Appliance Care Guides

You want your appliances to last a long time—and we are here to help. Our appliance experts can help you keep your appliances running smoothly. These tips can help save you time, extend the life of your appliances, and help them run more efficiently. Throughout the life of your appliances, you will probably troubleshoot an issue at some point or another. Read our disclaimer for complete details about the information we present in this section of the site. Remember we are only a phone call away!

Remember: Safety First

• Always unplug the appliance first
• Watch out for sharp edges—especially on dryers
• Never wear jewelry of any type while working on equipment
• Tie back long hair
• Ensure that your work area has ample lighting
• Wear steel-toed safety shoes
• Lift appliances using your legs and not your back.

Specialty Tools You Can Use

• Hose Pinch-Off Pliers
• Hose Clamp Pliers
• Snap Ring Pliers
• Spanner Wrench
• Nut Driver Set
• Wire Stripper
• Clamp-On Ammeter
• Volt-Ohm-Amp Meter
• Non-Contact Voltage Tester
• Test Leads & Jumper Wires
• Wrench Set

If you find that you need professional help along the way, call (888) 998-2011as soon as possible!

Appliance Life Expectancy

Do you know how long your freezer will last? How many years should you expect your washer to function? To effectively manage your household budget, it helps to know the life expectancy of your appliances. This can help you determine if an appliance can be saved or if its time might be up. The best way to ensure your appliances have a long, healthy life is to perform regular maintenance and have them checked periodically by an appliance repair expert.

To schedule your next appointment, please give us a call at (888) 998-2011.

Major Home Appliances (Excludes Commercial Appliances)

Life expectancy of appliances as reported in the 23rd annual portrait of the U.S. appliance industry. Regular maintenance can help extend your appliance’s lifetime; however, it can come to a point where it would be advisable to replace your appliance rather than repair it.

Has your appliance reached its life expectancy? Call us at (888) 998-2011 for an appointment!

They won’t cause any damage to your dryer, but they can lead to clogged lint filters or coating of your moisture sensor. If you use them, be sure to clean the screen of your lint filter and wipe off your sensor.

On average, a large load of clothes should only take around 45 minutes to dry. If you are noticing that your clothes are averaging more than 1 hour to dry, you might want to have your dryer vents checked.

On average, a large load of clothes should only take around 45 minutes to dry. If you are noticing that your clothes are averaging more than 1 hour to dry, you might want to have your dryer vents checked.

The smell is caused by the grease and food your oven is burning off. When possible, it is a good idea to create additional ventilation in the kitchen when cleaning your oven, perhaps by opening windows.

The glow is caused by a “glow-bar” igniter used to ignite the gas in your oven. It glows as it is heating up, but unless it reaches the correct temperature, the gas valve will not open and gas will not ignite-and your oven will not heat up. If your igniter is not heating up properly, you may need to replace it.

It is very possible that you are using more detergent than is necessary for the load size you are washing. Double check the detergent instructions to ensure you are using the correct amount. If you want to remove the necessity for laundry detergent, call and schedule a pureWash ^®system installation.

Your washer is actually combining hot and cold water to create the warm water and during certain times of the year cold water gets colder. So, during the colder months, you can expect your warm cycle to run cooler. You might also want to check to see if there is anything blocking the hot water.

Yes, you can, as long as there is not a metal grid on the back of it. If there is, you should make sure you leave 1″ of space between the unit and the wall.

The best option is to take it to your local landfill. However, the law does require that you have the refrigerant evacuated first. Your local appliance repair company should be able to do that for you.

Only if it is a self-defrosting refrigerator and the temperature in your garage drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, it is possible that the oil could thicken and cause premature compression failure.

When asking “How much is a new one?” you need to consider both the quality of appliance you can afford as a replacement and the option of having your existing appliance properly repaired by a competent professional. We can diagnose and evaluate your appliance to determine if it’s in your best interest to repair or replace it and make a recommendation accordingly. Also, another cost associated with buying a new appliance is the “aggra-dollars.” That is, the aggravation and time spent that goes along with shopping for a new appliance: having it delivered, getting it installed and disposing of your old one. If you’ve experienced this joy recently, you’ll realize that the aggra-dollar factor can be costly.

Retail prices for major household appliances have stayed flat over the past 15 years even though manufacturing costs and inflation have risen steadily during that time. Manufacturers today continue to offer low prices on their lower quality appliances and then offer their choice lines of appliances at a higher price point. So, where $400 would buy you a top-quality washer 15 years ago, that same $400 today would only buy you a low-end machine that you’ll be throwing away or repairing every 3-4 years.

What has changed? The difference between the $400 washer of today and yesterday (or the $300 dishwasher or the $350 oven range, or the $300 dryer, or the $600 refrigerator, etc.) is in the internal components used in the machines. The lower end machines today are constructed of lower quality materials than similarly-priced machines 15 years ago. In part, this is attributable to the globalization of manufacturing with various internal parts made at different plants all over the world.

While this has allowed manufacturers to cap retail prices for low-end machines over the last 15 years, it has also contributed to a degradation of quality. Therefore, the high-quality appliances you’d buy today command a correspondingly higher price tag, realistically reflecting the increased costs of manufacturing for high quality machines. You should expect top-end appliances to retail for approximately:

1. Dishwashers – $900
2. Washers – $1,100
3. Dryers – $600

Believe it or not, an appliance can be bumped or “hum” unplugged. We find this to be a common issue.

Omaha Appliance repairs and services all major household appliances…regardless of brand.