The do's and dont's of loading your dishwasher

article by Emily Hsieh - Yahoo "Shine" staff contributing writer

My husband and I are divided when it comes to loading the dishwasher. My methodology is aimed at space efficiency: I line up all the plates on one side, all the cups on the other, and anything random/big in the middle. His technique, or lack of, is completely haphazard—he just throws things in the machine in the first empty spot he sees (which means only about about half as many dishes fit). And as it turns out, as was reported in The New York Times, there is actually a science to this, and my approach could use some finessing too. Here are some pointers from the Consumer Reports Home and Garden blog to help your dishwasher perform at its best, and to prevent your dishes from chipping:

1. Load large items at the sides and back of the dishwasher, so that they don't block water and detergent from reaching other dishes.

2. Place the dirtier side of dishes toward the center of the machine to provide more exposure to the spray. Don’t let dishes or utensils nest, or rest side by side, which can prevent water from reaching all surfaces.

3. Use the top rack for plastic and delicate items that are dishwasher safe.

4. Rest glassware on prongs to prevent breakage. And to prevent chipping, make sure that china, crystal, and stemware don’t touch other items. Don’t machine-wash brass, bronze, cast iron, disposable plastics, gold-colored flatware, gold-leaf china, hollow-handle knives, pewter, tin, or anything made of wood or with a wood handle.

5. Load silverware with handles down but place knives with the handles up. If your dishwasher has an open basket, mix spoons, forks, and knives to prevent them from sticking together.

6. Place items with baked-on food facedown and toward the sprayer in the bottom rack.

How to install a dryer belt

The motor on your dryer is working, but the drum is not turning. You probably have a dryer belt that has either broken or become stretched. You can replace it once you know how to install a dryer belt. Obtain the brand name and model number from your dryer, and purchase a new belt. Most appliance repair stores carry the belt or will order one for you. When you have the dryer belt, simply disassemble the dryer and install the belt.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions
Things You'll Need:
Screwdriver
Putty knife
Dryer belt

Step 1
Disconnect the power supply to the dryer by unplugging the dryer form the wall outlet. Turn off the gas supply at the shutoff valve if your dryer is a gas model.

Step 2
Open the lint trap door, and locate the two screws that are located by the lint trap. Remove the screws using a Phillips head screwdriver. Lift the lint rap out after the screws have been removed. By leaving the lint trap in while unscrewing the retaining screws, you prevent the screws from falling into the dryer if you lose your grip on one.

Step 3
Insert a small putty knife between the front panel and the top panel of the dryer. Press in, and disengage the retaining clip. The retaining clip will be located about 2 inches from the corner of the dryer.

Step 4
Lift up on the dryer top panel and disengage the opposite retaining clip. Maneuver the top panel out of the way without removing any wires.

Step 5
Use a screwdriver to remove the two screws that secure the top of the side panels to the front panel. Swing the front panel out, and pull up on it to disengage it from the bottom tabs. Set the front panel out of the way of your work area.

Step 6
Reach between the drum and the motor, and push the idler pulley down to release tension from the belt. The idler pulley is located on the rear right-hand side of most dryer models. While pushing down on the idler pulley, remove the belt from the motor pulley. Take mental notes of how the belt is routed for re-installation.

Step 7
Grab the drum with one hand and the belt with the other hand. Pull the drum out of the front of the dryer cabinet, bringing the belt with it.

Step 8
Set the new belt around the drum, and lift the drum back into place into the dryer. Make sure that the rear of the drum sets firmly into the rear boot if your dryer is equipped.

Step 9
Route the belt around the motor pulley and idler pulley as indicated on the routing diagram for your model. Some dryers have a routing diagram mounted to the inside of the side panel. Refer to your mental notes regarding when you removed the old belt.

Step 10
Pull the idler pulley back up if yours is not spring loaded to reapply belt tension.

Step 11
Set the bottom of the top panel back into the bottom retaining tabs, and push down to lock them in place. Resecure the sides to the front panel by reattaching the retaining screws.

Step 12
Set the top panel back in place, and press it down to engage the retaining clips. Insert the lint trap back into place, and reattach the two retaining screws by the lint trap door.

Step 13
Turn the gas back on to your dryer if yours is a gas model. Plug the dryer back into the wall outlet.

