Consumer Question - Dishwasher Cleaning

Q: Hi, Joe,

We bought a home that has a high efficiency Sears Elite dishwasher. After cleaning there are food particles on the glasses in the upper racks.
 

Is there anything we can do?
 

Thanks,

Loretta

A: Hi Loretta,

Thanks for your note. Check out the spray arms to make sure they are not plugged with food particles. The removal of phosphates in detergent is causing a nationwide problem. Kroger & Meijer carry a product called Lemi Shine which takes care of the phosphate problem. We use it in our dishwasher and it resolves the problem.

Regards,

Joe Gagnon

Consumer Question - Gas Furnace

Hi, Joe,

I have a 1995 Comfortmaker gas furnace and I have a problem with it not running properly. I have a programmable thermostat that I just replaced to no avail. The problem seems to be that when the furnace needs to switch from night program to day program it will not. For example, I have night temp set at 64 and day temp to 68. Sometimes the furnace will kick on and run for a couple of minutes, then the blower continues to blow but no flame. If I turn the thermostat on and off it seems to then kick on and work fine. I have had a technician come out; he cleaned the sensor and confirmed that the furnace is in good shape. Unfortunately the problem continues.

Any suggestions you may have are much appreciated.
 

Thank you!
Frank
 

A: Hi Frank,

Thanks for your note.

You must have paid to have service rendered and they didn't fix the problem. I would call them back for service at no charge. Apparently they missed something.

If you get no satisfaction, I suggest you call Kelley Brothers at 734.462.6266. I know they can fix it.

Regards,

Joe Gagnon

Consumer Question - Holes in Clothing

Q:  Dear Joe, 

We have had an ongoing issue with holes in our soft cotton clothing particularly the underwear and lightweight cotton t-shirts. They appear as small holes and can be larger at times. We have looked at both the washer and dryer trying to find what may be causing this and are a bit stumped. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike & Cathy

A:  Hi Mike & Cathy,

Thanks for your note. This is a tricky question to answer without offending the woman of the house so I’ll put it into a statement of fact.

Women with large breasts use brassieres with a wire support built into it. These wires will wear through the fabric and can then snag other clothes causing little or large holes. It took a lot of years as a service technician to find this out.

Regards,

Joe Gagnon

Consumer Question - Tang Formula for Cleaning Dishwasher

Q: Hello Mr Gagnon,

 
Could you tell me the formula for the Tang treatment to clean dishwashers, please? Is this done only if the dishes don't seem to be as clean or as a regular cleaning treatment?
 

Thank you,
Michele

A: Hi Michele,

Thanks for your note. I’ve had several consumers asking about the Tang story and the Tang formula treatment. Here it is...

Recipe for Cleaning a Dishwasher - Joe Gagnon's Tang Treatment
Way back in the 1960s a service technician working for me broke a glass bottle of Tang breakfast drink in a customer’s dishwasher. He picked up all the glass and left all of the powdered Tang product lying in the bottom of the dishwasher. He ran the dishwasher and the Tang had disappeared so he didn’t worry anymore about it. The next day the customer called me to advise me that her dishes seemed to be so much cleaner and the dishwasher smelled great inside.

I then purchased several containers of Tang and experimented on my dishwasher and a few of my neighbors' dishwashers. I found that the undisolved detergent which forms a scum on surfaces was all gone and the motor impellers were as clean as new! This allowed the impellers to move more water through the spray arms giving a better wash affect. The removal of undisolved detergent from the inside cabinet allowed the door seals to seat better against the inside walls preventing door leaking problems.
 

Treatment Twice a Year
Turn on the hot water faucet until the temperature is at its maximum (140 degrees.) This should always be done every time you turn on the dishwasher.
 

Turn on the dishwasher and let it run for 6 or 7 minutes (empty of dishes.)
 

Open the door and pour in 12 oz. of Tang orange powdered breakfast drink directly into the water lying in the bottom of the dishwasher.

