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refrigerators

Do I have my appliance repaired or replaced? Read these tips.

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Tips to repairing appliances

When do repair or purchase home appliances.

Appliance repaired or get a new one? Good question. Repairing or replacing refrigerators, washers/dryers, dishwashers and stoves can pose a tricky situation. Appliances are expensive enough to warrant repairs but repairs can also be too expensive to be worth it. Where do you draw the line?

Obviously, those appliances under warranty are not a factor in this discussion. It’s those appliances that you’ve had in the 4-7 year range that leave you with that tough decision. Experts say the most dominant factor when making your decision is how old that appliance is and how expensive a model you have.

Consumer Reports conducted a study years ago that still helps today. They surveyed thousands of consumers who faced this dilemma and found these interesting tips and observations:

  • If the repair cost is more than one-half of the cost to purchase one then toss it and buy a new one.
  • Many respondents felt that appliance repairs would be too costly and too much of a pain-in-the-who-know-what that they didn’t even consider repairing and bought a new one. DO NOT do that. Appliance repairs can be easy and relatively cheap so always explore that option.
  • Do not repair anything that costs $200 or less to buy new such as a garbage disposal. Not worth it.
  • Most respondents had the best experiences with independent contractors. In these days, ask your friends and neighbors through Facebook or Neighborhood forums who the best appliance repair person is. You’d be amazed how quickly and good referrals you will get.
  • Most appliance repairs can be made at home. It’s not as inconvenient as you may think.
  • If you end up having to buy a new one, the good news is that they will be more energy efficient.

And, remember, if you’re left without an appliance for a couple of days, go to a rent-to-own store and rent one while you’re shopping around. Or, if you can’t buy outright consider rent-to-own. But only if it makes sense. Use ShopRTO’s best practices to see if rent-to-own is better than a credit card in your circumstance. And, if you want to buy used, go to a rent-to-own store as they can have some of the best “used” deals in town.

Just another ShopRTO lifestyle tip.

ShopRTO provides consumers home living and decorating tips and promotes rent to own as a shopping option for affordable home furnishings.

Clean and organize your freezer

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Clean ice maker

Organize your freezer.

Can you see the back of your freezer? If not then you’re like most Americans who use the freezer but not to your best use.

The food items that time forgot need some attention so what’s the best way? Set aside some time and commitment as it won’t take too long and can make your life and meals more efficient and tasty. Make sure you won’t need any ice for the next half day as you’re going to get rid of all ice in your freezer. Or have a bag of ice ready.

First get a cooler where you can store those freezer items you want to keep. Empty and examine the contents of each item. If it’s been in there for one month or longer then ask yourself will you really use it? If it’s been there more than 6 months then toss it.

If you don’t know what it is then toss it. You obviously forgot it was there which prompts the best tip and that is to always label your freezer items with masking tape and a sharpie.

Empty all ice trays and/or buckets into a bowl and put in the cooler. Take off all shelves and let them thaw a bit so they don’t crack when you wash them with warm water and vinegar. That’s two parts water to 1 part vinegar mixture. Or warm water and a 1/2 cup of baking soda. Either will do.

If you have an ice machine with a bucket, completely dismantle and wash. You’ll notice over time how ice has built up at the exit point and if you don’t regularly dismantle, thaw and wash; it will either freeze up the hole or the motor. Either way, you have to go through this exercise. Better spend time than money.

Wipe the inside of the freezer with your warm water mixture. If there are really bad spots, put some water on it and leave it for a moment then wipe away. You may need to find an old toothbrush for those really sticky items. And wipe down the door sealant! Don’t forget that one.

After cleaning the inside and all of the shelves you dismantles. Dry them all with paper towels and put them back.

Organize your freezer with those items you kept and create a calendar of preparing dishes for the freezer and from the freezer in regular rotation.

Just another Shop RTO Home Lifestyle and Refrigerator tip.

ShopRTO provides consumers home living and decorating tips and rent to own as a shopping option for affordable home furniture and more.

You have to clean out your ‘fridge so here’s some good tips

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Cleaning refrigerator

Stick your head in the fridge and clean!

Ewwww. Cleaning out the refrigerator? Can’t it wait? No. The longer you wait, the more work and potential damage to the fridge.

First things first. Throw outdated items out. Sounds obvious but you wouldn’t believe how many expired jars of jellies, pickles, mustards, etc. stay in the refrigerator.

Once that is done there are two different methods. One is to take out all refrigerator items, put them in a ice chest then dissemble all shelves and put them in the dishwasher and turn on. You’d be amazed how easy it is to dissemble refrigerators these days. And, if it isn’t then you have a really old one and need to get a new one.

The other is to go shelf by shelf hand washing and drying. Again, if you haven’t cleaned your refrigerator in awhile then you’ll see what I mean about needing to do it on a regular basis.

Do NOT use cleaning liquids. You don’t want your fridge and food smelling like comet. Use some baking powder or tad of vinegar in warm water. You can use some soap but be careful. You can tell by smelling your sponge or pad if it’s too much soap.

When cleaning glass shelves don’t use hot water when the glass is cold. It could break with the sudden change of temperatures.