Tips & Warnings
Always disconnect the power supply from appliances before attempting any repairs to them.
References

Starbucks & PreVent Equipment Protection Filters

Growing from one small coffee shop in Seattle during the 1970's to over 15,000 coffee establishments worldwide, Starbucks® Coffee has turned the once simple act of coffee drinking into an art form, offering more than 30 coffee blends and handcrafted beverages in a socially relaxing neighborhood setting. While older generations grew up thinking of coffee as a morning pick-me-up or after dinner drink, younger generations have grown up during the booming coffee shop culture and have made the local coffee shop their all day hangout. With this in mind, Starbucks began complimenting their beverages with fresh baked pastries, sandwiches and salads. With a company focus on innovation and minimizing environmental impact, Starbucks partnered with manufacturer Structural Concepts to design and install top-of-the line energy efficient, self-contained refrigerated grab-and-go deli/pastry cases in each store to display their food offerings. Consistent temperature in refrigeration cases is the key to product shelf life and to profits. Fluctuations in temperature can compromise food safety and degrade eye appeal. The refrigeration system was designed to artfully display food products at eye level, within easy reach, and house the critical refrigeration components inside the base of the unit. For ease of maintenance and repair within limited and valuable floor space, the unit contains a slide-out refrigeration system containing the compressor, evaporator and condenser fans, plus flexible synthetic hosing to reduce refrigerant leaks or blockages and an oversized condenser coil to increase air flow and consume less energy. These critical components and air intake fins, located at foot traffic level, are prone to suck in dust and debris along with necessary fresh air. In refrigeration cases, a dirty clogged condenser coil restricts airflow and makes the system work harder and consume more electricity to maintain its temperature. William Miko, the regional facilities manager for Starbucks' metro New York found that clogged refrigeration coils were causing elevated case temperature problems in his stores. Encompassing the densely populated areas of Manhattan, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, his job is to maintain smooth operations throughout 300 very busy stores. Without frequent cleaning, the clogged coils were causing costly compressor failures that led to loss of sales. Miko discussed filtration options with Structural Concepts and Permatron Corporation, who has been designing and manufacturing air filtration solutions since 1957. They concluded that Permatron's PreVent® Equipment Protection Filter would provide an easy, user-friendly solution, as part of a preventative maintenance program that store partners could install and maintain themselves. Permatron's steel framed filters contain washable electrostatic media capable of collecting high dirt loads but easily coming clean again with simple rinsing. A patented magnetic design allows the filter to stick to the outside of metal air intake louvers meaning they are accessible from the outside with no need to dismantle the case to retrieve filters for cleaning. Each store easily maintains the filters as part of their daily cleaning schedule by removing, rinsing and reinstalling the eco-friendly filters within minutes. The filters minimized previous maintenance requirements by eliminating the need for weekly coil cleaning with a shop vac and eco-friendly chemicals. With the PreVent® air intake filters on their pastry display cases, Starbucks refrigeration maintenance technicians found the cases were running so much colder they were able to adjust the units to lower energy use to accommodate the clean running units. A preventative maintenance solution, like PreVent® air intake filters, is a very cost effective way to keep equipment running smoothly in busy food service environments.

For more information on air intake filtration, visit www.permatron.com. © 2010 Permatron Corporation, Patent No. US 6,793,715Starbucks® Coffee is a registered trademark of Starbucks Corporation

