[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's around the house when it comes to remodeling and renovating your home. There is a lot to know though. We've got you covered. This is around the house. Welcome to the Round the House Show. This is what we talked everything about your home. We also hope you get the most outta your home through information and education.

[00:00:34] Eric Goranson: For joining us today. Happy midweek everybody, man, it's been a crazy one and I want to thank everybody who came out in the Portland area to the v i P party for the TV show that was on Saturday and had a lot of fun with everybody out there, had mimosas, and it was a great time at the Spring Home and Garden Show in Portland.

[00:00:54] Eric Goranson: Thanks for coming out. Well, there's a bunch of different things I wanna talk about today. Uh, we're gonna talk about [00:01:00] appliances here in a second, but, uh, if you have been missing. The around the House TV show, which is around the House Northwest, we have a YouTube page. Now if you head over to Around the House Show on Facebook, you can find it there or just go over to, uh, if you're on YouTube, look up KP tv, Fox 12, and then just go on the playlist.

[00:01:19] Eric Goranson: And the first one is around the House Show, and you can find every episode that is airing right there. Well, today I wanted to talk about are you using your appliances wrong? This is something that, uh, many sh you know, shocks many people that maybe the way they've been doing it isn't the best way. So let's start out with one of the most controversial ones, your dishwasher.

[00:01:44] Eric Goranson: Now the science is really clear. If you are hand washing your dishes versus a dishwasher, you're wasting water. So you are using much more water. To wash those dishes and getting them less clean than what a [00:02:00] properly running dishwasher is. And some of that is that people are using their dishwashers incorrectly.

[00:02:07] Eric Goranson: So first off, you know, you need to have a decent dishwasher. Something under 500 bucks is hard to say, is a decent dishwasher these days. But even the basic ones, if they're in good running order will work correctly. Just maybe not as nice as the nicer ones. So here's the. First thing, scrape the dishes off, get the big chunks off, but do not pre rinse those dishes.

[00:02:32] Eric Goranson: Because what happens is, is when you pre rinse those dishes, you are taking the food off and soap. These days that dishwasher detergent needs to have soap, needs to have food to activate those enzyme. Those enzymes, you would eat the food and get it off the plates and dishes and everything else. So if you're pre rinsing those before you put 'em in, you've got a problem.

[00:02:55] Eric Goranson: Cuz now you're not letting that activate and your dishes are getting less [00:03:00] clean. So make sure that you're scraping them. Not rinsing them and put 'em in the dishwasher. You will have cleaner dishes in the long run. Now, if you have an inherent problem with the dishwasher and you're like, Hey, it doesn't clean, then you need to look at why it's not cleaning and what's wrong with it, what's broken, and does it need to be repaired?

[00:03:17] Eric Goranson: But a good walk, a good working dishwasher should not have to have 'em pre rinsed because it's gonna be something that makes it less clean. So get the right detergent as well. I've noticed with my washing machines, you know, the, the dish washing machines here. The right detergent for yours is key. Now, here's one little trick that I've noticed.

[00:03:38] Eric Goranson: I, you could find out what is best for your machine or what's recommended by taking a look at your instructions. Yeah, those are those things that you threw in the drawer you haven't looked at or put into a folder someplace. Sometimes they will say, Hey, this is, this was manufactured, and here's your first load of Cascade Complete.

[00:03:56] Eric Goranson: Well, sometimes. Those manufacturers have [00:04:00] put that in there, not because it's a free thing, but because that's what they've designed that to work best with. So not all detergents are good, so keep an eye on it there. If your dishwasher is not cleaning correctly, take a look at another brand and make sure that the, that it's not a dishwasher detergent.

[00:04:21] Eric Goranson: Versus your dishwasher not working correctly. Now another trick that I do as well is I actually sit there and run the water for a second and get hot water before outta the kitchen sink, before I start the dishwasher, because that will reduce my wash time on that. And yes, you know, in, in my house, for instance, I have a heat pump water heater, so it's more efficient energy wise for me to do that for a second and get that hot water from the water heater to the.

