Tag Archives: washing machine expert

3 Washing Machine Best Practices

For your washing machine to function optimally and last for a long time, you need to observe a set of best practices. Wondering which are these practices? Here they are as given by washer repair professionals:

Separate the garments

As much as clothes appear similar, they aren’t—they are made from different materials with different cleaning instructions. To avoid damaging your outfits, check the clothes tags for washing instructions.

While most clothes are machine washable, check the tags for further instructions as some clothes might get damaged. For example, some might shrink if you clean them using hot water, while others might not be able to handle bleach.

You should put aside clothes labeled as dry clean or hand wash only.

Besides separating the clothes by the material they are made from and their cleaning methods, also separate by color. Separate the lights from the darks and wash them separately.

If you are wondering what should go where, here is a guide:

Darks: These include dark blues, blacks, greys, dark purples, and dark reds

Lights: These are whites, yellows, pinks, light greens, light blues, and lavender.

Whites include anything that is 100% white. You should avoid washing the whites with other light colors.

Jeans or dark denims: They tend to bleed their color, and you should wash them in their separate load.

Use the right washing cycle.

The wash cycles determine the speed at which the washing machine spins. Most washing machines have two primary speeds: a speed that agitates or tumbles the clothes with water and another that spins the water out of the clothes.

The cycle you choose should match the fabric of the cloth. There are four main cycles you can use:

Delicate cycle: The delicate cycle uses the slow approach, where it’s meant to reduce agitation and prevent wear and tear. While it’s highly effective at preventing the clothes from getting damaged, it doesn’t properly clean them.

Normal cycle: This cycle goes with a fast approach where it tumbles and spins fast. It’s highly effective at cleaning extremely dirty and sweaty clothes, and it’s the cycle that most people use regularly. Using this cycle, some of the best fabrics to clean are denim, cotton, towels, and beddings.

Special cycle: You will find these cycles in modern washing machines. The cycles vary in functionality and among washing machines. For example, you will find some machines that will sanitize, others steam, and so on.

Permanent or perm press: The perm pres cycle goes in a fast/slow approach, and it’s best for fabrics that need fast agitation to clean but a slow spin to prevent wrinkles. You should use this cycle when cleaning synthetic fibers such as knits, rayons, acetates, and polyesters.

You should use this cycle because synthetic fibers are known to pill or even create small balls of fiber, and spinning the fabric slowly prevents the piling from coming about.

Use the right temperature.

The same way you should use the right cleaning cycle is the same way you should take caution and use the right cleaning temperature. If you do your research, you will find that most experts recommend that you clean your clothes with hot water, which is for a reason.

When you use hot water, you not only have cleaner clothes, but the hot water also sanitizes clothes and kills germs. It also dissolves detergents more effectively and removes any built-up grime, so your clothes look cleaner and brighter.

While hot water is great, it can shrink the clothes, fade the fabrics, or even set certain stains. Some people have even pointed to the hot water being an expensive addition to their energy bill.

If you don’t want to use hot water, appliance repair Alexandria recommends using water at different temperatures, especially if the materials in question allow it.

The common options include:

Cool water: You can use cool water if cleaning delicate items or items with dyes that might bleed. Cool water is also ideal for clothes that aren’t necessarily dirty.

Warm water is best suited for cleaning dark colors and moderately dirty loads.

If you are unsure about the right water temperature to go with, get the input of a professional.

When Should You Replace A Washing Machine? Appliance Repair Professionals Answer

appliance repiar

Like other appliances, it comes a time when you have to get a new washing machine. When should you replace a washing machine? You will hear many people asking. Sadly, signs that your appliance is on its way out aren’t too obvious, so you have to be keen to pick them out.

To help you out, here are signs given by appliance repair professionals that your appliance is giving up on you:

The machine is leaking excessively.

Do you have water on your floor every time you do laundry? Your washing machine has a problem. Some problems are easy to fix, but in other cases, they are a sign of a much larger problem and it’s time to get a new appliance.

Your appliance will leak due to plenty of reasons. One of the most common ones is due to a broken hose. Most washing machines have two hoses: one for hot water and the other for cold.

These hoses connect the washer to the water source, which is typically in the wall. Like other hoses, since they are pressurized, they are prone to cracking and rupturing.

If having a leaking problem, inspect the hoses. If they have cracked, you have nothing to worry about as they are easy to replace. To avoid future leakages, replace both hoses. Not one.

