It’s heating up and your air conditioner is probably running constantly this time of the year. We put together tips to help keep your home cool during the hottest days of the summer.
Start by closing the blinds during the day. If you are looking for a way to keep your house cooler during those hot summer days, before you leave for work close the blinds.
Keep doors and vents open. Our friends over at Rheem suggest you keep your doors and vents open to keep good airflow. When they are shut, your cooling system is working harder, and using more energy.
Maintain a healthy heating and cooling system. If you haven’t check out our maintenance articles, it acts as a checklist for you to make sure you heating and cooling systems are ready for our Midwest weather. You know, when spring is in the air, but we get 6″ of heavy snow on April 1st? Yes, that Midwest weather we all know and love. In short, remember to change your furnace filters, and schedule tune-ups in the spring to prepare for these hot summer days.
Adjust your ceiling fans! A good rule of thumb is to set your ceiling fans to rotate counterclockwise during the summer to push the cool air down.
When you need support, we can help. Warners’ Stellian has experienced Heating & Cooling specialists ready to provide the home solutions you need to live comfortably. There is never a good time for your A/C to go out, but we make it stress-free for you. Learn more about our air conditioner repair.
Read more about heating and cooling resources on our blog.
All Warners’ Stellian wants for Christmas is to make sure your appliances are in working order for the rise in cooking and baking that will be happening! So we created a holiday kitchen prep guide to help.
Don’t Self-Clean Your Oven
You may remember our 10 Kitchen Tips for Thanksgiving blog, which still rings true. However, if you are prepping to cook for Thanksgiving, skip the self-clean function and take the extra steps to clean manually. To quote our Easy Oven Cleaning Tips blog post, “Self-clean ovens have a setting that allows it to reach very high temperatures and burn leftover food mess into ashes.” What we have seen is people during the holiday season clean their oven, but their oven can’t take the heat – literally. Putting our customers in a tough spot needed a new range or repair appointment before turkey day.
Change Your Water Filter
To start your holiday prep, every six months you should change the water filter in your refrigerator. The build-up from minerals in your water can stop your fridge from working. If your water dispenser stopped working when was the last time you changed the filter? Not to mention, your guest probably wants to drink fresh-tasting water.
Clean Your Dishwasher… and the Filter
It might come as a surprise for some, but your dishwasher has a filter that needs to be cleaned frequently, depending on how often you use your dishwasher. We talk a lot on our social media sites (insert shameless plug here – Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or yes, even TikTok), where we show where to find your filter, clean it, and the benefits of cleaning it which helps keep your dishwasher running smoothly. Also using a cleaning aid can help rinse the hard water build-up and remove bad odors and bacteria.
Furnace Maintenance
Furnace maintenance might be over looked, but being proactive helps prevent future problems. The last thing we want is your furnace to go out while hosting guests! Make sure your filter is changed, get a tune up, and you might find our furnace checklist blog post helpful.
Vacuuming
It’s true! When you are excited about solid vacuum lines and getting a new vacuum that gets all the pet hair you didn’t know even existed… you’ve reached adulthood. All jokes aside, running the vacuum is a core piece in preparing for guests, but having one that truly picks up all the pet hair, dust, and food crumbs makes this chore more enjoyable. If you are in the market for a new one, you might want to click here.
What happens if you are in the middle of your holiday prep and something happens to your appliances? Don’t worry, we have a handful of options for you to get ahold of us. While our stores are closed on Thanksgiving day, you can head to our website and schedule a repair.
Carla Warner visited KARE 11 News@4 to share some tips for making the most of your most-used kitchen appliances.
In case you missed us, here are those tips:
Microwave Tips
Rena Sarigianopoulos of KARE and Carla Warner of Warner Stellian chat about how to help your appliances help you.
1.To get rid of that popcorn smell or other odors, squeeze a lemon into a bowl of water and boil it in the microwave it for several minutes. Allow the bowl to cool before opening the microwave door and then wipe down the interior with a soft cloth.
2.Take advantage of different power levels. Most people only cook using 100% of the microwave’s power and just nuke everything. But you can effectively use your microwave to soften and melt gently, too. To quickly soften butter, cook 1 stick for 1 minute on 10% power level.
