Places to Avoid: The Paw Version!

Or, Appliances That Your Pets Need to Stay Away From

Appliance Rescue Service has been taken over by the pets! This week we (Murder Mittens the cat and Odie the dog) are talking about our favorite places in the house, the appliances! They offer warm, and cold and food, we can't forget the food! 

Courtesy of Gomez Daniel

Washer

MM: I don't understand why the humans use this one it removes their scent, and then they have ti put it all over things again.  They put their clothes in, the clothes get wet, and then they move them over to another rumbly. 

O: And! They yell at you when you get them wet any other time, even though they also have the rain room that they go into.

MM: That is the bathroom. They put my litterbox in there as well. The wet machine is nice to lay on when it rumbles, but you're right on them griping about getting wet. 

O: I don't like the way everything smells,  but I love watching the clothes tumble round and round.

MM: Of course you do.

Dryer 

O: I hate this one more than the wet machine. It smells and it's hot. 

MM: As usual you have no taste. This one is perfect to curl up inside of when the humans have removed their clothes. You just have to make sure you don't stay in there when they put the clothes back. 

Courtesy of RaGeBe

O: Wait is it that where you go when I want to play?

Oven

O: It's the hot food box!  Humans like to put their food in and then they take it out later and it's a warm and I don't get why they put it in there to make it warm because it's just as good cold but sometimes if you're fast enough you can steal food from it! 

MM: Or if you wait for the right moment you can steal food from it and take a nap inside the warm. It's too hot sometimes, but that is why you are supposed to wait. 

O: And we're not going to talk about how you got your tail singed the one time.

MM: Not if you don't want me telling Ralph where you hid your bone.

Dishwasher 

O: This is my favorite! This one has all of the smells and food, almost every day! 

MM: Yes but the humans always yell at you for standing on it. Whereas I can stand on it and not get caught.

O: And that is just one more reason that I steal your kibble when you're not looking. Anyway, the humans put in the food dishes, and they still have food on them. They don't even lick their dishes clean! And then the machine makes lots of noise and spits steam everywhere - 

MM: Which is the best time to lay on the counter above it.

O: And then when they open it there's no more food! Why do they feed the food to the machine and not to me!

Stove

O: This one is tough Murder Mittens. On one hand, the humans make food up there, lots of food.

MM: On the other hand, even if you can get up to the food, you never know if it's safe.

O: Exactly! It looks like it's the rest of the kitchen but sometimes it's hot and sometimes it's not and sometimes there's fire according to Ralph down the street.

Courtesy of elina-volkova

MM: You trust the Chihuahua? He barks at his own shadow.

O: You have a point. Maybe his has fire but ours doesn't?

Refrigerator

O: The cold box! There is so much food in here and the humans just leave it in there and stare in front of the food as if they expect it to do something. I know the food is dead when they put it in there so why do they stare at it? 

MM: You expect me to be able to explain the humans?

O: No it just doesn't make sense. Anyway this one is also great during the hot months if you're sneaky you can get in there and eat the food and be cold all of the best things in one spot.

Courtesy of luca andrade

MM: As much as I hate it, I have to agree. There's food, there's tight spaces to curl up in, and it is cool when it is unbearably hot outside.

Freezer

O: This one is frustrating. On one hand it's nice and cold when it's hot outside. I love this box. On the other hand it smells like food but everything's frozen and hard definitely not food it's so cruel for the humans to do this. And then they yell at you when you want to stay in there and they put wet things on you. 

MM: The wet things. Perhaps the humans think you don't bathe yourself I certainly don't. As to the cold box, I believe the humans put things here so that they are food for longer like hiding one of your treats so that you can eat it later. 

O: But who would they hide it from? It's not like with my treats and you're going to eat them later. 

A final note from the People of Appliance Rescue Service: Although this has been phrased in a rather light-hearted way these are all places that you want to keep your pets out of for their safety and for the longevity of your appliances. In the event of your pets getting into one of your appliances and you being unable to get them out please make sure to call your vet first and a second. While we love our pets as much as the next person, we are much better at fixing appliances than we are animals. If you want to reach out to us about your appliances, you can reach out to us at ((214) 599-0055) or by heading to our contact page. 

