Schaefer'sMore than just TV's and Appliances...

My dryer seems to run forever... If your dryer seems to run forever, it could be because of a clogged vent or internal ductwork. Your dryer may have an automatic cycle that turns off the dryer when the clothes are dry. It does this with a special thermostat or moisture-sensing system.

My clothes smell bad! If you don't clean out the lint trap frequently, your dryer may have small lint fires inside the cabinet. The smell from these fires can leave a strong odor in the clothes drum. Also, if there are any solvents, paints, lacquers, etc. in use in the house,

Do dryer softener sheets hurt the dryer? Yes and no. Dryer softener sheets don't harm the dryer. However, their residue may cause the screen of the lint filter to become partially clogged or the electronic moisture sensor to be coated with residue. If this happens, clean the screen with a little detergent and a soft-bristle brush, wipe off the sensor with a cotton ball and a little rubbing alcohol

My washer is slow to fill... Check to see if there's good water volume coming through the hoses attached to the washing machine. If there is, check to see if the screens inside the water-inlet valve are clean. (The water-inlet valve is the device on the washing machine that the fill hoses are attached to.)
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A SCHAEFER'S UNIVERSITY VIDEO ON "SLOW FILLING WASHERS"

What causes those fuzzy balls on some clothing? Many synthetic clothes shed small fibers that ball up and cling to the clothes. Remove these "pills," if you like, with a fuzz-removing device that you can get from your local clothing materials supplier. Overloading your washer can make this condition worse.

How do I know how many clothes to put into the washer? For a top loader, a general rule of thumb is to lay clothes loosely inside the washer until they reach the top of the agitator. For a front loader, fill it until it's full, with minimal compression of the clothes.

Can I use oven cleaner on my self-cleaning oven? Most manufacturers recommend not using oven cleaner on self-cleaning ovens. Check your owner’s manual for specific details.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A SCHAEFER'S UNIVERSITY VIDEO ON "CLEANING YOUR RANGE'S CONTROL PANEL"

Why does my oven smell so much during self-cleaning? Ovens reach extremely high temperatures (800 to 1,000 degrees) during the self-clean cycle--to incinerate the grease, food splatterings, and drippings inside the oven. When all of that burns, it can smell pretty bad. Make sure you have good ventilation in the room where the oven is--at least when using the self-cleaning feature.

My oven is hot on the outside... It may be normal for your oven to become quite warm on the outside during baking, broiling, or self-cleaning. In some cases, the front door of an oven can become too.

There's water dripping inside the refrigerator... Self-defrosting refrigerators dispose of the water generated during the defrost cycle, usually via a tube or channel that directs the water to a pan at the bottom of the refrigerator. From the pan, the water normally evaporates.

Can I put a refrigerator/freezer out in my garage? Yes. But, if the refrigerator is self-defrosting, don't let the garage temperature drop to much below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A SCHAEFER'S UNIVERSITY VIDEO ON "USING YOUR REFRIGERATOR IN YOUR GARAGE"

How cold should my refrigerator/freezer be? Your refrigerator should be 36 to 42 degrees Fahrenheit and your freezer 0 to 8 degrees.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A SCHAEFER'S UNIVERSITY VIDEO ON "HOW TO CHECK YOUR REFRIGERATOR TEMPERATURE"

Do I have to rinse my dishes before washing them? Not usually. Most dishwashers handle the normal food residue left on dishes after eating, if you first scrape the dishes to remove any larger bits of food. But if anything is burned, melted, or stuck to the dishes, rinse and scrape them well, before you put them into the dishwasher. Leaving some residue is actually best, because the protein in the food reacts with the soap for more-effective cleaning.

Do I really have to run the water in the sink before starting a cycle? Yes. Dishwashers work best with very hot water. Letting the water at the sink run for a few moments (until it's hot) before turning on the dishwasher brings hot water to the dishwasher faster.

Which detergent type is better, liquid gel or powder? We recommend the powdered/granular detergents--like Cascade--because sometimes the gels don't perform as well. We've also found that prominent brands are better than some of the generics.

Interior cleaning. Clean the inside of your microwave frequently. Food particles and splatters absorb some of the microwave energy while the unit is operating and may cause burns and other damage to the microwave. You can clean the interior with a microwave oven cleaner. For a good one, check our "Accessory" section.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A SCHAEFER'S UNIVERSITY VIDEO ON "GETTING ODORS OUT OF YOUR MICROWAVE"

Running your microwave empty? Warning! Never operate a microwave oven without food or liquid inside it. Microwave ovens heat by bombarding the food or liquid in the oven with super-high-frequency microwave sound energy. If there's no food or liquid in the oven to absorb the microwave energy, the energy can feed back to the microwave itself, which can permanently damage the internal microwave antenna (magnetron).
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A SCHAEFER'S UNIVERSITY VIDEO ON "USING THE RIGHT COOKWARE IN YOUR MICROWAVE"

Exterior cleaning. The touch pad controls, door hardware, and other exterior trim pieces last longer when they're clean.