[00:04:50] Eric Goranson: To make sure it's there. Then letting the dishwasher have to sit there and heat the water as it's doing it, because you want that to be hot water in there, you know? So that's a key right [00:05:00] there. And of course I recommend using those sanitizing, you know, use the sanitizers when you have that option on your dishwasher to go ahead and do that.

[00:05:09] Eric Goranson: And just be careful with what you're putting through there. Plastic and that stuff. And then one other thing too, make sure you reach down and clean out those filter. And take that front toe kick off. Every once in a while you'll see the pipe and electrical down there. Don't mess with that stuff, but get all the dust bunnies and junk outta there.

[00:05:25] Eric Goranson: And then take a look at, see if there's any drips, if that bottom of the pump down there is dripping, might be time for a repair, or most likely a new dishwasher. Now there are two types of clothes washing machines. Here is your top load and yours front. Both of those, there are people that love both. I am in the, of course, the front load camp, but one thing I wanna see you do with the top load machine is to make sure that you've cleaned it out and make sure that it's working correctly.

[00:05:53] Eric Goranson: What I mean by clean out is run some of the cleaners through there, because there are two different drums in there. There's the one that's [00:06:00] on the inside that you see, and then there's the waterproof one behind it that holds the. And that gets all the oil buildup, nastiness. So when you do that, buildup will keep on growing.

[00:06:13] Eric Goranson: And especially if you're using one of the more greener alternatives, those tend to have less chemicals. But it also means that tends to get a little bit more buildup out there cause it's not breaking down the grease and you just get a little more funk at some point. I have seen those just get to be a nasty, moldy mess.

[00:06:30] Eric Goranson: Now, one way to help do that too is I've done it as I've actually run, you know, a towel set of white towels through there and bleach 'em really well. And that will also help get that. But, uh, those detergents that are meant to clean a washing machine do help. Now also, I want you to take a look behind. If you have black rubber hoses back there, now is the time that change those out.

[00:06:51] Eric Goranson: Those will flood your house and uh, always go with the metal ones. You will see those metal braided hoses. Those are a higher [00:07:00] quality and they will hold up better. So if you have the black washing machine hoses, change 'em out. Make 'em go away. Now front load machines, which are much more efficient as far as water, have a couple things that you've gotta be careful with.

[00:07:15] Eric Goranson: First off, I want you to go ahead and take. That filter and make sure you've cleaned it. There is a filter on most of these units. It is a drain filter. It is right before the pump, and that needs to be changed out from time to time and cleaned out. It's not something that you put a new filter in, but it's basically a catch basket that gets all the coins, hair pins, tools, 10 millimeter sockets, and uh, any screw that was left in your pants while you're doing DIY projects.

[00:07:41] Eric Goranson: It all collects in there. So if you notice that your front load washing machine is not spin drying enough, and the towels or whatever are coming out wet or wetter than they usually are, that's when you go in. And, uh, make sure and drain it. Follow the instructions on it cuz sometimes if it's pu plugged up, there's gonna be a gallon or so water in [00:08:00] there.

[00:08:00] Eric Goranson: So make sure that you're doing it and following the directions. Uh, my LG one has a drain hose. You can drain into a pan first, but some of the ones like GE and their older ones, you take that out and uh, you better have something to grab the water cuz depending on how plugged up it. We'll determine how much water comes out.

[00:08:18] Eric Goranson: It could be a gallon or two, and that can be quite the mess, but with those, it's even more important since they're sealed up, that you run that cleaner through there and, uh, follow the instructions. I have one that has steam in it, so it does its own self-cleaning mode. So make sure if you're out shopping for those, that you're, uh, taking a look at that.

[00:08:37] Eric Goranson: And mine reminds me when it needs it. Now you're gonna see that, you know, in the next, I guess, couple years. I've been saying this now for a little bit, but the top load washing machines are on their way out. I think, uh, we're gonna see those anytime go out the door. So those are done. Okay. Refrigerators pretty simple.

