There was a time roughly 60 to 70 years ago when electricity was the preferred power to run home appliances on. It’s hard to believe that people can be so gullible, but back then, there was a trick big business used to game taxpayers into financing power plants.
That was the promise of free electrical power. You read that right. The first nuclear power plants were presented to the public that way. That after they were built, the power that they produced would cost next to nothing.
Can you believe it? People even had all electrical homes back then. From the water heater to the heater that kept the house warm, everything was electric.
All that has changed, though. Now people understand that there is no free lunch and that gas is the more economical choice. Gas appliances do have their problems, though.
So to get some hot tips on how you as a homeowner can do your own repairs, 412-681-9525 was punched into my phone to hear what the pros at Kwiatkowski Plumbing had to offer.
Want to Do Gas Water Heater Repair on Your Own?
You can do it if you know where to look.
Electric water heaters are far more convenient to use. Gas beat them out every time, though, because it’s far cheaper to pay for when the bill comes due.
So like a large cooking pot, the flame on a gas heater is underneath it to heat the water in the tank above it. A flame needs oxygen, so this is one of the weak points in a gas water heater.
The first place to check is the vent on the wall if your gas water heater is contained in a closet. If that vent becomes clogged with debris and the door on the closet is a snug fit, the flame underneath the water heater is effectively snuffed out.
Then if the water heater is located close to the clothes dryer, lint may be clogging the air inlet at the very bottom of the unit. There’s also a filter down there that can clog up.
So try opening the door and giving the underside of a water heater a blast with a leaf blower. That might do the trick. Then, of course, you’re going to have to relight the pilot. By the way, that’s another thing to check if your gas water heater is on the blink.
What about DIY Gas Clothes Dryer Repairs?
It might be a clogged vent line.
It’s a common problem not just in gas clothes dryers but electric dryers as well. The dryer is on. The clothes are tumbling, but they just don’t seem to dry out. On and on it goes.
But every time you go to check, the clothes are hot and steamy but no closer to being done. So the first place to check here is the screen in the front of the dryer.
Believe it or not, some people forget to clean the lint screen down inside, where it then sits jammed up with lint. Assuming that’s all been done, though, and everything is fine there, it’s a safe bet that the vent line is clogged.
So before you start pulling the dryer out to disconnect the vent line, try working from the other end. That is to go outside to the vent line exit and remove the cover with a screwdriver.
That should give you a good look inside, and the tool to use is your vacuum cleaner hose. Take a look inside with a flashlight to see what’s in there, then use your vacuum cleaner hose to suck it all out.
If you can’t get it all from the outside, then you’ll have to go inside to work from that end of the line.
Want to Do Your Own Gas Stove Repairs?
It’s easier than you might think.
Given enough time and use, gas stoves eventually develop problems. The most common is that the igniter stops working. You press the dial to ignite it, and nothing happens.
Something clicks like it’s working, then other times it doesn’t. Most of the time, a good cleaning will do the trick. Use an all-purpose kitchen cleaner to give the stovetop a thorough cleaning, paying close attention to all the igniters on the stove.
They get covered with grease, and even a thin film will function as an insulator, preventing the electrical spark from occurring. You can make it easy on yourself by taking the entire top end of the stove apart and giving it a cleaning in your dishwasher.
Take a close look at the holes where the flames come out when you do the cleaning because they may have become clogged with carbon. To clear those out, you’re going to need a large needle or a small nail.
The Need for Gas Line Repairs in Pittsburgh is Easy to Detect
They are also sometimes easy to fix.
There’s just no mistaking the smell of gas. It’s that distinct smell of garlic. The reason that gas is odorized is that if it wasn’t, you wouldn’t be able to smell it at all.
It has no smell on its own. The good news, though, is that methane, which is the gas piped into your home, requires a high concentration for ignition.
So that gas you’re smelling might scare you but, in all likelihood, isn’t concentrated enough to light.
It sure would be nice to know where it’s coming from, though, and to do that, you need a plastic spray bottle half-filled with soapy water.
Spray this mixture on suspect areas to see if they become bubbly. Those bubbles mean the gas is leaking out. If it’s on a connection point behind your home appliance, often tightening it a bit will do the trick.
Don’t over tighten it because, those fittings are brass, and we’ll strip out very easily. Just give them about a quarter turn and then spray it again to see if the bubbles have stopped.