Here are just a few of the many issues that Fleet Appliance Service technicians are trained to diagnose and repair: 

 BEFORE YOU CALL FOR SERVICE 

AUTOMATIC ICE MAKER  

Ice maker is not making any ice?

CAUSE 

• Ice maker wire signal arm is in the “up” or OFF position.

• Ice maker power switch is Off.

• Ice maker has small cube caught in mechanism.

• Saddle valve on cold water pipe is clogged or restricted by foreign material.

CORRECTION 

Move wire signal arm to the “down” or ON position. (side mounted)

• Turn power switch to On (“I”) position. (rear mounted)

• Remove small cube from ice maker. The ice and water filter cartridge may be clogged. Replace filter cartridge.

• Turn off household water line valve. Remove valve. Ensure that valve is not a self-piercing saddle valve. Clean valve. Replace valve if necessary. 

Ice maker is not making enough ice?

CAUSE  

• Ice maker is producing less ice than you expect.

• Check to see if water dispenser is dispensing slower than normal.

CORRECTION 

• Side mounted ice maker should produce 4 to 4.5 pounds (approximately 4 quarts) of ice every 24 hours. A rear mounted ice maker should produce 3 to 4 pounds (approximately 3½ quarts) of ice every 24 hours. Quick Ice option should produce up to 50% more ice every 24 hours.

• If it is, replace the ice and water filter cartridge. 

Ice maker will not stop making ice?

CAUSE 

• Ice maker wire signal arm is being held down by some item in the freezer.

CORRECTION 

• Move item and release wire signal arm. Remove any ice cubes that are frozen together over the wire signal arm.

Defrost Mode

Is your refrigerator in Defrost mode?

• If interior lights come on and nothing seems to be working, the refrigerator is in Defrost Mode. The refrigerator and freezer sections automatically defrost. Wait 30 minutes for your refrigerator to resume normal operations.

Temperture Cotrol Setting

Are your temperature controls set properly?

• Your refrigerator should not be placed where temperatures will exceed 110°F (43°) or drop below 55°F (13°).
• For your convenience, your temperature controls are preset at the factory to "mid setting" which should be correct for normal household use.      However, your controls may need to be adjusted. If so, adjust the temperature one setting colder and wait 24 hrs for the compartments to cool.              Repeat until desired temperature is reached.
• The best indicator of refrigerator temperature are beverages. If you are not satisfied with the beverage temperature, adjust the refrigerator control to the desired setting.
• The best indicator of freezer temperatures is ice cream. Ice Cream should be frozen but spoon able. If you are not satisfied with the ice cream temperature, adjust the freezer control to the desired setting.
• Note: temperatures of items in the door bins are less cold than interior shelf items.
• Refer to your Use and Care Guide for instructions on adjusting the temperature controls for your model

Is the cooling control turned on?

• Given that the refrigerator is equipped with a "Cooling On/Off" feature, there will be a "Cooling On/Off " button located on the control panel at the top of the refrigerator compartment or the feature can be activated using the control panel on the exterior dispenser. If cooling is turned off, neither your refrigerator nor freezer will cool. make sure Cooling is turned on.

Refer to your Use and Care Guide for instructions on using the Cooling On/Off feature.

Usage

Have you increased usage? Are the doors opened often?

• If your doors have been opened frequently, doors have been opened for long periods of time, or your refrigerator was recently installed, wait 24-48 hours for the refrigerator to completely cool.
• Be aware that the refrigerator will warm when doors are opened often. In order to keep your refrigerator cool, try to limit continuous opening of doors.

Large Loads

• Adding a large amount of food warms the refrigerator. It could take several hours for the refrigerator to return to the normal temperature

Air-Flow Ventilation

Are there food items blocking air vents?

• In order to ensure proper temperatures, you need to permit airflow between the freezer and refrigerator compartments.
• Cool air enters and exits the refrigerator compartment from the freezer compartment through vents. Depending on your model, these vents are in different locations. Refer to the illustrations below.
• Once you’ve located your vents in both sections, ensure that there is nothing blocking the air flow.
• If vents are blocked, airflow will decrease. This may cause temperature and moisture problems.

Freezer on Bottom

 Freeze on Top

Side by Side

Answer

 Refrigerator or Freezer Not Cooling?