The leakage might also be due to a damaged seal. Seals don’t come cheap, so before replacing them, determine whether you should get new seals or invest in a new appliance.

If your washing machine is more than 10 years old, you are better off getting a new unit.

You also should get a new appliance if the washer tub is cracked. This is because fixing a cracked tub is a major repair and not worth fixing if you have an old appliance.

The appliance is making a lot of noise.

It’s common for the washing machine to make some noise when working, but if yours is noisier than anticipated, you have a problem in your hands that you need to address as soon as possible.

Your appliance will sometimes sound as if it’s about to take a flight. You shouldn’t worry too much about this problem as it’s often a sign your machine is unbalanced. To fix the noise, position the washer so that all the feet are level.

You can do this by building or buying a platform for the washing machine to sit on. You can also check whether your washing machine has adjustable levels on its feet. Most of the modern appliances have them, and are easy to use.

If you try leveling the washing machine, but the noise won’t stop, you must be having a problem with your motor mount or drum. Contact a service technician to determine whether you can fix it and the amount of money it will cost you.

Again, if your appliance is old and the repair professional is charging a premium fee, there is no point in trying to fix it. Get a new unit.

Water doesn’t fill the drum.

If the drum in your washer isn’t filling up, you must be having delayed cycle selection, a problem with hot and cold water faucets, and hose kinks.

If you inspect all of these areas and they aren’t the source of the problem, your appliance might be having a complication such as with the water intake valve or filter, and this one needs an expert washing machine technician to look into it.

Issues with the switch and belts can also bring about this problem. Belts are easy to fix, but if the issue is due to a malfunctioning lid, you have to set out a significant amount to cater for the repairs.

Depending on the age of the washing machine and the amount charged by the repair professional, you should determine whether you should repair the appliance or get a new appliance.

Final thoughts

Regardless of whether you decide to get a new washing machine or stretch more life from the old one, remember, a washing machine has a lifespan of about 10 years. If your unit requires complex repairs, you are better off replacing it, but if the repairs are minor, let a washer repair Springfield professional look into it.

Can You Run A Washing Machine With Just Cold Water? Washer Repair Experts Answer

Ah, the washing machine. Hands down one of the greatest inventions of our time, it not only frees you time but saves you energy too. Homeowners are used to washing their clothes with hot water that they can’t imagine using cold water.

What happens when the hot cycle fails, and you can’t find a washer repair professional? Can you run a washing machine with just cold water?

The answer to this question is a resounding YES. Studies have shown that most of the clothes come out just as clean with cold water.

Washing clothes in cold water? Tips to consider

For you to get ideal results, you should put these tips into consideration:

  • Always sort the whites, lights, and dark colors out and wash them separately.
  • Always use high-quality detergents, preferably those made to be used in cold water. When using the detergents, ensure you use the right amount. Remember, when you use too much of it, most of it will build up in the clothes leaving too little for cleaning.
  • Consider adding additives to the detergents to boost the cleaning power of the detergent.
  • Like when cleaning using hot or warm water, take care not to overload the washer. Loading the washer properly ensures that it optimally which not only saves you time, it also extends the life of the appliance.
  • Before you begin cleaning, search for stained and extra dirty pieces of clothing and pre-treat them.
  • If cleaning many too dirty items, you will find some of the clothes still dirty after running the cleaning cycle. Before you remove the clothes from the washing machine, inspect them and if still dirty, repeat the cleaning.
  • In winter, be ultra-cautious and ensure the water is not below 60f as the clothes won’t clean well at this temperature.
  • For clothes that are heavily soiled and grease-stained, clean them with warm or hot water.

When does it make sense to clean with cold water?

Dark clothes: Washing clothes in cold water is an excellent way of preserving color. Studies also show that dark clothes clean better in cold water. Killing two birds with one stone, you might say.

Delicates: Clothes made from lace or silk can easily get damaged by hot water, which makes it logical to clean them with hot water.

Clothes that wrinkle or shrink easily: Hot water is known to wrinkle and shrink clothes, which gives them a cheap look. If you have clothes where wrinkles could be a problem, you can solve the issue by washing using cold water.

Lack of care label: To avoid damaging your precious clothes, it’s recommended you look out for the care label that guides you on the best way to handle the clothes. If you are getting ready to wash the clothes, then you notice you are missing the care label, don’t fret. Clean them with cold water, and you won’t have to worry about causing damage.