Shut the door and let the dishwasher run through its complete cycle.
 

Drop me note and let me know how it worked for you!

Regards,

Joe Gagnon

Consumer Question - Refrigerator

Q: Hi, Joe,

I have an Amana BX22QW bottom mount refrigerator that is 20 years old. It has recently developed some new symptoms as follows:
Cycles more frequently and upon restart sometimes the cooling fan starts but not the compressor. It sounds as though a thermal overload switch clicks accompanied by a blink of kitchen lights. Sometimes several cycles of clicks occur. Does this sound like a repairable problem? Is there a bad starting component going bad, or a bad electrical condenser, etc.? When it runs it sounds normal, no unusual noise, and it maintains freezer and refrigerator temperature very well. Your comments are appreciated.

Thank you,

James

A: Hi James,

Thanks for your note. From your information given me I am going to suggest you purchase a new relay and overload that connects on to the compressor. Not hard for a consumer to do. If you need a service technician to do it please contact me again and I will give you a number to the best refrigeration man around.

Regards,

Joe Gagnon

Consumer Question - Kitchenaid Range

Q: Hello, Joe,

We’re working on a Kitchenaid range (kgrt507gwh0). We have moved and are converting from Natural Gas to Propane. This range has sealed burners. When attempting to access the orifice spud, the screw holding the ventri tube would not turn and the head broke off, leaving the threaded portion of the screw in place with no way to get hold of it. We haven't attempted to use the burner because we are concerned about holding the tube in place. Is there anything that we can do to fix this before having to replace the entire burner unit?
 

David and Jill

A: Hi David & Jill,

Thanks for the note.

This is tough without looking at it. Can you drill a tiny hole in what's left and try to reverse the drill motor to get it out?

Regards,

Joe Gagnon

Consumer Question

By Joe Gagnon - Originally Printed in The Observer Eccentric Papers

Donna writes---Would you by any chance know anything about this appliance? It’s basically a pop dispenser. Ours worked satisfactorily (I wouldn’t say great, quite a bit of jamming) for about 16 months. Of course, it had a one-year warranty. Then one day I came home from work to a nasty smell coming from the basement. It turned out to be the SkyBox. When I opened its door, it smelled like something was burning/melting inside. So I unplugged it.

After waiting a year for my husband to have someone look at it, I called Maytag today. They informed me they no longer manufacture them, service them, have replacement parts for them, nor can they give me any further information about them. When I insisted, they gave me Whirlpools address. This doesn’t seem quite right for a 2-½ year old, $600 appliance. Any ideas why they quit manufacturing them, or know of any company who might be able to still service it? Thank you in advance for your help.

Reply---I was still in the business when this product was introduced and I thought it was a great addition to the refrigeration line and would really enhance a person’s decorated bar area. Unfortunately there must not have been enough orders for them or Maytag would have continued selling them. There is no law that says a manufacturer must supply parts or service for any set time after a product is made which goes to show you how they can manage to take advantage of any customer who unknowingly purchases their products. This goes on all the time and seems to be getting worse, even though products can cost so much more then ever. I would suggest you email me and I will give you the name of a company that can have someone take a look at it with no promises. I know they will at least try. Thank you for writing me.

I know that all readers will agree with me when I tell you that I no longer trust what is going on in the appliance world. The above e-mail just goes to show how low customer satisfaction stands in the business plan of major appliance companies. It’s an outright shame and most sales and service companies share this view across America. They design a new product such as a front load washer and I feel that thousands of shoppers now own these washers and are really angry about the mold and odor problems. None of my past columns have created as many phone calls and e-mails as the story about mold and odor in washers. There appears to be no cure except maybe the product sold on line by smellywasher.com. I announced this cleaning product a few weeks ago but I have only heard from a few homeowners that it does the job. I need to hear from more of you so if you have a smelly front load washer, please go to the web site, order their product and try it.