Microwave maintenance is easy and does not consume time. Moreover, when you care and look after your microwave, you will end up saving electricity, increasing your microwave’s life, getting tastier food, and saving cash on unnecessary repairs. Here are some preventative maintenance tips for your microwave:

1. Before you start working on your microwave, read its manual and fully understand the safety and maintenance instructions.
2. Ensure that you never ever place any substances in your microwave that have the potential to harm it. For example, you must not place metal, plastics or Styrofoam containers inside your microwave. Use microwave cookware. Remember that plastics and Styrofoam contain toxic chemicals and that these chemicals can potentially get into your food if you use them in your microwave.
3. Do not overcook food in the microwave.
4. While heating liquids, ensure that the liquid container is covered with a vented lid.
5. Do you use your microwave to directly heat packaged food? If so, follow the microwave instructions on the package.
6. Avoid spills inside the microwave. If your microwave does not feature a removable glass plate, then place the food item on a paper towel before heating.
7. Wipe microwave clean after cooking a meal.
8. Wash your microwave regularly (once a week), but don’t use strong detergent. Use very mild detergents.
9. Soil builds up around the door edges and you must prevent and eliminate any soil on and around the door. A buildup of soil can keep the door from closing tightly and this can impact your microwave’s health.
10. If dried food items get stuck on your microwave floor or wall, then boil some water in a microwave container and place the container inside the microwave. The steam generated will soften up the dried debris, which can then be gently wiped dry.
11. If your microwave smells funny, then wipe its interior with warm water containing 1 tablespoon baking soda. Rinse and wipe the interior dry. Using 3 parts warm water and 1 part lemon juice works well too.
12. Do not use any abrasive materials to clean your microwave.
13. Do not use your microwave for deep-frying or heating baby bottles.
14. Always set the heat timer as per instructions and from experience.
15. Do not use the microwave to dry any items – for example, clothes. You risk starting a fire if you use your microwave for drying anything.
16. Heat fatty foods in microwave-safe glass containers. This is because fatty foods get very hot very fast. If you’re unsure whether your glass container is microwave-safe, then place an empty glass container inside the microwave for one minute and heat. If the glass container is lukewarm, then use it for reheating; if it is cool, use it for cooking; if it becomes hot, don’t use it.

These are a few microwave preventative maintenance tips. Follow these if you want your microwave to live long and keep churning out lip smacking food.

If you own a stove or a range, you know that extending its life and making sure you can use it for a longer period of time depend on taking care of it very carefully. A stove or a range range can also get quite expensive, so it is also in your best economic interests to take care of the one you currently have very well. The following are some tips on how you can take care of your stove and maintain it well.

Your oven comes with a broiler pan that is, in most cases, porcelain-coated steel. This means that you have to approach your broiler pan in the appropriate manner. In the case of a broiler pan that is made from porcelain-coated steel, it needs to be cleaned with a non-abrasive cleaner due to the sensitivity of the material. Cleaning your broiler pan regularly will prevent you from having to replace it on your oven, which will cost you extra money unnecessarily.

If your stove / range has a control panel that is made out of either painted metal or painted glass, you have to also utilize a non-abrasive cleaner on its surface. Some examples of a non-abrasive cleaner are a liquid degreaser as well as a glass cleaner. When you use one of these kinds of cleaners, you must always keep in mind never to spray it right onto the control panel. Instead of doing this, spray some cleaner onto a rag that is damp and soft, and then wipe the control panel’s surface.

The burner drip pans (bowls) of your stove/range are another story entirely. While you can always try cleaning them anyway, in most cases, it will not be possible to entirely succeed at removing all of the dirt and stains that have accumulated on them over the years. What you are going to be forced to do instead is to replace these burner drip pans every 2 to 3 years, and that applies both to those that are placed under the grates on your gas oven or under an electric oven’s heating element.

The glass cooktops and windows on your stove/range must always only be cleaned by way of products that are especially made for these areas on your oven. An example of such a product would be a rangetop cleaner. The windows on your stove/range will be made out of glass, so rely on a specific oven glass cleaner for best results. Just as a note of caution, you should make sure that the glass surfaces of your appliance are not hot when you start cleaning them

The knobs on your stove/range deserve some cleaning, too. If you notice that they are dirtier than you can tolerate, you can usually find some success by cleaning them with just a little bit of dish detergent on a damp and soft rag. However, you have to be realistic about the condition of your knobs. If either their numbers or letters have already been worn out, then you might need to replace them entirely.

Clothes dryers of today are more convenient and efficient than ever before. They are built in with cool features and technologies and larger capacities. In this way, laundry has become a set and forget type of task because of many auto functions in these dryers. These features and functions have made life easier than ever in the past. Below are some cool features of dryers that you can keep in view before replacing your old dryer.

