Dispite your best efforts, over time no matter how clean your fridge is kept it will start to develop a plastic like stagnent smell all too common from a mixture of different foods in an air-tight space. So what do you do about it?

The silliest answer to get rid of a fridge smell? Use an air freshner…though truthfully this is a bad idea as they can end up exacerbating the problem AND they may even start tasting in your food, so please DON’T DO THIS!

Simply, the most common and effective tip we can give you to get rid of any fridge smell is to sprinkle some carb soda on a saucer and put it in the bottom of your fridge or freezer. The theory behind this is that the carb soda absorbs the odours and as such when you take it out after a couple of days, the odours go with it leaving your fridge smelling better than it was. The trick is to repeat this every one to two months before the odour gets out of hand again!

Similarly, the other common tip that I’ve come accross to get rid of a pesky fridge smell is using an orange shell and some salt. Simply cut an orange in half, take out the pulp and juice and replace it with a couple of tablespoons of salt. The theory is that the salt absorbs the bad odours and the orange shell releases a fresh odour, making it a double action air freshener.

If you have come accross any tips in your tavels, we’d be more than interested to hear about it. Just email service@mckaynco.com.au

David McKay & Co - Your most trusted Gold Coast appliance repairer. - Appliance Repairs Gold Coast

With the current economic climate, the idea of energy wasteage is a more prominent issue than ever in the mind of today’s consumer, especially when it comes to the main culprits: Appliances. Having said that, here’s a few tips and tricks to help you save energy (and money) without leading to costly repair bills from cutting corners.

Fridge:

• Keep your fridge away from direct sunlight and other heat producing appliances (if possible). Having extra heat around the refrigerator will make it work harder and use more energy to do the same amount of work.
• Clean the door seals with a mild soap twice a year to prevent them from wearing, drying, cracking and splitting. To test their effectiveness place a piece of paper between the seal and the fridge, if it holds then you should be OK for the moment, otherwise run your hand around and if you notice cold air leaking then it may be time to look at a new door seal (or door gasket as it may be called)
• Run a vacuum around the compressor and condensor coils twice a year as dirt, dust and hair can accumulate and make the fridge work harder to do the same job.
• In summer limit the amount of times you open the door, as each time you do, it loses you cold air and the fridge has to regenerate that cold air.
• Leave some space between your fridge and the wall, this allows for better airflow to the condensor coils and easier dissipation of heat the accumulates which means your fridge doesn’t have to work as hard.
• Keep the fridge and freezer moderately full, as cold items in either compartment help maintain the temperature which means once again, it’s less work for the fridge itself.

Washer:

• If you’re considering upgrading that old washing machine, consider a front loader as they’re approximately 70% more efficient on water.
• A lot of people suggest washing in cold water. It’s true that this will save energy by not having to heat water, but we’ve found it to be a bad idea as cold water does not effectively dissolve detergent, which will end up leaving you with hard clothes and an eventual buildup of a black gummy substance in your washing machine called ‘scrud’. Scrud is always first identified when it starts coming off on clothes and they start coming out dirtier than they went in, and by that stage you’ve got yourself a substantial buildup. Generally speaking, if the buildup is only small though, you can put a cup of vinegar in your washer and run it through a cycle with no clothes. This should help take care of the problem.
• When using your washer, try and make a full load as they use the same amount of energy and water (especially front loaders) to wash 1 item or 15.
• If you’re using a dryer, use the highest speed spin cycle on your washer to take as much moisture out of your clothes. This will minimise the amount of work your dryer is required to do.

 Dishwasher

• Save turning your dishwasher on until you’ve got enough dishes to fill it full. A dishwasher will use the same amount of water and electricity to clean 1 dish or 40. Just be sure to stack it so everything can come into contact with water spray, thereby making sure you don’t need to re-wash anything.
• You can save water by not pre-rinsing dishes, however, you should always scrape any scraps into the bin so they don’t get caught in the filter and cause your problems down the track.
• Run your dishwasher if off-peak electricity periods, this can save you money in some states.