[00:08:56] Eric Goranson: Clean the seals, vacuum out below the toe kick. When did you [00:09:00] do that last? Make sure that'll save you a bunch on your electricity bill cuz if you've got that whole blanket of dust bunnies underneath there, that refrigerator is running harder and it's gonna wear it out sooner. So save yourself some money, get the shop vac out.

[00:09:15] Eric Goranson: Do a little cleaning down there. Generally if you get down there and start hammering around stuff and uh, be in the bull in the China shop, you can break things and that can get expensive where you need a new fridge. So be careful. Chest freezers. Pretty simple. Just keep those things defrosted clean, you know, just keep it, keep it in good working order, and uh, use your home energy monitor to see older ones.

[00:09:38] Eric Goranson: Are not saving you money. The new ones are saving you money. So if you've got something that's over 10 years old, I would sure take a look and see. It might be time to replace it. It could pay for itself pretty quickly cuz chest freezers really aren't that expensive. The last thing I wanna talk about here today is that vent hood.

[00:09:54] Eric Goranson: Make sure those filters are cleaned out and make sure there's no grease buildup around it. You know, get out the 4 0 9, [00:10:00] clean it down, and then make sure that that's vented outside. Of your house, the recirculate ones, those are junk. Take the time. It's a great DIY project. Make sure that thing vents completely to the outside, not into the attic, but outside the house.

[00:10:14] Eric Goranson: That way you get that going well. Now one thing I didn't talk about, dryers. This is a very important one. I wanna see you about every 18 months to two years cleaning out that dryer duct and getting out all the lint and stuff in there. If you look back behind the dryer and you see that white. Uh, hose back there, swap it out.

[00:10:34] Eric Goranson: That is not a dryer hose. That is not meant to be a dryer hose that is flammable. So all of your hose needs to be a metal or a flex metal that goes out behind that. So do not use the white dryer hose. Pull that out. That's gonna be a fire hazard. So clean that out and make sure that's looking good. And then, uh, of course vacuum around it cuz you don't wanna see any of that stuff get sucked up and cause a fire.

[00:10:57] Eric Goranson: So make sure that's working well and [00:11:00] yeah, every 18 months, when was the last time you cleaned it out, you can go down to your home center and get a little kit that goes on your drill. And uh, boy, I tell you what, you'll be surprised at the stuff that comes out and your dryer works better. So it saves you money cuz it gets better airflow and it doesn't get plugged up and you're taking oh eight all the.

[00:11:17] Eric Goranson: You would have if you have a dryer fire. So that is another good one. All right everybody. Well, we got a great show coming up this weekend on around the House. Give you a little tease of that. We're gonna have, uh, DuPont on talking countertops. We're gonna talk about, uh, some new products and some new, we got a go.

[00:11:33] Eric Goranson: A cool guy that's coming on who takes Corian. And he actually does CNC work on it and does art with it. So you can do a, a shower that's back lit. Some really cool stuff for Mario there. And then we're gonna be talking with shipshape.ai. This is a new smart home system for your home that helps you maintain it, reminds you on the maintenance and, uh, there are things that actually will help track your home maintenance as well.

[00:11:58] Eric Goranson: So if you wanna be able to. [00:12:00] Budget it. This is a show that you wanna see. This could save you money on that, as well as have some contractors that could help you with. It's a pretty, pretty cool system that nobody has done before, so it's something to take a look like. Take a look at there. All right everybody.

[00:12:16] Eric Goranson: Well have a great rest of the week. Enjoy yourself. We got a great show ahead this weekend that I want you to check out. And of course, if you're catching the TV show out there, I appreciate it. You can catch it, uh, in Portland on Fox 12 plus each and every Saturday. Or you can catch it on uh, the kp tv.com.

[00:12:33] Eric Goranson: Just look for around the house or the YouTube page, which is over on our Facebook. You can. You'll see the link over there as well. All right, everybody have a great rest of the week and as always, thanks for tuning in to around the House[00:13:00]