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Appliances

Alden Allen

2011-09-01 00:00:00

My electric bill is really high this time of the year. What can I do to make my air conditioner use less electricity?

Last month, we began discussing tips on keeping your air conditioner efficient and from using a lot of electricity during these hot summer months…cleaning your filters and coils. The importance of cleaning the coil is to allow the compressor to run smoothly and not to overwork something that is already working hard to keep your home cool. Smaller window units should be removed from the window, because if you try to spray them from the outside you will make quite a mess indoors. Larger window air conditioner guts can slide out and be taken outdoors to clean, but make sure and keep it level as you carry it as there will be some water in the bottom of the cabinet. Once outdoors, spray both coils with the cleaning agent and wash them with a garden hose. The coils at the front of the air conditioner should be flushed from inside towards the front of the air conditioner. The coils in the back should be flushed from inside the air conditioner toward the back of the air conditioner. Central air conditioner’s coil is usually located outside on a concrete pad. First, make sure all weeds and all shrubbery are at least three feet from the unit in all directions and the area above the air conditioner is unrestricted at least five foot above the coil. After you have done your landscaping, it is now time to spray down the coil with cleaning agent, but first don’t forget to turn off the power at the disconnect box. When you flush these fins and coil use a spray nozzle attached to a garden hose and rinsing from top down to dislodge the dirt from the fins and coil. Never use a high pressure washer because the power this develops could damage the fins and the coil. Now you’re ready turn the power back on and go back inside, cool down and save some money.

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Appliances

Alden Allen

2011-08-01 00:00:00

My electric bill is really high this time of the year. What can I do to make my air conditioner use less electricity?

Answer: The first and easiest thing to do is keep your air filters clean. If your air conditioner is either a central air unit or a window air conditioner, you have filters that need cleaning. These filters protect the interior coils that the air in the house is drawn through so the heat can be removed from the air. A dirty filter reduces the amount of hot air that can get to these coils, thus reducing your air conditioners efficiency. Window air conditioners have filters that are located behind the front cover and in front of these coils. Most of these filters can be cleaned by rinsing in a sink or spraying with a garden hose. Central air conditioner filters are located in the air handler and have many different types of filtering material. The blue spun fiberglass filters need to be changed every thirty days. Pleated paper filters are another type. These have a 60 to 90 day life expectancy but should only be used in newer units, less than twenty five years old. The older units don’t have a fan system powerful enough to pull air through the denser pleated filters. All air conditioners have two coils that must be kept clean. The other coil resides outdoors. This coils’ job is to get rid of the heat captured by the interior coil. You can see if it is plugged with dirt it makes the compressor work harder and is a major cause of compressor failure. The outdoor coils do not have filters to clean but they do have fins that get plugged up with dirt, leaves and trash. If you live on a gravel road your coil will need to be cleaned every two or three months. Cleaning these coils generally requires a commercial cleaning agent to remove the dirt that gets trapped deeper in the coil. Next time, we’ll discuss how to clean coils in small to large window units, as well as cleaning the coils in your central air conditioners.

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Appliances

Dennis Heidrick

2011-07-01 08:19:00

Question: My dishwasher has all of a sudden stopped getting the dishes clean and is leaving spots on my dishes. Why is this?

Answer: This could mean you have heavy mineral deposits that are restricting the pressure coming from the nozzles on the wash arms reducing the removal of food particles from your dishes. This is a problem that has built up over years of use and was made more pronounced when the government required dishwashing detergent makers to remove the phosphates from their products. One of the jobs of phosphates is to soften the hard water conditions that exist in many of our water systems, so that the detergent can remove more dirt from our dishes. Phosphates are also harmful to our ground water supplies and are also being removed from fertilizers too. They can cause an explosion of growth of algae that will form on top of our ponds and lakes that stop the sunlight from filtering into water systems. This stops the growth of the good microbes that are necessary for a healthy environment. That is why the government is requiring its removal but that really keeps you from getting clean dishes from your dishwasher. The solution to that problem is an additive that won’t hurt our eco-system and also breaks down the minerals that will build up in your dishwasher. We have discovered a product called Lemi Shine that does just that. First you must clean all the build-up out your old dishwasher. To rejuvenate your dishwasher you will need a bottle of CLR cleaner and a box of Glisten dishwasher cleaner. Start the dishwasher, empty and listen for it to drain and then to fill, all dishwashers drain first to remove any water from previous cycle, after it is done draining, pause it and add one to two cups of CLR, depending on how long it has been since the last cleaning. Now, let the dishwasher run through a complete cycle. After it’s finished add a complete box of Glisten before you restart the dishwasher. Fill up both soap dispensers and pour the remainder in the bottom of the tub. Then run it through one more complete cycle. Once it finishes the cycle, your dishwasher is now clean and ready to start really cleaning your dishes again. Fighting the mineral deposit build-up helps to remove water spots and film from your dishes. We have found Lemi Shine to be the best product for this. The following is instructions for its use: Load your dishes as you normally do. Fill the main wash compartment (the one with the door) with Lemi Shine. Fill the pre-wash compartment with a powdered dishwashing detergent. If you only have one compartment, fill it halfway with Lemi Shine and half with the powdered detergent. Using a liquid detergent will not mix well with the powdered Lemi Shine. Caution: you are not seeing things; your dishes are now actually clean!

