Remodel Kitchen » appliances

HDTV Reception Problems

Ken — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 16:18:13 +0000

I’ve had an HDTV television since 2008. I could pull in most channels, but I’ve always had problems with NBC and ABC. Since I don’t watch TV all that often, missing two major stations has not been a big problem.

But, after three years of spotty reception, I finally tried to solve the issue. First, I removed the existing coaxial cable, and installed a right angle (90°) coaxial connector. The coaxial outlet was located right behind the HDTV, and I suspected that the sharp bend in the cable was somehow affecting the reception. Actually, this was all guess work since I discovered that moving around the cable affected the reception, at least on the two channels that did not come in clearly. I still do not understand why the same cable that can carry all the other channels crisply could not do the same for ABC and NBC.

Next, I installed a new coaxial cable. I was at Orchard Supply Hardware for other reasons, and picked up a new GE RG6 Quad Shield Coax Cable, that supposedly offered “maximum signal quality.” I was skeptical a coaxial cable, even one branded “Ultra Pro® Digital – HD” could make a difference, but for $10.99, it was worth a shot. Much to my amazement, it worked! ABC and NBC now works, probably much to the delight of those who will be visiting during Thanksgiving.

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Costco Garage Doors

Ken — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 07:40:20 +0000

When I shop at Costco, I expect to receive a quality product at a competitive price. Usually, I am extremely happy with my purchases, but that garage door I purchased from them has turned out to be quite a doozy. Mind you, the garage door itself is fine. The problem is with everything else attached to that garage door.

So, three years in, one of the torsion springs broke. Only three years? So, I found another contractor to replace both of the torsion springs and I didn’t think much about the garage again until a few months ago when the garage door opener started failing intermittently. Sometimes the door would not open all the way. Other times it would not close all the way. I had not problem with the opening, because I could always click on the garage door opener a second time. However, the closing was a serious issue because unless you monitored the garage door every time to make sure that it closed completely, there was always a chance that the garage door was not securely shut.

Long story short, I replaced the Chamberlain Whisper Drive 1/2 HP Belt Drive garage door opener, which was not all that quiet, with a LiftMaster 3850 DC Motor Belt with EverCharge Standby Power System. After I changed the garage door opener, the problem completely disappeared and the new opener is amazingly quiet. No more rattle and shake when the door is opening or closing. Just solid and quiet.

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Buggy Washing Machine

Ken — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:24:56 +0000

Consumer Reports reports that certain Kenmore/LG washing machines have a “software problem.” Too bad the washing machine doesn’t have a USB port. Would make the software upgrade a lot easier.

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Appliance Reviews

Ken — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:31:21 +0000

Paul Kedrosky complains that Google fails at appliance reviews. I use Google a lot. A LOT. And I would have never thought of using Google to look for appliance reviews, at least in the sense one a reliable list of 5 or so options to select from. Instead, I have always turned to Consumer Reports. That’s not to say that Consumer Reports has never steered me wrong. But, I think the review standards will be more consistent when you have one organization reviewing multiple dishwashers instead of the crowd-sourcing model where each person reviews their own individual dishwasher. However, there is a place for crowd-sourced reviews. Once your shopping list has been narrowed to a few choices, I would use Google at this point to vet the options by looking at user reviews for particular makes and models. I would also run the obligatory “sucks” search to look for disgruntled user reviews.

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Hoover Vacuum Cleaner Replacement Floor Brush

Ken — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:49:39 +0000

The hardwood floor brush to the Hoover WindTunnel Canister Cleaner broke recently. So, how exactly does a brush with no moving parts break? Well, Hoover floor brushes have a plastic tab that locks it in place. And, if the tab breaks off, the brush does not stay in place. I’m not sure how that tab exactly got decapitated. I only found out when I discovered that someone had taped the brush to the hose. Ugh.

Now, finding replacement parts is not straightforward. I couldn’t find replacement parts at Target, Costco or any other places that I regularly frequent. I ended up finding a replacement brush at a local vacuum cleaner repair shop. Not a Hoover brush, but one that fits with a metal tab instead of a plastic one.

You can find replacement parts at the Hoover website, but you have to visit the Replacement Parts page. When I was looking on the main website, it kept taking me to blank pages.