A washing machine is a very important home appliance. We have become so dependent on the washing machine that if it dies, we are at wits end on what to do until we get another one. This being the case there are a number of tips that will help you not only to choose the right one, but to even save some money in the bargain.

Tip 1 – Decide on the capacity that you want to get. Most manufacturers charge only for the size as the controls and software is not much of a cost for them. A 4 cu ft washing machine will cost you much more proportionally than a 3.5 cu ft machine, so plan on getting only what you need.

Tip 2 – Check consumer reviews in independent forums.Sometimes even companies that you were under the impression were very good will turn out to have glaring flaws that come out only when you start using the machine and not before. If someone has experienced a problem and if this problem is echoed in other places, it is better to drop that manufacturer.

Tip 3 – Go for what you need not what you think that you will use. Having a sanitize wash option or a steam wash may sound really cool, but then if you are not the allergic sort or do not go rolling around in the dirt, neither of them are needed. Go instead for a higher spin speed which allows you to wring out your clothes better or automatic dispensers that will save you from the hassle of doing it manually.

Tip 4 – Check out the manufacturer. Not all of them are geared towards providing a good product although they all advertise that they do. Many of them are just interested in selling you their product and will not do anything in follow up. Even companies that have a good name like LG fall short when it comes to customer service.

Tip 5 – Most manufacturers have only a few base models on which a number of options are given, at a higher price of course. Going for this base model is a good idea because it will usually be more than sufficient for most of your needs. For example Bosch’s cheapest model costs $900 but when you compare it to their top of the line one that retails at $1600 you will find that you just get additional features and a better looking outer casing. Even the capacity is the same at 4 cu ft. Going in for the base model means that you get everything that you need including a really quite machine that has the bacteria free rinse and you have just saved yourself $700.

Tip 6 – If you have decided on a particular model, try a few online stores. You usually get massive discounts with them that can amount to more than a couple of hundred dollars. Most times you will still be saving on quite a bit even after you factor in the shipping charges, although this is something that you need to keep in mind when calculating the total cost of the machine.

Keeping these tips in mind is a very valuable thing when you go shopping for a washing machine. Many manufacturers rely on the fact that most people who buy washing machines need one immediately and therefore go out of their way to ensure that you buy their product immediately. The problems start only after that, and why compound an already existing problem with a new one.

Caring for your refrigerator is important, especially if you have just upgraded your old refrigerator to a brand new one. While the new refrigerators are much more advanced and much less likely to break down, it is still essential that you do your part to care for your fridge if you want it to last as long as it is meant to. You can actually do a few simple things to care for the fridge, and DIY maintenance is a great way to ensure that your fridge lasts as long as possible.

1. Refrigerator Maintenance: Defrost the Freezer

Caring for your fridge means that you will need to defrost your freezer fairly regularly, no less than every month or two. The reason for this is that the ice tends to accumulate as you open and close the door to your fridge, and the ice can cause the door to not close properly and can even break the inside of your freezer. Letting the freezer defrost takes all of a day or so, and you can plan to defrost it regularly by ensuring that all of the items in your freezer are used so as not to let them spoil. Simply unplug the fridge, open the door, and let the ice melt on its own.

2. Refrigerator Maintenance: Wash Gaskets

The seal of the freezer and fridge doors will tend to get covered in a thin layer of grime due to the constant moisture of the interior of the fridge. It is essential to keep these clean, as they may cause the door to seal improperly when they are dirty. When they don’t seal properly, they can let the cold air escape and increase your electric bill. Using a cloth and detergent to clean the gasket is a matter of minutes, but will help to ensure that your fridge stays clean.

3. Refrigerator Maintenance: Clean the Drip Pan

The condensation from the fridge drips into the drip pan beneath the fridge, and dust from around the kitchen tends to accumulate there as well. When this happens, you will find that the drip pan is full of a thick greyish liquid that looks awful and could clog up the system. Make sure to wash it once in a while to keep it free of blockages.

4. Refrigerator Maintenance: Clean the Coils Frequently

The coils of the fridge will usually get dusty quite quickly, as they are behind the fridge and are rarely cleaned. It is best to wash the coils at least once every two or three months, and you can do so with a vacuum cleaner to ensure that they operate as efficiently as possible.

5. Refrigerator Maintenance: Replace Water Filters

If your fridge has a water filter, make sure to replace it to prevent the spout from getting clogged. Replacing the water filter will also prevent bacteria from growing in the spout, bacteria which will get into your cup of ice water and could upset your stomach.