When you think about your refrigerator, you probably think more about what it’s holding than how it’s running. Everyone loves their refrigerator because it keeps their food nice and cold, but too often, we tend to take our refrigerators for granted. It’s important for homeowners to perform regular maintenance on their refrigerators. Without regular maintenance, it’s more likely you’ll need refrigerator repair from Kimball Appliance Parts & Service sooner rather than later.

Clean the Coils

Cleaning the coils is one of the most important maintenance jobs homeowners can do for their refrigerator. Many refrigerators’ coils are on the back of the fridge, but some are on the bottom.

The coils do a critical job helping to getting rid of warm air in the refrigerator and replacing it with cool air. However, over time, these coils can become thickly coated in dust, and this can make the job of cooling harder. Neglecting to clean your refrigerator coils means the coils have to work harder to release the heat — it’s like working out with a heavy sweater on. This type of overwork can lead to the need for refrigerator repair, and over time, it can shorter the life span of your refrigerator.

Clean Gaskets

The rubber seals around your refrigerator and freezer doors are called gaskets. They work to make a tight seal when you close your fridge door. While a few crumbs in the folds won’t make a big difference, a lot of food buildup — especially sticky spills — can impair the gaskets’ effectiveness. For instance, if someone spills a sticky drink into the folds of the gasket, it might cause the gasket to remain compressed. This would affect its ability to form a tight seal, and cold air would leak out of your refrigerator or freezer.

Periodically clean your gaskets with a sponge or soft brush and some hot water and soap. Be gentle, because if your gasket cracks or separates from the door, you may need to call a refrigerator repair person to replace it.

Defrost the Freezer

Most modern refrigerators are equipped with freezers that automatically defrost. However, if you have a freezer that must be manually defrosted, it’s important to do this chore regularly. The longer you let frost build up inside your freezer, the harder the freezer has to work to keep your food frozen.

The chore of defrosting the freezer is especially onerous if you are defrosting a standalone freezer. That’s because to do this job, you must empty the freezer of all the food. Unless you can work especially quickly, put the food into a cooler or the fridge while you do the work.

Turn the freezer dial to off so that it does not run while you are trying to defrost it. You can put a hot pot of water inside or use dishrags soaked in hot water to hasten the melting of the ice. Sometimes a big piece of ice will come off all at once. Although this is satisfying, you must resist chopping away at the ice with an object in an effort to get all of it to come off in chunks. This could break your freezer’s plastic lining, possibly destroying the appliance.

Best Appliance Repair in Salt Lake City

When you’ve done all of your maintenance chores but your fridge is still giving you trouble, call Kimball Appliance Parts & Service for refrigerator repair. We have offices in Salt Lake City, Denver and Kansas City.

Your clothes dryer is one of the most important appliances in your home. It’s a major inconvenience when it breaks down and you have to hang your clothes all over the house. One way to keep your dryer running smoothly is to clean out your dryer vent at least once a year. At Kimball Appliance Parts and Service, we provide dryer repair and maintenance to customers in in Salt Lake City, Denver and Kansas City.

Prevent Dryer Fires

The Federal Department of Emergency Management reports that more than 2,900 dryers catch fire every year, causing five deaths, over 100 injuries and $35 million in damages. The reason for most of these fires is lint buildup.

You are likely aware that your dryer has a lint screen that you should clean after each load. The lint screen performs an important function, trapping much of the lint that your laundry sheds as it is tumbled dry. However, it doesn’t trap all the lint.

Some of the lint makes its way past the lint screen and lodges in the grooves of your dryer vent. Because the air is warm and moist, it is easy for the grooves in an aluminum dryer vent to trap the lint. The new PVC dryer vents pose less of a problem this way, but they still need regular cleaning.

Signs Your Dryer Vent Needs Cleaning

The technicians at Kimball Appliance Parts and Service recommend once or twice-yearly dryer vent cleaning, depending on how much laundry you do. If you notice any of these signs, your dryer vent could be past due for a cleaning:

• Laundry takes longer to dry
• Burning smell
• Laundry and dryer are hot to the touch

It’s so easy for the tiniest spark to ignite built-up lint, and a fire can spread quickly, putting your appliance, your home and your very life in danger.

How to Clean Your Dryer Vent

First, unplug your dryer. It’s good to have a vacuum on hand at this time. Next, remove the dryer vent from the back of your dryer. If you have a gas dryer, be careful not to dislodge the gas line as you do this. To get the grooves in the dryer vent really clean, you’ll want to have on hand a special brush for this purpose, or a dryer vent cleaning kit. Once you get all the lint out of the vent, reattach it and you’re good for another six to 12 months.

If you love DIY projects, this is a good one for homeowners, but if you don’t want to spend a weekend afternoon wrestling with dryer lint, call Kimball Appliance Parts and Service. We’ll clean your dryer vent as part of a washer-dryer maintenance visit. And if you waited too long and your dryer broke down, don’t worry — you can count on us for dryer repair.

For all your appliance repair needs in Salt Lake City, Kansas City and Denver, depend on Kimball Appliance Parts and Service.