your dishwasher. Dust the fan slats and clean the door with an all-purpose cleaner. Wipe it all dry with a clean cloth.

You may think your dishwasher gets clean when you run each cycle – and it mostly does – but a once or twice-a-year scrub can ensure your dishes and dishwasher stay safe and bacteria-free.

You can purchase Affresh Dishwasher Cleaner at our office in Urbandale. Stop by today to pick some up!

Microwave Spring Cleaning Tips

Place a coffee mug filled with water and some lemon slices and your microwave and heat on high power for 3 minutes. Then, let the water sit for 3 minutes. The steam will soften and dried food spills and the lemon aroma will eliminate any odors. Then wipe the entire interior and exterior of the microwave with a cloth and warm, soapy water. Dry with a clean cloth.

Refrigerator Spring Cleaning Tips

Every 6 months, take all the food and shelving out of your fridge to give it a good scrub down. Wash the shelving and the interior of your fridge with warm, soapy water and throw out any expired food. Your fridge will look fantastic, and you won’t smell any more mystery odors when you open the door in search of a midnight snack.

Oven Spring Cleaning Tips

Spring is the perfect time to give your oven a deep clean. Scrape off any food spills and then make a paste with vinegar and baking soda. With gloves, spread the paste on all parts of your oven and leave it for a few hours (overnight, if you’d like). Then use some water to remove the paste. You’ll be amazed how clean it will be – no scrubbing or harsh chemicals necessary.

Washing Machine Spring Cleaning Tips

Disinfecting your washing machine is easy – just run the machine with hot water, put some distilled white vinegar and baking soda in, and let it sit for 30 to 60 minutes. Then restart your machine, let the water drain, and wipe it dry when you’re done. We also recommend Affresh Washer Cleaner – specifically formulated to break up dirt and residue in your washer (available at our office in Urbandale).

To prevent smelly odors from developing in the future, make sure you leave the door open when it’s not in use, so excess moisture doesn’t build up.

No longer just for popping popcorn or heating TV dinners, the microwave is a kitchen staple both at home and in the office break room! Microwave ovens are so quick and efficient because they channel heat energy directly to the molecules (tiny particles) inside food. Yet, there are many items that are not safe for your microwave. To keep your microwave working longer, NEVER try to heat these items:

1. Paper Bags. Not including popcorn bags, your standard paper lunch sack can catch fire in the microwave! Did you know that popcorn bags have special susceptors in it that keeps the bag from burning? This thin layer of plastic created to handle the radio waves produced by the microwave! The fumes and toxins released from a regular paper bag during the heating process can potentially cause a fire.
2. Aluminum Foil. It’s easy to forget this cardinal microwave rule when restaurants often box up your food in an aluminum container! The metal interior of your microwave is made to reflect radio waves that warm up the food. Aluminum foil and other metal reflect the waves back. This will result in sparks and potentially a fire.
3. Non-Microwave Safe Mugs. Did you know that most plastic travel mugs should not be microwaved? Plastic cups that are not specifically labeled “Microwave Safe” may release carcinogens when heated in the microwave. Also, any mug that has a metallic graphic on it can also cause sparks similar to heating aluminum foil.
4. Eggs in its shell. You can cook eggs in the microwave, but always crack them out of their shell when doing so! Eggs will explode when they are heated to a certain temperature, making a very sticky mess! There have also been cases where the egg will stay intact until taken out of the microwave and can cause damage or harm when exploding in one’s hands.
5. Styrofoam. It’s easy to microwave leftovers straight in its styrofoam container or to reheat a hot drink in a styrofoam cup. Styrofoam is a type of plastic that releases harmful toxins when microwaved. The material is also prone to melting onto your food when it reaching high microwave temperatures.

For more information on what you should or should not microwave, refer to your user manual before microwaving anything that is not explicitly labeled “microwave-safe.” If your microwave is broken, call Westside today to schedule your repair at 515-276-8899.

It is recommended to rinse off your dishes before placing them into the dishwasher. Failure to do so will eventually accumulate old food particles down below into the sump housing. Food will clog up the passage ways, preventing proper water pressure to spin the spray arms. When the spray arms don’t spin, the water will not properly to clean your dishes. Not only will this affect cleaning, but it will leave dry crusty spots on the glass. You may also notice that the dishwasher has a bad odor inside.

You may be surprised that there is a “right” and “wrong” way to load your dishwasher. When loading your dishes incorrectly, this will cause your dishes to come out dirty.

Load small dishes and cups on the top rack.  Position the bottom rack so the big dishes gradually get smaller as you work your way up to the front part of the rack. The reason it’s important to load bigger dishes in the rear is because it will allow the water to spray along the inside front panel where your dispenser flap with detergent is. If you load the bigger dishes in front, it will take most of the water spraying around the dispensor flap area preventing the detergent from mixing in well. It can also prevent the flap from opening causing no detergent to release.

