We’ve all been there: You’re doing your usual kitchen cleaning routine when you suddenly notice some specks of crud on your stove’s front burner. Then, as you inspect the stove more closely, you realize there’s caked-on debris and grime everywhere. You’re shocked. How did you not notice this before?! 

Don’t beat yourself up! It’s easy for gunk to hide away in the coils of your electric stove’s burners. This happens all the time to even the most fastidious cleaners. 

But now that you’ve discovered your dirty stove coils, you need to clean them—fast. Here’s how to do it!

Things You Need

• Dish soap
• Baking soda
• Water
• Dish rag or scrubbing brush
• Your muscles!

What to Do

1. Before you begin, make sure the burners aren’t hot!
2. Remove the burners by tilting them up and gently pulling them out.
3. Apply a dab of dish soap and a splash of water to your rag or brush. Carefully wash the burner coils and rinse them without submerging them in water or getting any part of the electrical connection wet.
4. Now, for the caked-on crud: Combine baking soda and water to form a thick paste. Apply this paste to the crud and let it sit for 20 minutes. Scrub with your rag or brush and rinse. 
5. Towel off your sparkling-clean burners and then let them air dry. Make sure they are completely dry before putting them back on your stove.

And there you have it! With these simple steps, you’ll have clean, gunk-free electric stove burners in no time. Good luck!

When you have a dishwasher that’s not draining, post-meal cleanup can start to get a little frustrating. Fortunately, troubleshooting this issue is actually something you can do yourself!

In this blog post, All Brands Appliance Repair will walk you through the steps of troubleshooting a dishwasher that won’t drain. Run through this checklist and see if your problem is solved!

Troubleshooting Checklist for a Dishwasher That Won’t Drain

Here’s what to do:

1. Locate your dishwasher’s filter. It’ll be at the bottom of the tub, either underneath the spray arm or in the back. 
2. Clear any debris out of the filter. Large pieces of food or shreds of paper or plastic may not have broken down properly and could be blocking the filter. You can remove this debris by simply wiping it away. If your unit has a cage around your filter, though, you’ll need to unscrew that first. 
3. Access your dishwasher’s drain hose. First, disconnect your dishwasher’s power by unplugging it or turning off the circuit breaker. Then, unscrew your dishwasher’s toe-kick, a.k.a. the panel near the floor, which is where you’ll find the drain hose. (The drain hose is usually the only hose with ridges, but check your owner’s manual if there’s any doubt.)
4. Check your drain hose’s airflow. Do this by loosening the clamp around the drain hose, disconnecting the drain hose from the pump, and blowing through the drain hose with your mouth. If there are any blockages or kinks in the hose preventing airflow, remove them. 
5. Check your dishwasher’s inlet pipe. This is where your dishwasher connects to the water source under your sink. If there’s any corrosion or buildup, clear it out using a sharp tool like a screwdriver.
6. See if your dishwasher has a drain valve. Hint: If it has a valve bracket, it has a drain valve. Most dishwasher models have one. This valve is what prevents water from flowing back into the dishwasher after it’s been drained.
7. Test the drain valve by pushing on the bracket. Does it move freely, or is it stuck in place? If it’s stuck, then the electrical component that controls it is probably burnt out and needs to be replaced.

If you run through this whole checklist and your dishwasher starts draining again, great! Your work is done. However, if your dishwasher still isn’t draining after you clear out blockages, or if you discover that a component needs replacing, you’ll need to call in a technician.

At All Brands Appliance Repair, we’re your source for professional, affordable dishwasher repairs in Wilmington and beyond. Call today to schedule an appointment!

Everyone who owns a garbage disposal recognizes how fast and easy it makes kitchen cleanup. Just rinse the food debris off your cutting boards, plates, and pans into the garbage disposal, and voila—half your cleanup is already done!

Better yet, dumping food scraps into the garbage disposal instead of the trash bin means you won’t have rotten food stinking up your kitchen.

For these reasons, garbage disposals have gained a reputation for convenience and cleanliness. However, the benefits of a garbage disposal only last as long as you treat your unit right. If you’re continually trying to flush items that don’t belong in your disposal, you’re going to cause clogs and irreparable damage to your blades.

That’s why All Brands Appliance Repair has put together this list of things you should never put down your garbage disposal. Take a look for yourself!

What Not to Use in Your Garbage Disposal

• Coffee grounds
• Pasta
• Bones
• Oatmeal
• Nuts
• Onion skins
• Egg shells
• Household trash (e.g. paper towels, plastic bags, wrappers, banana peels, etc.)
• Fibrous vegetables (e.g. pumpkin, squash, celery, rhubarb, corn husks)
• Potato peels
• Fruit pits (e.g. from peaches, plums, nectarines, avocados, etc.)
• Harsh cleaning chemicals (e.g. drain cleaner, bleach)
• Paint
• Seafood shells

If you’ve mistakenly put some of these objects down the drain and now you’re worried about the condition of your garbage disposal, don’t hesitate to reach out. All Brands Appliance Repair can inspect your unit and make sure everything’s running smoothly. Call today for help!

You’re probably aware that household clothes dryers are a potential fire hazard. But do you realize how hazardous they really are? 

The National Fire Protection Association estimates 17,000 home dryer fires are reported each year. This makes clothes dryers one of the leading causes of household fires in the country!

These fires result in roughly $236 million in property damage, 380 injuries, and 51 deaths annually—which means we should all be doing as much as we can to prevent household dryer fires.

And given the fact that approximately 34% of clothes dryer fires are caused by dangerous buildups in dryer vents, that means it’s your responsibility to keep your dryer vent as clean as possible.

To that end, here’s what you need to know about what causes dryer fires and how they start. With this knowledge, you’ll be better equipped to protect your home and your family from fire hazards! 