Appliance Deep Dive Round Up

Putting It All Together To See What Makes Appliances Tick

Appliances might not be the most interesting topic in the world, but they are a basic part of the American home. They make our lives easier, most of the time. According to Merriam-Webster, “ an appliance is a device or piece of equipment designed to perform a specific task, typically a domestic one.”  Over the last year we’ve broken down every major appliance in the home, to go deep into what makes the different appliances work and what matters. 

Each of the posts covers the important parts of their appliances. How do the appliances work? What sort of variations are there? What are the differences that are important to know if you’re looking to purchase? What features would you expect to find? So that’s the way each one works. We want to highlight the different posts, make them easier to find, and most importantly, show off something from each of them that might be of interest. 

All About the Refrigerator 

Let’s start off looking at the 5 major styles of refrigerators. When it comes to refrigerators you’ve got freezerless refrigerators, top freezers, bottom freezers, side by sides, and french doors.  Even though the first three are listed by the location or lack of a freezer, they are still refrigerators. Why are they listed by the freezer then? Probably because they’re still refrigerators without much of a change. Even the Side by Sides and the French Door refrigerators are most defined by how they’re set up rather than any change in what they do. While that might seem odd, it’s because refrigerators don’t grow by leaps and bounds in terms of food storage. They grow by tiny moments, small improvements to how long food stays good. So the biggest factor for you as a home owner, is how you want them to look. 

All About the Freezer

The freezer is both very similar and yet very different from the refrigerator. It doesn’t change much from one year to another, but instead, it slowly improves how long food can be kept. Changes to a lack of frostbite or lack of ice building up, they’re great! But overall, the freezer doesn’t change much in terms of its function. Instead, how the freezer is set up is what changes. For the freezer, your types are the portable freezer, a chest freezer,  an upright freezer, and drawer freezers. 

All About the Oven

Ovens are fantastic and have been for quite some time. The earliest ovens have been found in 29,000 BC. The varieties we have now are many, and the features are even more plentiful. We have gas and electric ovens, we have convection ovens, and steam ovens as well.  Our favorite feature though is a toss up between the warming drawer and the steam clean function. No matter how many times we fix ovens that have that feature we have to be grateful for it. 

All About the Stove 

  When it comes to the stove, everyone knows about gas stoves and electric stoves. The fights between the chefs will continue for ages yet, but for us, we love the induction stove. The fact that it’s nigh on impossible to be burned by the stove now is a fantastic thing. We also love that many stoves also offer continuous grates, which is wonderful for making breakfast foods of all sorts. After all, who doesn’t love breakfast? 

All About the Dishwasher

For dishwashers the types you might have include built-in, drawer, portable, countertop and integrated. Dishwashers are constantly changing though and offering new tools and techniques to make them better. When researching this we found that our favorite feature was the sensor wash.  This one feature makes it much easier to manage your water bill, and only uses the amount that’s needed to clean the dishes. 

All About the Washer

We’re tempted to say that the best part of the article is adding ‘laundry’ to the list of things that are consistent in life, but that would be a rather morose thought. Instead, for us it was learning about the existence of washer-dryer combinations. It’s not an efficient machine. It’s not an easy to use machine. The fact that it exists though, is where any appliance starts, as it can’t get better if it doesn’t exist yet. 

All About the Dryer 

And finally we have dryers. There are so many different types of dyers. They can all be said to do the same thing, but how they go about it? That’s wildly different. You’ve got gas dryers and electric dryers, but that’s just the power source. More important are the heat pump condenser dryers which use a technique similar to a refrigerator to make a dryer work many times more efficiently than the dryers any of us grew up with. 

And that’s that! If you’re looking to find out more about the options as of right now (2022) these are the posts to check out. Upgrades will come with time and we’ll update the page as well, diving in and letting you know what we’ve found as always. Let us know on Facebook or in the comments below, which article do you find the most useful? 

