Hubys Domestic Appliance Repairs & Servicing » Problems & Repair Solutions

A history of the dishwasher

Huby Appliance Repairs — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:42:22 +0000

Dishwashers, For Hands That Don’t Do Dishes

In most cases the early dishwasher was a domestic servant or the lady of the house.

The first dishwasher was a wooden dishwasher invented by Jeff Houghton in 1850. It was hand turned and really did no work.

History Of The Dishwasher

Dish-washing only became a issue with the introduction of porcelain tableware in the 18th century, and remained a minor element of the housework for most people. Breakages were more of a problem than cleaning, especially for rich people who used a lot of dinnerware and relied on servants to clean it.

The first patent for a mechanical dishwasher dates back to 1850, and it was granted to Joel Houghton for a wooden machine that splashed water on dishes and was operated with a hand turned crank as you can see in the above photo of the patent drawing for it. Quite a long way from today’s pot scrubbing dishwasher.

Frenchman Eugene Daquin invented another version in 1885. Daquins device involved a set of revolving hands that grabbed the dishes and plunged them into soapy water. It evidently looked so ferocious that in a review in the Scientific American it was written that the machine posed no danger to man or dishes.

Neither of these machines was practical and it was left to Joshephine Cochrane, an Illinois Society hostess who gave many dinner parties where dishes needed washing often to find a solution to the problem of needing a dishwasher that worked and really got the dishes clean. Not wanting her dishes broke she shopped around for a dishwasher with a gentle touch. Her search for a dishwasher that worked and was practical was unsuccessful so finally she said in frustration. ” If no one is going to invent a dishwasher that really works I’m going to invent a dishwashing machine myself.

She was good as her word and she built her first dishwashing machine in a garden shed. She twisted wire into racks to hold dishes and arranged the dishes on a rack she placed in a large copper boiler. A motor turned the rack around and around while hot soapy water was squirted up and over the dishes. The Cochrane dishwasher was a huge success and it wasn’t long before they started showing up in homes everywhere.

She patented her dishwasher in 1896 and sold copies of it to friends, family , hotels, restaurants and others. It even won a award at the 1893 Chicago World Fair.

But although Kitchen-Aid the company that grew from Cochrane’s Dishwasher business would eventually become a household name and a huge success initial sales were very disappointing.

Dishwasher historians attributed the early failure of the dishwasher to a combination of logistical and culture stumbling blocks. The early dishwashers required huge amounts of hot water at a time when it still took hours to heat enough water to fill a bathtub. In addition research showed that those early housewives didn’t mind washing dishes. It was the laundry that took up many hours of their time weekly.

The first electrically powered dishwasher did not come on the scene until 1922 but it was not until after World War II that the dishwasher finally caught on and finally ended up in many homes around the United States and Europe

Huby Appliance Repairs — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:11:00 +0000

Rangemaster Cookers

Is your Rangemaster cooker out of warranty ?

Is it dual fuel with natural or LPG gas ?

Or is it all electric ?

Huby Domestic Appliances is an authorised repairer for Rangemaster , Falcon and Mercury range cookers . Our stores hold extensive spare parts in order to repair these products. We also have access to Rangemasters own spares holdings and all the technical information available should it be required. We also repair their full range of domestic appliances , including dishwashers , side by side refrigeration, wine coolers and ice makers.

As many of the Rangemaster range of refrigeration products include R134a refrigerant in their systems these fall into the remit of the Fgas legislation , to comply with this we are also registered with

If you require a service call or a spare part please contact us

Huby Appliance Repairs — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:34:45 +0000

My fan oven is not heating up

There are a number of reasons which may point you in the direction that an element may have failed in your fan oven.

Below are a number of faults which may be reported:

1) Fan runs no heat
2) No heat in oven
3) No heat from oven
4) Fan oven not heating
5) Sparks and a bang from fan oven

On your fan oven there is usually an indicator light on the fascia panel which illuminates once a function has been selected. This indication shows that there is power to the oven. There is often a second indicator light that tells you when the oven is at temperature by going out, and then cycles on and off along with the oven element in order to maintain temperature.

The temperature deviation from a set temperature is allowed to be plus of minus 10%. Therefore if you set your thermosta to 200 degrees the variation of the actual centre of oven temperature could be between 180 and 220 degrees. However, many modern ovens are much more accurate than this.

Naturally the user of the appliance becomes accustomed to their own oven and adapts their cooking methods accordingly. Therefore the accuracy of the oven thermostat often gets adopted into the users own way of cooking without actually recognising any slight inaccuracies

However, what the cycling thermostat indicates to the repair person is that the element is receiving voltage. The thermostat light is normally powered by the same voltage that is going to the fan element. Therefore if the fan motor is running and the thermostat light is on, the element should be receiving power and the oven should be heating.

If this is not the case then the fan element could be open circuit and you need to call a repair person to undertake a competent repair in order to return your appliance to full functionality.