Refrigerator Tips
1. A small amount of condensation on the fridge or freezer is normal, especially during humid weather and summer vacation. If you see more condensation than normal, check the seal (or gasket) for any obstructions and clear them. If there aren’t any, try moistening the gasket with Vaseline by rubbing a thin layer on the seal where it meets the cabinet of the fridge. This should create a stronger, air-tight seal.
2. Use refrigerator space wisely. Brands might create the perfect space for gallon-jug storage on your refrigerator door, but consider how quickly you will use highly perishable foods (like milk) before storing them here. Why? Consider the temperature fluctuations of this region of the refrigerator. Accordingly, produce like broccoli, asparagus and apples benefit from colder temperatures located near the rear, while corn and berries — for example — benefit from the warmest spot in the refrigerator, so choose those for the front. (Alternatively, fresh herbs like basil thrive in slightly warmer-than-fridge temperatures, so I keep mine in the door!)
3.Use your crisper. Those clear drawers in your fridge aren’t just for convenience. Many models allow you adjust the humidity of your crisper drawers to suit their contents. Consult your use & care manual for specifics on your model, but in general, separate your fruits from vegetables and set humidity to high for green, leafy vegetables and low for fruits and vegetables with skins. Meats should be colder – often just above freezing – so keep them in your deli drawer, which is usually designed to stay colder.
Range Tips
1. Keep your burner caps and drip pans clean. Maintaining a tidy cook surface isn’t just about impressing company. Dirty surfaces don’t reflect heat as well as polished surfaces, thus wasting energy and potentially your time. We sell range top cleaner made specifically for cooking surfaces that will help you keep your range or cooktop looking – and cooking – well.
2. Match pots and pans to the size of your burners. Unless you’re using an induction cooktop or range, you’re heating a lot of air while you try to heat your food. For instance, induction cooking – which only heats the cooking vessel and not the air – is 20% more efficient than electric and 70% more efficient than gas. To lessen energy loss, choose the appropriate-sized pot or pan for the size of burner you’re cooking on (i.e. don’t put a 1-qt saucepan on a ginormous “power burner”).
3. Cover your pots while boiling water. When you think about it, it makes no sense to boil water in an uncovered pot. Using a cover helps water boil faster while creating pressure and preventing evaporation.
What are your best appliance tips and tricks? Share them in the comments section below!
Along with shorts and mosquitoes, grilling season is coming in hot! Follow these tuneup tips to make sure your gas grill or charcoal grill is barbecue-ready.
Clean the Grill
Clean the interior using a putty knife to scrape off burnt-on food particles inside your grill. This isn’t just aesthetic. Build-up prevents your grill from heating correctly.
To clean your grates, Weber Grill suggests putting them in a dark-colored plastic bag with a cup of ammonia into the bag. After a day in the sun, residue should easily hose off.
If you have a grease drain, make sure it’s unclogged by running a coat hanger down it. Just keep your hands away from the grease bucket, because the grease will drain out fast and could burn you.
Season the Grill
Use nonstick cooking spray to oil the grates, drip pans and inside of the grill. This helps keep food from sticking to the surfaces and speeds cleaning. Light the grill and let it burn empty with the lid closed for 30 minutes to burn off the preservatives.
Level the Grill
Level the grill. If one side of your grill burns burgers while the other leaves them raw, it’s probably not level. Check both side-to-side and front-to-back to ensure even heating.
Check Grill for Leaks
Check for leaksby inspecting connections for tightness and hoses for cracks. Another good way to scope out leaks is by brushing non-ammonia soapy water around the fitting with an old toothbrush. Turn the gas on and watch for bubbles.
And if you need a new grill for spring, visit Warners’ Stellian.
If your dryer’s not drying, troubleshoot your vent before calling for dryer service. Especially if you’re running your dryer twice to get clothes dry.
If your dryer’s vent system is clogged, moist air won’t exhaust as well and it will take longer for your clothes to dry.
Is There Dryer Lint Buildup?
Follow these steps to check for dryer lint buildup.
Run your dryer for at least 5 minutes
Find your exhaust hood on the exterior of your home. It will look like one of these
Use your hand to feel for air movement. If it’s less than a hair dryer on high speed, clean the lint from the entire length of the system and exhaust hood. This should be done about every two years anyway.