If instead you’re here because one of your appliances is making the holidays a nightmare, we can help with that! You can reach out to us on our contact page, or by giving us a call at ((214) 599-0055). Even with the holidays, we’ll work with you to find a time that works best for you. At Appliance Rescue Service our goal is to get your home running smoothly again, whether it’s an oven that won’t stay lit, a dishwasher that isn’t draining or a dryer that’s squeaking.

Freezer Deep Dive

How does your freezer work, what makes one better than another, and do you need a new one? 

 Standalone Freezer Types

• Portable Freezer

• Chest Freezer 

• Upright Freezer

• Drawer Freezer

Imagine having to walk down into your root cellar in order to find that your food has gone rotten because you left it down there too long. Or that a mouse got to it. Prior to the invention of freezers, root cellars were one of the key ways we used to store and preserve our food. This week we're diving deep on freezers and which models serve best for your purposes. 

Before we dive in, we do have one note. Don't forget that alongside most, although not all, refrigerators there are also freezers. These will be either as a separate compartment at the top or bottom. Or you might get them as a 'side by side' where one side of the unit is a refrigerator and the other is a freezer. These are also fantastic options and if you're only freezing a small amount of food can be perfect for a household of 4 or fewer. If you're wanting to do meal prep, or you have a larger family you need to feed, an additional freezer can make your life much easier. 

Unlike our Deep Dives in the past we're sad to see that there aren't many features for freezers in standalone models. You might get digital temperature controls, or the ability to adjust the controls via Wi-Fi, but there's not much. The biggest things you need to keep an eye out for are insulation, power source, and the compressor. These three things are really going to affect how good your freezer is and whether it's worth the money you're going to spend on it. 

Portable Freezer

A portable freezer is ideal if you're going to a party or the lake. After all you don't want to bother with coolers full of ice that are going to melt eventually. Portable freezers are very spartan in terms of what features they offer but they are also cheap because of that. They can be AC or DC-powered. Some models are even able to plug into your car. These are, in short, great for people who travel frequently, but we wouldn't advise them for home use.  These also aren't going to be very large. You should expect to be able to store a couple of liters of soda and some additional food. The largest that we found was 85L  (think 120 cans of 12oz) while the smallest we found was 10.5L or about 4 bottles of soda. 

Chest Freezer 

Picture a box. It might be as 'small' as 2.1 cubic feet or absolutely massive at 40 cubic feet. Give your box a hinged lid, and inside the box picture, it with subdividers you can move around This is (essentially) the description of a chest freezer. If you need to store large types of food like whole birds or sides of beef or pork, this is a good choice. Oddly shaped pieces of food, or large quantities of food, these are what chest freezers are great at handling. A chest freezer is usually very affordable when compared to other types of freezers. 

Two important things to note. 

-A chest freezer typically won't have an internal fan. This means that the coldest air is going to settle at the bottom and warmer air will rise to the top. Make sure that if you are storing other types of food in it that only what you plan to use soon is near the top. 

A chest freezer complete with subdivided drawers, photo belongs to Practically Functional

-The chest's lid isn't meant to have things stacked on top of it. They can't handle heavy objects. Doing so anyway can cause the lid to bow, breaking the seal on the freezer. This would mean that the air from inside the freezer would escape more easily and things at the top can defrost. Note that in our tiny house appliance article, we noted that they could be used for a table in-between times when you need to access them. This is still a viable possibility. The reason that works is that you set a flat surface on top of the chest and then items on the whole of that, it spreads the weight more evenly. Doing it this way prevents the weight from bowing any one spot of the freezer lid. If on the other hand you just sit on the lid, all of the weight is focused in one spot, and that spot will dent and malform, thus breaking the seal. 

Upright Freezer

Upright freezer complete with shelves, drawers and door pockets.