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LG Front Load Washing Machine Walks No More

Ken — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 20:14:30 +0000

I’ve had problems with my LG Front Load Washer since it first arrived. Six months ago, I finally purchased the GVI Anti-Vibration Pads, which really reduced the noise and vibration issue. However, the washing machine would still inch around sometimes during the spin cycle. And, depending on the nature of the load, the washing machine may shift more than an inch or two.

About two weeks ago, I discovered the Steam Wash option when re-reading the owner’s manual. I’ve always thought that SteamWasher referred to the Steam Fresh cycle, which I had used before. However, if you press the steam button during certain cycles, the machine will steam clean your clothes. So, how does this reduce the vibrations? The owner’s manual notes that the Steam Wash option features low water consumption. Less water means that the wet laundry will be lighter in weight, which should theoretically mean a decreased likelihood of an unbalanced load. I have not had to push back the washing machine since I switched to the Steam Wash cycle.

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Five Remodeling Mistakes

Ken — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:46:45 +0000

TV Outlets. I failed to future proof the house. Had I known a few years ago that I will now be watching TV programs on my computer instead of the television in the living room, I would have installed a TV coaxial cable outlet in the office, where the computer spends most of its time.

Bath Screen. Every time I take a bath, the bath screen reminds me that I should have installed a sliding glass shower door instead. If I set the shower head to champagne spray, water exits the small seam between the bath screen and the wall. If I set the shower head to normal spray, the floor outside the foot of the tub gets wet.

Extra Sink. Rarely use that extra sink and faucet on the kitchen island.

Cellular Blinds. Cellular blinds work great throughout the house, except for the bedrooms. If your bedroom windows are facing any source of outside light, unless you have selected a suitable fabric that blocks light, your blinds may light up quite brightly at night. Additionally, the Top Down Bottom Up option was totally unnecessary and more trouble than it was worth. Now each blind has two cords for you to keep away from young children.

Indoor Laundry Room. Mildly convenient. However, you cannot run the washer or dryer at certain hours. Additionally, if the laundry room does not have a concrete floor (such as when it sits above the crawl space), certain front loading washers may exhibit stability issues.

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Front Loading Washers: Mildew v. Child Safety

Ken — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 08:36:28 +0000

This thought had been percolating in the back of my mind for the past week or so, and Consumer Reports beat me to the punch. For a front loading washer, if you do not leave the door ajar, you risk mildew or mold build-up. However, if you do leave the door ajar, then this practice poses a child-safety risk.

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KitchenAid Refrigerator Water Dispenser

Ken — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:26:15 +0000

I’ve been using a KitchenAid Bottom-Mount Refrigerator for just over two years. Last week, I encountered a problem where the cold water dispenser located inside the refrigerator stopped dispensing cold water. I pulled out the refrigerator and took a look and nothing seemed out of order. I knew the dispenser itself was “working” because I could hear it attempt to pump water whenever I pressed the button.

So, after much searching around, I finally was able to locate the cold water tank behind the two crisper bins. Seriously, the owner’s manual should tell people to check the water tank within “The water dispenser will not operate properly” section of the troubleshooting guide. Even though the refrigerator says it is 38°, I know for a fact that certain parts of the refrigerator are colder than others. For example, leaving a gallon of milk on the top shelf by the blower will cause the milk to freeze. Anyways, a thin layer of ice had formed in the water dispenser tank. I didn’t even need to heat up the tank. Just tilting it back and forth caused the ice to break up. When I pressed the water dispenser button again, it started pumping out cold water (with a few ice crystals here and there.)

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Walking Washing Machine

Ken — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:24:35 +0000

I’ve finally come up with a solution for the walking LG Tromm Steam Washer. While the GVI Anti-Vibration Pads were really helpful in dampening the vibration and cutting down the noise from the washer, the pads could not prevent the washer from walking around the laundry room. Before I discovered this secret, I was really torn. The pads worked very well at silencing the washing machine for the most part; however, if the washing machine shifted every so slightly during the rinse or spin cycle, I had a really difficult time moving the washing machine back into place. Those pads really gripped the tile floor well.

As an experiment, I stuck an empty shoe box between the washer and the dryer. Lo and behold, I’ve ran through several wash cycles and the washer has not budged an inch, even on those loads that typically cause the washer to slide around the room. Problem solved.

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