Sunday, August 5, 2018

Oven Repair in Meridian - Mouse in the house



Mouse in the House
Field mice can reach on appliances once they have entered a home.  I’ve seen a lot of damage over the years by these pesky critters.

Mice will chew a hole in the back access panel of a refrigerator and make themselves a nest.   Eventually some of them take a wrong turn and run right into a spinning fan blade. The mouse body gets wedged between the fan blade and the sheet-metal housing.  This will stop the fan completely and the refrigerator compressor overheats.  I had two of these repair calls in Meridian  Idaho in  one week.  Unbelievable!

In this picture it shows what a mouse can do when it gets into the insulation of a stove.  The mouse droppings will get warmed up when a homeowner turns on the stove and cause a very wretched smell.  The smell may be eliminated once the affected insulation can be removed and/or cleaned.  Many home-owners decide to buy new appliances.

Monday, June 4, 2018

Oven heating element failure

One big reason for premature failure of a oven bake or broil element is contamination of oils or greasy residue that can accumulate on the red-hot heating coils.  Types of contamination is grease that splatters or drips from cooking food such as fried chicken.  When the grease gets hot during  the bake or broil process, it can become unstable and drip on the element thus creating a hot spot that burns hotter then the rest of the element and weakens the insulation of the element material. If the grease spot is real bad or if this happens repeatedly it can cause a rupture and a small explosion.  Most customers describe this event as a flash fire in the oven or a arc-welding type of event.  Many times the 240V circuit breaker will trip and will need to be reset.
If this happens to you, disconnect power to your appliance and call a repairman.  If you would like to attempt the appliance repair yourself then turn off all power to the appliance before doing anything.  Inspect the element carefully using a flashlight.  If the element is similar looking the the picture above then replace the element.

Rich
Appliance Repair in Meridian Idaho

Friday, March 2, 2018

Maytag Neptune Washing Machine Problem

This is a picture of a very reliable and top-end front-load Maytag Neptune washing machine.  This washer, once the cycle is started, will not lock the door when it is suppose to.  When the door is locked the front panel light should illuminate.  In this case it is not happening.  The first thing we want to look for on this board is the R11 resistor on the front of the main control board.  Remove the screws from the back panel and gently remove the access panel.  The main control board will be attached to the back panel.  You will have easy access.  Inspect the front of this board very carefully and look for any burn marks.  Sometimes the burned components will give off a bad smell.  If you find that the board is burned, the board will need to be replace.  Please note: the wax motor, which controls the door lock, will also need to be replaced at the same time.
Western Appliance Repair
208-599-1086