For the Dishwasher's Sake, Go Easy on the Detergent

This article was on Yahoo Finance, 3/16/2010

by Alina Tugend

I've been writing on some weighty topics lately — too little money, too many choices, too few jobs. It's time, I decided, to move on to some questions that haunt me almost every day.
How much soap should I put in my washing machine and dishwasher?
Do I need to do more for my dryer than clean that little pull–out lint catcher?
Should I rinse my dishes before putting them in the dishwasher?
Most of us learned how to use a washing machine or dishwasher in our parents' house many years ago and haven't really changed our methods, even though most appliances have evolved radically since then. We rarely, if ever, read the manuals when we buy a new one or glance through the instructions on the box of detergent or bottle of dishwashing liquid.
But because we're probably using these appliances incorrectly, our dishes and clothes may not be coming out as clean as they could be. And we may also be damaging the machines.
Let me start with soap. The No. 1 sin, according to repair people and appliance experts, seems to be adding too much soap to washing machines or dishwashers.
"Nobody thinks they use too much soap," said Vernon Schmidt, who has been a repairman for almost 35 years and is the author of a self–published book, "Appliance Handbook for Women: Simple Enough Even a Man Can Understand." But apparently most of us are in denial.
Washing machines and dishwashers are made to use far less water now than older models and, therefore, need less soap. And detergents have also become increasingly concentrated. So a little goes a long way.
"Most people use 10 to 15 times the amount of soap they need, and they're pouring money down the drain," Mr. Schmidt said.
Following the instructions on the soap container is a good first step. Christina Saunders, a spokeswoman for Procter & Gamble, which makes Tide, Cheer, Gain and other laundry detergents, said researchers at the company did thousands of loads of laundry to determine the right amount of soap needed.
She said the caps were changed on liquid detergent containers a few years ago to make the lines specifying amount of soap needed for different size loads easier to see.
Mr. Schmidt, however, argues that depending on how hard or soft your water is, one–eighth to one–half of what is usually recommended should be adequate.
Too much detergent can make your clothes stiff and shorten the life of your machine. An excess of soap can also cause a buildup of mold and mildew, said Jill Notini, a spokeswoman for the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, a trade group.
With high–efficiency machines — which includes all front–loading machines and any top loader that specifically states that it's high efficiency — it's a good idea to use detergents specifically made for them, she said. The detergents usually have H.E. on the front of the container. But don't expect to see a lot of soap action.
"If people see suds, they think their clothes are getting clean, but that's wrong — it means you're using a lot of extra detergent," Ms. Notini said
Here is Mr. Schmidt's test to determine if you're oversoaping. Take four to six clean bath towels, put them in your front–loading washing machine (one towel for a top loader). Don't add any detergent or fabric softener. Switch to the hot water setting and medium wash and run it for about five minutes.
Check for soap suds. If you don't see any suds right away, turn off the machine and see if there is any soapy residue. If you see suds or residue, it is soap coming out of your clothes from the last wash.
"I've had customers that had to run their towels through as many as eight times to get the soap out," Mr. Schmidt said, who lives in Indiana. He offers other handy advice on his Web site, refrigdoc.com.
Too much soap is also a problem in dishwashers and can cause dishes and glasses to look filmy. Again, check the detergent container for recommended amounts — you definitely don't have to fill up the entire soap container in the dishwasher.
Also, if your plastic items come out still wet, that doesn't mean your dishwasher is not doing its job. Most dishwashers today emit less heat than the older models, so plastic doesn't dry completely.
Loading the dishwasher right will also get your dishes cleaner. When I was growing up, apparently only my mother knew the right way to load. But since my mother can't get to all your houses, Consumer Reports offers these much–needed tips on its Home and Garden blog. (Please don't e–mail me if you disagree about these suggestions — like religion and politics, we all have our own views on this matter.)
Load large items at the sides and back of the dishwasher so that they don't block water and detergent from reaching other dishes.
Place the dirtier side of the dishes toward the center of the machine for more exposure to spray.
Load silverware in the individual silverware slots most dishwashers now include. If you have an open basket, mix forks, spoons and knives to prevent them from sticking together.
Also, remove baked on food and large chunks, but for the most part, everyone I spoke to said prerinsing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher was not only unnecessary, it wasted thousands of gallons of water and could actually result in dirtier dishes.
"The soap needs something to work against to get the dishes clean," said Lou Manganiello, who owns Household Appliance Service in Hawthorne, N.Y., and has been doing repairs for 23 years. For full disclosure, he has also ably repaired my appliances from time to time.
Now, on to dryers. I don't happen to use those fabric softener sheets, but if you do, practice restraint, Mr. Manganiello said.
On the theory that if one is good, five must be better, people throw in a bunch of the sheets. Those liquefy when the dryer gets hot and can gum up the dyer, becoming "almost like tar and feathers," Mr. Manganiello said.
Also, clean the lint below the removable filter. I bought an item at my local hardware store that looks like a bottle brush, but is longer, denser and has a kind of thin nose. It reaches down and removes lint you can't get to otherwise.
And think about cleaning lint off the dryer where it vents outdoors.
Of course, the best way to extend the life of your dryer is to use it less often by hanging out your laundry on a clothesline when the sun is shining.
One last bit of advice on an appliance — your oven. Use the self–cleaning mode more than once a year — otherwise, so many food particles have built up that when they burn off, smoke will billow throughout your entire kitchen. But don't clean right before a big holiday dinner, Mr. Schmidt advised.
That's because the oven heats so high during cleaning that any weak part will give.
"If it's ever going to fail, it will then," he said. "Every holiday we get swamped with calls."