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loading washing machine

What To Do When The Washing Machine Door Won’t Open

  A broken washing machine can spell trouble for families who rely upon being able to wash and dry clothes, bedding and linens quickly and easily at home. However, no matter how much you look after your appliances, it’s possible that the door to your washing machine may get jammed from time to time, even just from ordinary wear and tear. Luckily, most washing machine models have a manual release that will enable you to free your laundry from your washing machine before having it fixed. Front loading washing machines have a safety mechanism that’s often referred to as an interlock or a door lock. When the washing cycle begins, the door locks so that it cannot be opened mid-cycle. Minutes after the cycle finishes,…

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fridge thermometer

What Are Ideal Fridge and Freezer Temperatures?

If you’ve ever taken something out of the fridge and discovered that it’s half frozen or worse, lukewarm, you’ll probably be curious to know what the ideal temperature to keep your fridge and freezer is. A fridge that freezes your tomatoes, wilts your salad, or turns your milk into cheese is either broken or needs adjusting. The purpose of a refrigerator is to slow down the growth of bacteria and the purpose of a freezer is to slow the bacteria even further through the process of freezing. If these appliances aren’t maintaining the correct temperature, they’re falling short of their purpose.

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Modern domestic kitchen

The Benefits Of Integrated Appliances

When installing a new kitchen, there’s an overwhelming amount of choices to make that can affect both its appearance and the way that it works. One of these choices is whether to opt for appliances that are built into your cupboards and worktops or free-standing ones. We’re here to go through the benefits of having integrated appliances in your built-in kitchen. Integrated appliances are concealed, as opposed to regular appliances which are usually plainly visible and distinct. With most appliances, integration means that they are fixed to the inside of the cupboard door so that, from the outside, they match the rest of the kitchen and are completely hidden from view. Built-in appliances are also great ways to save space in small kitchens, as it’s…

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Cleaning gas hob

How To Clean A Gas Hob

Cooker hobs become coated in food, oil splashes, and general dirt and grime all too easily. In order to maintain your gas hob and keep it at its best for years to come, you should expect to maintain it daily as well as giving it a deep clean every few weeks or after cooking a messy meal. Having a clean stove top can drastically improve the appearance of your kitchen, as well as keep bacteria and house flies at bay. Whether you live in rented accommodation or are a home owner, it’s important to maintain your cooker hob properly in order to prolong its life. A dirty hob can exacerbate already existing problems, such as gas burners that won’t stay lit or turn off, and…

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Spoon in microwave

Five Common Microwave Problems & How To Fix Them

Microwaves are great inventions and have simplified cooking and heating certain foods by the simple push of a button. Despite their simplicity, though, they can have faults, just like other appliances. To know whether or not there’s an easy fix for your microwave problem or if you need to arrange for your microwave to be repaired, you first have to establish what the problem might be with it. Here are five of the most common microwave faults: Microwave sparking Sparks in a microwave can be a scary sight, but generally it’s not a cause for worry, if the cause of the spark is remedied as soon as possible. The most common reason for a sparking microwave is caused by the presence of a metal object…

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fridge thermometer

How To Measure Fridge Temperature

It’s important to keep food stored at the right temperature to avoid meat and dairy products from developing or growing unwanted bacteria or enzymes. Or, freezing and damaging foods such as salad and dairy products. A fridge that won’t cool down, or one that’s too cold, won’t do its job properly, meaning the food you store in it might have to be thrown out. Although, generally, fridges do a good job of maintaining temperatures, there are a range of issues that can cause too high or low temperatures in your household fridge. Knowing how to check a fridge’s temperature will help you determine whether it is suffering from a temperature keeping issue and decide whether you need to repair it. What makes a fridge cold?…

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lint filter washing machine

How To Stop Lint From Sticking To Your Clothes

Lint is the word used for the tiny fibres of fabric that are shed from the edges of clothes, most often when you wash them in a washing  machine. These fibres tend to stick to the surfaces of other clothes and make it so that they don’t look fully clean, even straight after they’ve been washed. Fabrics made of natural fibres like wool and cotton generate more lint than fabric made from synthetic materials, and some washing machines might be more likely to create lint problems than others. This can be symptomatic of a faulty washing machine, or it can just be a problem with your washing processes. Lint shed from lighter clothes onto darker ones and vice versa can give clothes a worn, faded…

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best washing machine type

What Type of Washing Machine to Choose?

Washing machines have a range of different features depending on what brand you choose and what price you’re willing to pay, but three specific features are important enough to make them useful for categorising washing machines. If you’re wondering which washing machine to buy, find out which of these types of washing machine best suits you and learn what its specific benefits are. The three types of washing machine we’re focusing on today are integrated washing machines that can be hidden away in a cupboard, quiet washing machines with low operating volume, and budget washing machines that can be bought without breaking the bank. These three categories of washing machine proved highly popular in 2018, and we expect that popularity to continue into 2019. Integrated…

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cleaning an extractor hood filter

How To Clean Your Extractor Hood And Filters

Grease, grime and dirt love to build up on extractor hoods. It’s one of nature’s laws. Because your cooking hood lives right above your hob and its primary purpose is to draw up the smoke or steam that your cooking food gives off, there’s no avoiding it getting slightly greasy over time. What can be avoided, though, is a thick layer of grease building up and making it both dirty and less effective. The longer you put off cleaning your extractor hood and filter, the less effective it will be and the harder you’ll have to work to get it clean. Be proactive and get your extractor hood back to full working order by following our guide to cleaning both the hood itself and the…

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fridge not cooling

How To Troubleshoot A Refrigerator Not Cooling

A fridge not cooling is one of the most frustrating household problems because it can make all of the food you currently have go off and leave you without a way to store any more. Your refrigerator isn’t necessarily a write-off if it has an issue with cooling, however. It might look as though it’s working fine – the light comes on, it’s still making that familiar soft humming noise – but there are a number of internal problems that could have led to the cooling mechanism failing. Here are a few of the most common refrigerator faults so if your fridge isn’t cooling you can figure out if you need a fridge repair service or not. Make sure that you turn off your appliance…

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electric oven benefits

Choosing Between A Gas Or Electric Oven

There are a huge range of choices to make when it comes to fitting out your kitchen, from the colour of the walls to the storage solutions, the % split between fridge and freezer to the trade-off between worktop space and cooking equipment. One of the most important decisions you’ll make in terms of cooking appliances, however, is choosing between a gas or electric oven. This choice is normally driven by the flat or house you’re furnishing – if there’s no gas then your decision is made for you. If you do have the choice between these two different oven types, though, this article is for you. There are several factors you need to consider when you’re choosing an oven, here are what we consider…

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washing machine problems

Common Washing Machine Problems and Solutions

Like all household appliances – there are a range of things that can go wrong with your washing machine, leaving you without a way of cleaning your clothes. From water leaking onto your floor to holes mysteriously appearing in your favourite clothes, washing machine problems can be some of the most frustrating. Often, these issues will only get worse if they’re not repaired straight away, so make sure to diagnose and troubleshoot any washing machine issues immediately using our guide to common washing machine problems and effective solutions. What’s the problem if my washing machine won’t spin? If your washing machine isn’t spinning, the first thing you should check is that the switch on the door or lid is not broken. This switch controls the…

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