Lastly, make sure you run the hot water from the sink before you run your dishwasher. This will allow your machine to inject hot water immediately into the dishwasher. Some houses take longer for the water to heat up, and if thats the case your dishwasher will not clean properly with luke warm water. The water temperature should be around 120 degrees farenheit and no more than 150 to wash normal. Ignore this if you have instant hot water feeding to your machine.

Your dishwasher DOES NOT have a grinder like a sink garbage disposal… So please don’t used it like one. Rinse off your dishes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean clean them.  Remove any chunky food particles when throwing left overs in the garbage and rinse off lightly any sauce or grease. Also check to make sure your glassware or tupperware are dishwasher safe. If the glass breaks or the plastic melts it can break the propeller inside.

Please read your user care manual for helpful tips you need to know about your machine. This blog is just basic tips on how you can get the most out of your dishwasher and make it last. Refer to your manual for more in-depth information.

Regular maintenance has been proven to increase safety, improve efficiency and extend the life of your appliances. Part of that regular maintenance includes dryer vent cleaning, which is an essential service every couple years. Dryer vents accumulate debris and lint over time, which is an extreme fire hazard. In fact, clogged dryer vents are responsible for nearly 12,000 household fires each year!

Take the clogged dryer vent challenge! If you answer YES to one or more of these questions, your dryer vent may be clogged, increasing your risk for a household fire and decreasing efficiency in your dryer.

• Do your clothes take longer and longer to dry?
• Do your clothes get fully dry?
• Are your clothes hotter than normal at the end of the cycle?
• Is the outside of your dryer very hot?
• Is the outside exhaust vent flapper able to open fully?
• Does your laundry room become more humid than usual?
• Do you have a burnt smell in the laundry room?

Along with preventing a fire hazard in your home, dryer vent cleaning also benefits you through shorter dry time for clothes, less wear and tear on your dryer, and lower utility costs.

Call 515-276-8899 to schedule a dryer vent cleaning today, and ask about our current specials!

Des Moines, IA (4/28/2016) – Your fireplace is always on display. It is an integral part of your living room and often a main focal point in your home. As the weather gets warmer, now is the time to invest in your gas fireplace repair or preventative maintenance. Westside Appliance Repair just announced that the company now services and repairs gas fireplaces. Our well-trained service technicians will thoroughly inspect your fireplace to ensure that it is operating properly, and clean it inside and out to make it look and work like new.

While we all hope that it won’t be fireplace weather anytime soon, May is a great time to spring clean your fireplace so you do not have to worry about it when the chilly fall season rolls around. Westside Appliance Repair repairs almost all brands and models of gas fireplaces.

Wondering how to know if your gas fireplace needs repair? If your fireplace displays one of the following symptoms, give Westside a call:

• Not lighting
• Flame going out
• Flames are too low
• No gas flow
• Flames are too high
• Smells of gas
• Smells bad
• Clicking
• Too much soot

If any of these symptoms are showing, or you have any other concerns, give us a call at 515-276-8899. We can fix it!

About Westside Appliance Repair:

Westside Appliance Repair is your source for expert appliance repair and the largest stock of appliance parts in the area. Located on the west side of Des Moines for easy access to anywhere in Central Iowa. Serving customers in the Des Moines area since 1941. Visit our website at westsideappliancerepair.com or call us at 515-276-8899 to learn more or to schedule an appointment. Are you more of a Do-It-Yourselfer? Call us or stop by our store on Douglas Ave. across from Homemakers Furniture for more information on our stock of parts.

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Des Moines (3/10/2016) – Westside Appliance Repair was awarded the title of “Best of Des Moines” in the Home Repair Service category. Des Moines community members voted on businesses in various categories in which they believe to be the best in Des Moines. Westside is humbled and honored for the recognition from its happy customers and other Cityview Magazine readers.

Westside is known best around town for its timely repairs, competitive pricing, friendly customer service and for having the largest selection of parts in Central Iowa. The company is also Iowa’s only Whirlpool Factory Certified Care Center, meaning its technicians were trained by Whirlpool’s manufacturer experts and passed rigorous Whirlpool repair training.

“We’ve been working hard for 75 years to provide the best appliance repair service in the Des Moines metro,” states Westside Appliance Repair’s owner, Joe Chmelka. “Currently, we have the most appliance repair technicians, so we can get to your home faster. Our appliance repair technicians also have the most experience in the Des Moines metro. On average, our techs have over 16 years of appliance repair experience.”

To learn more about Westside Appliance Repair and to see what our excellent customers have to say about our service, visit westsideappliancerepair.com. To schedule your home appliance repair, call 515-276-8899 or visit the website to access Westside’s online scheduler. Westside can usually perform a diagnostic on your appliance within 48 hours.

About Westside Appliance Repair:

Westside Appliance Repair is your source for expert appliance repair and the largest stock of appliance parts in the area. Located on the west side of Des Moines for easy access to anywhere in Central Iowa. Serving customers in the Des Moines area since 1941. Visit our website at westsideappliancerepair.com or call us at 515-276-8899 to learn more or to schedule an appointment. Are you more of a Do-It-Yourselfer? Call us or stop by our store on Douglas Ave. across from Homemakers Furniture for more information on our stock of parts.

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