Contributing Factors of Home Dryer Fires

The two primary causes of clothes dryer fires are:

• Lint buildup
• Airflow restriction

Lint, as you probably know, is a highly combustible material. This makes lint accumulation a major fire hazard. And when there’s poor ventilation due to improperly designed ductwork, the hot air from the dryer has nowhere to go. This combination of flammable materials and unmitigated heat can often lead to tragic results. 

How to Prevent Home Dryer Fires

Therefore, to minimize your risk of having a dryer fire at home, you need to avoid lint buildup and increase airflow. Below are some ways to do that.

To improve airflow:

• Be sure the dryer’s exhaust duct is venting to the outside of your building (not the attic or basement). 
• Use an exhaust duct made of solid metal—not vinyl or foil, which are highly combustible and usually come in accordion or spiral designs that catch lint easily. 
• When installing a dryer duct in a tightly confined space, do not bend or crush the duct. This will greatly restrict airflow.
• Make the length of your exhaust duct as short as possible.
• Optimize ductwork dimensions for airflow: use a vent pipe that’s 4 inches in diameter and an exterior exhaust hood that has an opening of 16 square inches.

To reduce lint buildup:

• Clean out the lint trap after each load of laundry.
• Use a lint brush or vacuum attachment to occasionally remove hard-to-reach lint from the corners and crevices of your lint trap.
• Every few years, hire a technician to take apart your unit and thoroughly vacuum it out. (Many people don’t realize that lint collects inside the unit itself; the lint trap doesn’t catch it all.)
• Every few years, hire a ductwork specialist to inspect and clean your ducts.

There you have it! By following these safety guidelines, you’ll dramatically decrease your risk of experiencing a dryer fire at home. 

If you have any questions or need any other help with your dryer, don’t hesitate to call All Brands Appliance Repair!

Your dishwasher is a convenient appliance that exists only to make sure your dishes are clean. When it stops performing this essential function, it can be discouraging.

However, before you call an appliance repair service, there are a couple of things you can do to make sure your dishwasher continues to clean correctly. Keep reading to find out!

What You Need to Know

The first thing that you can do to make sure that your dishwasher cleans your dishes correctly is fairly simple: operate your dishwasher correctly. This means using the right type of detergent, making sure that your water is getting hot enough, and loading the dishes correctly. 

Even though you might assume that you’re doing all of these things correctly, different dishwashers have different instructions. Especially if you’re using a secondhand dishwasher, this information is absolutely essential to making sure that your dishes are getting clean. Read the owner’s manual for model-specific instructions.

Go-To Dishwasher Cleaning Solutions

Two of the quickest solutions to dishwasher woes only require simple cleaning and inspection. 

1. Clean the Spray Arm. The spray arm is the rotating part at the bottom of the dishwasher that helps soak dishes and rinse them after the detergent is applied. You may need to check your dishwasher’s manual in order to locate the spray arm. 

Most spray arms can be removed and cleaned out fairly simply. Each spray arm has small holes that expel water when the dishwasher is in use, and these holes are easily clogged with food particles or dirt. Cleaning these holes out will improve your dishwasher’s performance no matter what, so it’s worth inspecting the spray arms. Our second solution requires this arm to be removed anyway.

2. Clean the Dishwasher Filter. The filter is often located under the spray arm on the bottom of your unit. This is what keeps all the food that gets cleaned off of your dishes from being put back into your water system. As a result, debris often gathers here. 

If it’s possible to remove the filter screen from your filter (again, consult your dishwasher’s manual if you aren’t sure), you should. Cleaning this out and removing all the debris gathered here is essential. You can use a vacuum that is intended for wet materials to suck out the food and other debris and keep this area clean.

Other Solutions

Other methods of maintaining your dishwasher’s performance include checking that the dishwasher is getting enough water (check to see that the dishwasher is full up to the heating coil when it is finished filling, before the wash cycle). If the dishwasher isn’t getting enough water, the float may be stuck. Once you have located this part, you can check to make sure that it is operating as it should with the level of the water. 

Otherwise, the inlet screen or valve may be at fault. You can manually check these parts as well. 

Unfortunately, if none of these solutions make your dishwasher perform better, it may be time to call an appliance repair service You can contact All Brands Appliance Repair for advice, consultation, and to make an appointment!

Although convection ovens are more expensive than traditional ones, the advantages make the higher cost worth it!

To start, convection ovens have a built-in fan at the back that circulates heat, which greatly increases their efficiency. By evenly circulating heated air throughout the oven, convection ovens allow you and your family to enjoy juicier meats, faster cooking times, and tastier roasted vegetables and casseroles.

In addition, you can bake multiple items together without needing to rotate them halfway through!

Basic Cooking Tips for Your Convection Oven

We don’t need to convince you that your oven’s convection feature is beneficial. However, here are a few additional tips to help you get the most from your unit:

• Don’t rely on recommended cooking times when using your convection settings. Since you can expect food to cook 25-30% faster than in a traditional oven, it pays to take a look at your food’s cooking progress before the timer goes off.
• You can place roasting dishes and sheets on different racks, but avoid cluttering. Leaving a certain amount of empty space will allow the circulating effect to produce the best possible results. Whenever possible, use low-sided pans and baking sheets to help the circulating air do its magic!
• Although your convection setting is great for many of your favorite foods, it may not be the best for baking cakes, breads, and custards. According to many cooking websites, the results may be less impressive than what you hoped for!

While preventative maintenance and basic operating knowledge can help your convection oven last a long time, sooner or later, it may needs repairs. When that happens, give us a call at All Brands Appliance Repair. Serving Wilmington and surrounding areas of Massachusetts, you can count on us for prompt, courteous, and dependable service!