Upright freezers are great for those of us who are... on the shorter side. With a chest freezer, you can tip yourself over the side trying to reach the bottom. (Yes your blogger has done it.) An upright freezer though has internal shelves for separating things out and it opens like a fridge! Upright freezers come in a wide variety of sizes. You might need one that fits under your counters and is the size of a mini fridge just for keeping meal prep kits in. Alternatively, you might be storing an entire year's harvest in yours and you're going to need one the size of a standard refrigerator. Both options are available, although naturally, prices will vary between them. They're usually going to offer fans and auto defrost features but they're also going to cost more than a chest freezer. 

Drawer Freezer

Drawer freezer pulled out.

A drawer freezer is kind of like a drawer dishwasher in that it is capable of fitting under your cabinets and containing multiple drawers for easier access. These are ideal for a home with a very busy kitchen. Drawer freezers are meant to fit right alongside your existing cabinets. You can even use the top as additional counter space if you wanted. They will usually have fans to circulate air evenly and an auto-defrost function. They also include slots for putting in separators to subdivide the space however you want. They are priced higher than most other options, but well worth it in our opinion if you're looking to get additional freezer space.  One great thing to note is that many drawer freezers are available as 'panel ready' meaning that you can purchase panels to fit over the front. Then they can blend seamlessly into your kitchen, allowing you to keep the look of your kitchen uninterrupted. 

Throughout this post, we've mentioned that some models will have auto defrost options and some don't. Why though is it important? Good question. Over time a freezer can build up ice on different layers of the freezer. Not just on your food, but on the walls of the unit as well. If moist air is able to get into the freezer at all it will coat the edges and freeze into lovely ice crystals. Over time this can build up until it coats the freezer. It can even get to the point that you won't be able to use sections of the freezer without having to hack out the ice that's there. (Ask the blogger how she knows.....) Now, you can defrost your freezer without having an auto-defrost function. To do that you'd remove everything from the freezer, unplug it and take it outside. You can then let it sit in the sun all day, you can use a hairdryer or you can take a chisel and mallet to the ice and carefully start working out the ice.  If you want to avoid having to go through all of this, a defroster can be very useful. They also help with preventing freezer burn, but that's as much about how the food is sealed as how well the freezer seals. Defrosters will add cost and complexity to the freezer though, which means that you're not only going to be paying more but if something breaks it's another part that has to be explored. (Although we will say that regular maintenance checks can prevent from you having to deal with that.) 

With all of that in mind, what type of freezer do you find works best? Do you have ways that you use at home that we didn't think of? Let us know over on our Facebook page, we'd love to hear from you!

On the other hand, if you wound up here because your freezer is giving you issues, we've got several posts to help you take a look at all of that. If you can't figure out the issue, or you're busy getting prepped for the holidays (we understand) you can always give us a call at ((214) 599-0055) or reach out on our contact page. Our technicians are always available to help and we at ARS want to be there for you. 

Additional Reading

Why You Should Schedule Regular Appliance Checks 

What an Appliance Visit Is Like In 2021

5 Freezer Myths Busted

Freezer Comparisons: Miele versus GE: Who Does It Better?

Ratings/Reviews/Comparison

As Covid-19 stretches longer, and warnings of a nation-wide shutdown loom, many of us are looking at food preservation of one sort or another. The first spot that many of us look at is our freezers. Everything from individual ingredients and spices to full meals can be stored away and frozen. 

 What happens when you and your freezer are on the outs though? Its started to have keep different sections colder than others, or it says it’s at 0*F but really, it’s more like 10*. 

In those cases, many would start looking around for a new freezer. Which to choose though? A freezer is a freezer right? It keeps things cold, and that’s all that matters. Well, not necessarily. Let’s take a look at two of the best rated in the industry and see how they tackle the issue. 

Features of GE - FUF17DLRWW

Starting off let’s look at GE, an American staple. 
-Garage ready

GE knows that the temperatures an American homeowner has to deal with varies widely from one state to the next. To appeal to the broadest market, they’ve made sure that their freezers will maintain temperatures in your garage whether it’s 0*F or 110*F. 