Oven and Cooktop

• Try not to open the door very often. Doing so lets the heat escape and the oven then has to regenerate the heat that was lost. This also means that the meal will take longer to cook.
• If you’re doing a big bake up, then try to put more than one dish in at a time to take full advantage of the heat generated by the unit.
• Use the correct sized pan for your cooktop burner as this will allow the heat to be better distributed.

David McKay & Co - Your most trusted Gold Coast appliance repairer. - Appliance Repairs Gold Coast

Do you have a dishwasher not cleaning the dishes properly? Read ahead: It may not be the dishwasher misbehaving after all!

A common thing to do with a dishwasher these days is to take the dishes from the dinner table and put them straight into the dishwasher…If this is you, then STOP! Be sure to scrape any food scraps off and give them a quick rinse BEFORE putting them into the dishwasher as this will allow it to clean more effectively because the filters won’t block, meaning you won’t have to put them through a second or a third time!
The same thing applies if you have baked on food on a fry-pan or saucepan, in this case run over it with a sponge or scourer to try and remove the majority of it. If you don’t, then I guarantee you that you’ll end up washing it by hand before you next use it!
Having said this, it’s also a good idea to check and clean the filter down the bottom of your dishwasher every once in a while to keep it cleaning well!

When starting the dishwasher, don’t overfill it with detergent, or use any other detergent aside from dishwasher POWDER! Doing either of these may cause the dishwasher to ‘oversuds’ which essentially means that the suds build up to a degree where the dishwasher has trouble washing, drying or draining itself and can often give off the appearance of a leak, which can lead you to paying for a service call that you simply don’t need! A little over a teaspoon size of power will do sufficiently for the most common dishwashers!
However, if you do run into a problem of this sort, then empty your dishwasher, turn it on to a point where it’s filled up with water then pour a cup of vinegar into the water in the base of it and let it run through until it’s finished, this should fix it!

One final note on using a dishwasher to clean the dishes, and it also can apply to a washing machine too. In these economic times, we often find people who try and cut costs on detergent or water bills, and we find this generally is not a good idea as where you buy cheap detergent, you more often then not get cheap results, and as such, we recommend FINISH detergent over the homebrand types, though try and avoid the powerballs.
Where it comes to water, don’t just choose the short cycle and expect it to clean a full load effectively. Choose the appropriate cycle, and when you’ve started it, don’t interrupt it!

If you still need a service call after reading this, then please do NOT book in the reply section below, instead, please proceed to the repair enquiry page under the ‘contact us’ heading.

David McKay & Co - Your most trusted Gold Coast appliance repairer. - Appliance Repairs Gold Coast

As Murphy’s Law would have it, you’re probably reading this in the middle of summer with a refrigerator FULL of seafood wondering what on earth you’re going to do! But before you despair, or call your appliance repair service, read the following to give you some idea of what you’re up for!

 The first thing to do when you’ve got a refrigerator that is not cooling is to check the freezer is still cooling. This is important as the way in which a fridge cools is based around the cold air moving from the freezer compartment to the refrigerator compartment, as the mechanics of the refrigerator only cools the freezer compartment itself. If the freezer is cold, then it means your compressor is working, which is excellent news as compressors are very expensive to replace, if it’s not cooling though, it may be your compressor, but it also may be a sensor or a main board, far cheaper repairs as it stands.

If the freezer is cooling in your refrigerator, then you should check if there’s an ice buildup toward to back. In the case that there is, then defrost the fridge for around 12 hours until the ice has melted and try it again. If the ice builds up again, then you should call your local refrigerator service technician to have a look for you, as it may be a PCB, sensors or even a defrost element among other things.

If after reading this post, you’ve still got a non cooling refrigerator that you’d like us to take a look at, please do NOT use the reply form below to book a service call as they are not moderated daily. Please proceed to the contact us section to fill out a service call booking form.

David McKay & Co - Your most trusted Gold Coast appliance repairer. - Appliance Repairs Gold Coast