Situations when it doesn’t make sense to clean using cold water

While cold water has its perks, there are several situations when it doesn’t make sense of cleaning with cold water. Some of these situations include:

When you need high levels of sanitation: Some of these situations include when you are washing undergarments, sheets, and sick person’s clothes. Although laundry detergent does a great job of cleaning the clothes, hot water works excellently at killing the germs.

When using powdered detergents: Powdered detergents don’t dissolve easily, and in most cases, you need hot water to dissolve them completely. Using cold water with powdered detergents causes streaks on the clothes, which gives the clothes a cheap, ugly look.

When using a cheap detergent: When you are looking to save on detergents, you are better off using hot water. According to appliance repair Northern VA professionals, cheap detergents don’t have enough cleaning power to properly clean the soil and grime. Hot water comes in handy at helping in getting rid of the dirt.

When you have lower groundwater temperatures: In areas such as Alaska and Maine, where the temperatures are usually too low, the cold water might be too cold for cleaning making, it sensible to use hot water.

Washer Repair: Washing Machine Dos And Don’ts

Despite washing machines being around for a long time, homeowners do things that put the machines at the risk of getting damaged. Washer repair experts recommend that you be cautious of the things you do to your washing appliance. Here are a few washing machine dos and don’ts you should be cautious about:

Do read the tags

Washing machines have technologically made great leaps over the years, and they make cleaning easy and efficient. Unfortunately, despite the advances, they still can’t read tags and choose the right settings—you have to help them.

Before you put clothes in the washing machine, check the manufacturer’s instructions on the right settings. Failing to read and follow the tag can cause the fabric colors to bleed, the fabric to shrink, or even damage your entire laundry.

Do learn how to operate the washing machine

There are all types of washing machines that have different settings and set up methods. To ensure you don’t damage your laundry, learn how to set your washing machine. This way, you will know how to choose the right settings for the specific clothes you are looking to wash.

The cool thing is that all the information is on the manufacturer’s manual. Don’t be like the other homeowners that throw away the manual as soon as they get the machine. Go through the manual and understand all the bells and whistles of the machine.

Do zip the zippers

When you are in a hurry stuffing clothes in the washing machine, it’s common to forget about the zippers on the jeans and hoodies. When you put the zipped clothes in the same load as the delicate clothing, the zip can snug on the threads and pull at them.

To avoid this, always take a double check on all the zipped clothes and leave the zippers unzipped.

While you are at it, also take a look at the pockets. Do they have coins, markers, or any other foreign objects? Remove them if present.

When the foreign objects fall out of the pockets, they end up clogging the washer’s drain. This not only brings about a lot of inconvenience, but it also requires you to hire an expensive washer appliance repair company to fix the problem.

Don’t overload the machine

It can be tempting to want to clean all the clothes in one washer cycle. While this is possible when you have a small load, you have to do two or more cycles when you have a lot of clothes to clean.

Don’t put too many clothes than the machine can handle. For the machine to optimally clean the clothes, water should get around all the clothes.

When you overload the machine, water doesn’t have enough room to get around, hence you don’t give the clothes the clean look they deserve.

Overloading also puts the machine at the risk of getting damaged. The practice makes the motor work much harder than it should, which increases its likelihood of blowing up.

To avoid this, always double-check the maximum capacity of the washing machine. You also should make a habit of weighing the laundry bag before you put the clothes in the machine. When in doubt, clean the clothes in multiple loads.

Do clean the washing machine

Since washing machines do the cleaning work they don’t need to be cleaned, right? Wrong! Just like any other appliance in your home, you need to clean the washing machine regularly to keep it functioning efficiently. The practice also ensures the machine lasts for a long time.

When cleaning the machine, you pick up even the minor issues and fix them before they get worse.

To keep the appliance in pristine shape, clean it once a month. Clean the machine thoroughly both on the inside and outside.

Do level the machine

Does your washing appliance shake and rattle, or even worse, “walk” forward while in use? It means it’s not sitting level. In addition to destroying the floor and walls, an unleveled appliance also damages the internal mechanisms.

You don’t need to hire an appliance repair Northern VA professional to level the machine for you. Simply adjust the legs until they are even with the floor. Once done, gently lean on the machine to confirm the legs aren’t shifting around.