-The highest rated upright freezer lineup in the industry 

Based on the combined data of different major appliance retailers nationwide, GE is rated as the 

best upright freezer in the industry. 

-Lock with key

If nothing will do but to keep your spouse out of your ice cream, or that set of cookie dough you’re saving for Christmas day, this model comes with a lock. (We’re sure there are other reasons that you might need a lock on your freezer, but we all know the need to protect the ice cream.) 

-Clear slide-out freezer bins

Part of the package for this model is four full width, clear-sided freezer bins that slide all the way out, to make it easier to find what you’re looking for. Instead of hunting on your hands and knees, you can grab out the bin you need and look through it on a table, and close the freezer in the meantime. It’s a win for your hands and your electric bill. 

-Audible temperature alarm

What’s worse than getting a meal ready and coming back to the freezer later to find out that you left it open, and now things are defrosting? Not much in our opinion. That’s why GE’s freezer offers an alarm if it gets below a certain point. 

-Exterior electronic temperature control

We’ve talked about how it maintains your set temps, and how it lets you know if that’s changing. But when it comes to actually setting the temperatures, GE is still thinking of you and how to keep your food cold. They’ve placed the temperature controls on the outside, eliminating the need to open the freezer to adjust them. 

-Turbo Freeze

After you’ve grabbed what you need, shut the door and gone about your day, the freezer sets off an extra cold blast of air to bring temperatures back to normal. 

-ENERGY STAR® Qualified

All of that, and it’s still Energy Star rated, which means it’s saving your food and your wallet. 

Features of Miele -F 2471 Vi

Now let’s head over to Germany and check out what their giant, Miele, has to offer. 

-Separate water and ice dispensers.

Instead of having to worry about your water freezing in the line, and thus breaking, Miele made it simple. They gave both the water dispenser and ice dispenser their own lines to run off of. 

-Handleless design

If you’ve looked in a decor magazine over the last year, or seen some of our own posts on the matter, you’ve seen that the trend is to have your appliances look more like cabinets. For many of us, this also means a handleless design. Miele is right on board with this trend. 

-Push2open for convenient door-opening assistance

Following right on from the previous feature, they’ve engineered the freezer with an easy push to open system. No handles would seem  like a problem, but thanks to this, you don’t have to worry. A light push and the door pops open. 

-Light floods the interior thanks to LED elements – 

The lights in this freezer are all LED elements, which means they’ll live longer and provide a truer light as well. 

-Communication with the machine could not be easier – WiFi Conn@ct

Why worry about your freezer when you’re out and about? With the Miele app you can check on your freezer no matter where you are. Worried that it’s too warm? You can see that by just pulling out your phone.  Or if you don’t have your phone handy, you can just ask Alexa. 

-Convenient control thanks to color touch display MasterSensor

Miele offers an easy to use exterior display for adjusting the temperature settings. 

-Defrosting is a thing of the past

Miele MasterCool appliances offer a NoFrost system. This system keeps cold, dry air circulating around the appliance so that ice doesn’t build up inside the cabinet. It eliminates ice buildup on food also, which means that you can always open and close drawers easily. All of this together has the additional benefit of protecting the freezer’s evaporator units, and being energy efficient. 

Comparison 

After looking at both of them, which do you prefer? The American workhorse or the German glitz? We’re still debating about which one is better ourselves. On the one hand, the GE freezer is perfect if you’re looking to turn your garage into a  second pantry. We could see this being especially useful if you’re a hunter, or have a large family. On the other hand, the Miele fits into your home beautifully. It fits into the connected home of the future, and the NoFrost system means that it also cuts down on the amount of food waste you have to worry about. 

What are your thoughts? Do you have experience with either brand? Let us know over on our Facebook page, or in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you! 

On the other hand, if you’re not looking to replace your freezer just yet,it just needs to have someone take a look, you can always give us a call at ((214) 599-0055). You can also set up an appointment via our website. We aim to be the best appliance repair shop in Carrollton, whether you need help with fixing your freezer, kicking your washer back into shape, or just doing some preventative maintenance, we’re here to help.