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Appliances

Dennis Heidrick

2011-06-01 12:22:00

Question: I have to run my clothes through the dryer twice to get them totally dry. Does my dryer need to be replaced?

Answer: There is a good bet your problem might lie in the dryer venting. A dryer uses air flow as much as the heat from the dryer element or the gas burner to dry your clothes. The more efficient your dryer is, the more it depends on airflow to dry your clothes. I think that over time the lint that has escaped your lint filter has built up in the pipe that vents the heat and moisture outdoors. This build-up is restricting the dryer’s airflow and the dryer has to run a longer time to dry your clothes. This could be a dangerous situation and is also costing you a lot more money to dry your clothes. The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that over 15,000 dryer fires occur each year, causing an estimated 97 million dollars in property loss. What catches fire is the lint that builds up in your dryer ductwork. That same lint is making the dryer, which is already one of the most expensive appliances in your home to operate, even more costly. I would first recommend inspecting your dryer vent. Pull the dryer away from the wall so you can see the vent. If you find plastic or aluminum flex venting take it off and replace with a rigid or semi-rigid metal duct. Some dryers are installed in a room without an exterior wall. If this is the case, you need to make sure that any long runs of ducts under the house are also free of any plastic or aluminum flex ducting. Long dryer venting runs should only be ran with rigid vent pipe and as few elbows as possible. If your venting run is done in the correct type of pipe then the problem will be the ductwork is heavily packed with lint. This problem can be easily corrected with the proper tool. Gardus makes a tool called the “Lint Eater.” This kit includes a round brush that attaches to flexible rods that you keep adding till you have enough length to clean the entire venting run. You will use a cordless drill to spin the brush that eats thru and removes the lint blocking the vent. You want to start at the outside vent and keeping adding rods till you get all the way into the house, then pull it back out of the vent about a foot. Next, go inside and turn the dryer on to the air fluff cycle and with the drill still turning in the forward direction walk backwards pulling the rest of the rods out of the vent. The dryer will help push all the excess lint out the vent on the outside. Don’t forget to also clean the vent system inside of the dryer itself. Dryer vent cleaning should be done on a regular basis, at least once a year. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this job yourself, call your local appliance service department and make an appointment and they will (or should) clean them for you.

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Appliances

Dennis Heidrick

2011-05-01 11:25:00

QUESTION: I’m going to need a new washer, should I be considering one of new front load washers? I have noticed they are a lot more expensive.

ANSWER: There are many advantages to the higher priced front load washers; to start with they will wash larger load sizes which reduce the number of loads and saving time on laundry day. Because of the washing action which tumbles like a dryer one direction then stops and tumbles the opposite direction does a better job of removing the dirt from the clothes with less wear on the clothes as models with agitators. Getting the clothes clean should be the number 1 reason to buy a specific washer, but front load washers will also save on an average over $700 dollars a year in operation costs. Front load washer save you money in numerous ways, compared to the conventional top load washer that will use up to fifty gallons of water to wash a load of clothes, a front load uses just sixteen gallons of water. Because you are using 34 gallons less water it just makes sense you need to reduce the amount of detergent from one half to one cup to only one tablespoon. You must use a high efficiency detergent which cost just a little bit more but you will use much less. Finally, the biggest savings come from the higher spin speeds, which removes more water from the clothes and saves you both time and money, because the clothes require less time in dryer. The average time in the dryer is reduced by thirty minutes, no more waiting for the dryer to finish so you can start another load in the washer. I hope you can see that the cost of the washer you pick is far less important than the operation cost to do the laundry. Let us look at the following example: you have two washers available one is a conventional top load for $400 and the other is a high efficient front load washer that cost $800. The difference is $400 higher or twice as much, but you will have spent $700 more in operation cost by the end of the year with far less efficient top load washer. Let’s say both washers will last ten years at the end of ten years you will have spent $7000 more in operation cost than if you would bought the front load washer that was just $400 higher. I think the little extra at time of purchase would be the wiser use of your money.