Maintenance, cleaning and error-code interpretation for domestic appliances.
Scope
Cleaning, consumable replacement and error-code interpretation for domestic appliances, from a washing machine to a vacuum cleaner. Nothing here needs the disassembly of a powered component.
Common failure modes
- A filter or a trap that has never been cleaned
- A drain path blocked by lint, food debris or scale
- A door seal that is dirty, distorted or torn
- An appliance out of level, which causes noise and movement
- Scale in a heating element from hard water
Sections
Washing machines and dryers: filters, seals, exhaust ducts and levelling.
11 published
Refrigerators, dishwashers, ranges and ovens: filters, coils, seals and cleaning cycles.
16 published
Coffee machines, kettles, microwaves and countertop equipment: descaling and care.
7 published
The machines that clean a floor: upright, cylinder, cordless and robot vacuum cleaners, and steam mops. Belts, brush rolls, filters, hoses and the blockages that make a machine feel as though the motor has failed.
3 published
Portable and plug-in climate equipment: dehumidifiers, humidifiers, portable and window air conditioners, and air cleaners.
9 published
All procedures in this category
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- Why is my dehumidifier running but not collecting water?A dehumidifier that runs, hums, and shows a normal display, but leaves the bucket empty or barely damp, usually has one
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- How to descale a kettle, and whether vinegar is safe to use in itLimescale is the chalky white crust that grows on the bottom of a kettle in a hard water area. It slows the boil, raises
- How to descale a steam iron and stop it spitting brown waterScale builds inside any appliance that boils water, and in an iron it announces itself the worst possible way: brown wat
- Decide why water is standing in the bottom of a dishwasherWater sitting in the bottom of a dishwasher after a cycle is not always a fault, and that is the first thing worth knowi
- How to change the filter on a Dyson Purifier Cool and reset the filter lightChanging the filter on a Dyson Purifier Cool is about ten minutes of work, and the step people skip is the last one: res
- Which filter do I need for my shop vac before I vacuum water or dust?A wet/dry vacuum, also called a shop vac, needs a different filter for a different job, and fitting the wrong one is the
- How to refit the transit bolts in a washing machine before you move itA washing machine ships from the factory with a set of transit bolts holding the drum still, and most installers remove
- How to level a washing machine that walks, shakes or bangs on the spin cycleA washing machine that walks across the laundry floor, bangs against the wall or shakes the house on the spin is almost
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- How to change the belt on an upright vacuum when the brush stops spinningA smell of burning rubber, a brush roll that has stopped turning, and a vacuum that pushes dirt around instead of pickin
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- How to run the tub-clean cycle on a washing machine and what to put in itMost washing machines built in the last several years have a second cycle, separate from a normal wash, whose only job i
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- How to fix a stand mixer that leaves flour in the bowl or hits the bowl with the beaterA stand mixer beater that sits too high leaves flour and butter unmixed at the bottom of the bowl. A beater that sits to
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