Clean from the highest shelf down. That was a hard lesson to learn. Food, crumbs, etc. falls down so start at the top. And, again, make sure everything is dry before re-inserting food. And, make sure all of the jars, bottles and cartons are wiped down before putting back. It kind of defeats the purpose putting a messy jelly jar into a clean refrigerator.

Then clean the outside of the refrigerator. You can use the harder stuff for the outside and other interesting items for stainless steel refrigerators. And, if you want to get really in-depth cleaning, then try these other tips.

Just another ShopRTO fridge tip and kitchen appliance tips.

ShopRTO provides consumers home decorating and living tips and promotes rent to own as a shopping option for affordable home furnishings.

 

Some cool tips to cleaning stainless steel

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stainless steel appliances

Keep that gloss on for years.

Cleaning those stainless steel appliances can be easy, quick and smart using these three tips.

For a quick clean, use a micro fiber dampened cloth followed by a dry micro fiber cloth. Make sure you wipe with the grain.

For those tougher spots, use rubbing alcohol. It’s cheap and works. Put rubbing alcohol on a dry cloth and wipe down the stainless steel. The alcohol dissolves quickly and dries streak free.

To keep stainless steel beautiful for years, use olive oil once a month. Just a few drops on a dry cloth and apply a thin coat. The oil helps masks scratches and keeps a gloss for years.

So, quit reading this and go pull out your olive oil because I’m fairly certain it’s been more than a month since you applied that olive oil coat to your stainless steel refrigerator.

Just another ShopRTO ‘keeping your home clean’ tip.

 

ShopRTO provides consumers home decorating and living tips and promotes rent to own as a shopping option for affordable home furnishings.

Save cooking time by freezing your fresh dinners for later

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freezing fresh food tips

Freeze your fresh cooking for later use

With such a busy lifestyle but still wanting to eat fresh and homemade meals, make larger portions of your meals for the purpose to freeze them for later use. It’s a great way to eat healthy and save time when time is the one thing you don’t have for cooking on any particular day. If you freeze meals, make sure you do it as wisely as possible and here are some tips to follow.

To successfully freeze foods, there are some simple rules you need to follow. The two most important bits of advice are to make sure you wrap the foods very well, and that you keep careful track of what is in your freezer. Freezer burn is dehydration of the food caused by improper packing, and wastes food. And if you don’t label the foods in your freezer and have a frequently updated chart of what’s in there, your freezer will be impenetrable in a very short time – which also wastes food.

Here are some more tips:

Freezer temperature should 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a thermometer to check the temperature.

Use microwave safe plastic wrap if you plan to thaw or cook the frozen food in the microwave.
Freeze in smaller or thin portions so the food cools faster and thaws faster for best quality.

You can freeze ingredients for a casserole in individual packets, then place the smaller packets into one large bag. Make sure you label well including date, thawing and baking instructions.

Line casserole dishes with heavy duty foil before assembling. Fill casserole, freeze, then remove foil wrapped food and seal in ziplock heavy duty freezer bag. Place in original container to thaw and bake.

Remember that freezing will not improve foods, it will just keep them at their original freshness and quality. Freeze only top quality foods.

Just another ShopRTO home freezer and lifestyle tip.

ShopRTO provides consumers home decorating and living tips and promotes rent to own as a shopping option for affordable home furnishings.

How ’bout some refrigerator cleaning tips

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refrigerator cleaning tips

Try these tips when cleaning your refrigerator.

Don’t be afraid — cleaning a refrigerator (and keeping it clean) isn’t a herculean task if you follow these tips:

Create a homemade all-purpose cleaner by combining the following in a gallon of hot water: 1 cup clear ammonia, ½-cup vinegar and ¼-cup baking soda. Pour into a spray bottle, or use from a bowl with a sponge. This no-rinse formula is a degreaser that prevents mold and mildew. Wipe down the entire refrigerator with this solution, including the drawers and shelves.

To prevent grease and odor buildup on top of the refrigerator after you’ve cleaned it, just buff some paste wax into the surface.

Use toothpaste to remove tough stains. It contains a gentle abrasive and has a pleasant odor.

To get those dust bunnies out from under the refrigerator, remove the grill and run a yardstick covered with a pair of pantyhose underneath. Also check the pan of water under the unit, since it can hold unpleasant-smelling water.

To combat household odors, fill a clean old sock with activated charcoal from an aquarium store, tie a knot in the top and place it in the back of the refrigerator. This will last a month or two, depending on the size of your refrigerator and how heavily you use it.

For a faster fix for odors, sprinkle vanilla extract on some cotton balls, place in a shallow dish and put in the refrigerator. Orange extract also works.

Eliminate lingering odors in your vegetable bins by putting a crumpled piece of a brown paper grocery bag inside and leaving it for 48 hours. The paper will absorb the odor.

Check for adequate tightness of the insulating seam around the door by placing a lighted flashlight inside the refrigerator and closing the door. Turn off the lights in the room (this should be done at night) and see if any light escapes from the seams. This will help you pinpoint any leaks.

If you don’t keep your refrigerator full, fill a large bottle (at least a gallon) with water and leave it in the refrigerator. It helps keep the refrigerator cool and running efficiently.

Keep your refrigerator at 37 degrees.

This is a post from HGTV. Just another ShopRTO Kitchen Appliance tip.

 

ShopRTO provides consumers home living and decorating tips and promotes rent to own as a shopping option for affordable home furnishings.

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