Fridge door seal or door closing problems

Huby Appliance Repairs — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:44:22 +0000

There are several reasons for your fridge or freezer door not closing properly…

1. Broken hinges or worn out door bearing surfaces. Where the pin of the hinge secures into the door there are cylindrical bearing inserts, these wear and break, causing the door to be out of square with the cabinet.

2. The appliance is not mounted on a flat surface and the cabinet twists out of square. This will cause the door or doors to look lopsided and ill fitting. The cure is to install the fridge or freezer correctly on a level surface, with the fridge or freezer just ever so slightly leaning backwards, this helps the door to shut under gravity.

3. The door seal has a magnetic strip built into each of its four sides, this strip is what holds the door closed, once shut. The seal should be correctly fitted in place upon the door, so that it does not stop the door from fitting flush.

If the problem persists or you are unable to resolve the issue yourself do not hesitate to contact us for a repair.

Smell from washing machine

Huby Appliance Repairs — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:34:00 +0000

Washing machine smells develop because of bacteria breeding on residue left behind after a wash. The residue is made up of soap detergent, softener and soiling (from the clothes) all these cling to the surfaces within the inner tub/drum compartment. The damp, warm and dark conditions within the tub are an ideal enviroment for bacteria to start growing, and it is this bacteria which gives off the smell. The more they grow the stronger the smell.

Here’s some simple steps to help remove the smell…

1. Dry the seal, in the lowest section water collects even if the seal has a drain hole, dry this and help prevent black mold from forming.

2. Leave the door open when not in use and this, combined with drying the seal, helps the inside dry out and that reduces the chances of bad smells.

3. Once a month perform a service wash. That is carry out a hot wash on 60*C or 90*C cycle with a detergent that includes an oxygen bleach, that means a powder detergent as liquid detergents do not have oxygen bleach in them.

DO NOT PUT ANY CLOTHING IN THIS SERVICE WASH.

The combination of hot water and bleach will remove the bacteria that are causing the smells. If your washer has been smelling for a while the problem will only be solved by repeated Service Washes, once the problem has been solved a 4 weekly/ monthly Service wash will keep the smell in check.
If you have a removable lint filter remember to keep this clean also.

Washing machine noise

Huby Appliance Repairs — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:18:20 +0000

If your washing machine is noisier than normal it may be that the drum bearings are possibly wearing out. Amazingly, Many end users put up with the noise from the washing machine which could be causing untold damage to the appliance or the items within it.

Bearing changes can be quick and easy to do if caught at an early stage. Ignoring the problem leads to prolonged and more expensive repairs.

Some built in models of washing machine are a difficult to work on when it comes to a bearing replacement and are best undertaken by a professional or competent person.

It also could just be a noisy pump, but this noise will be present during any drain action i.e. during the rinse cycles.

If its noisy during the wash, has your washing machine a recycling pump, one that sprays water on to the clothes, this pump can also go noisy.

Don’t hesitate to contact us here at the first sign of any unusual noise.

Washing machine leaking on draining

Huby Appliance Repairs — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:08:03 +0000

There are several reasons for this happening:

Firstly, check that the household drain pipe is not blocked. These often fur up and block, causing the draining water from the washer to back up the stand pipe and overflow on to the floor. A full wash load of water is around 3 to 4 gallons of water, it can cause lots of damage to floor coverings.

Also, the washing machine should be plumbed in to a 1 3/4 inch diameter drain pipe, check it is. If the pipe is 1 1/2 inch diameter it is too small, this could block and restrict how quickly the water can run away. Remember, that once the water has left the washing machine drain hose it is no longer “pumped” it is being gravity driven from then on, it needs a clear pipe.

There is a trend to plumb the washing machine drain hose to a sink waste. This is not a great idea, the sink waste adaptor is a massive restriction to the waste water leaving your washer. The sink waste spout can easily block and cause problems. A badly run hose can also allow dirty water from the sink into the washer, causing smells and overfilling when not switched on problems.

Other causes include splits in the drain hoses, the household waste pipe joints are leaking or possible your filter has not been fitted correctly.

If you are in any doubt do not hesitate to contact us here and we will resolve this problem.

Washing machine not spinning

Huby Appliance Repairs — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:56:14 +0000

If you find that your washing machine is not doing the final spin, this may be because it hasn’t drained. This is a common washing machine problem. The cause may be a simple blockage, or it might be component failure – pump, belt, brushes, motor, pcb, timer etc. With your make and model details we can give you an idea of likely repair costs. Check if it is draining & also check the filter then contact us here if you are unable to resolve the problem.

Gas Cooker Repair

Huby Appliance Repairs — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:17:30 +0000

We can now offer repairs on LPG cookers , range cookers and built in ovens in both permanent dwellings and log cabins in all the areas we currently cover.

This compliments the repairs we can already offer on natural gas domestic appliance. If we can be of assistance please do not hesitate to contact us

Hot Taps and Waste Disposals

Huby Appliance Repairs — Sun, 29 May 2011 15:06:43 +0000

Hot taps and waste disposals are a growing commodity in the modern kitchen.

What happens if they fail , start to leak or not functions correctly ?

At Huby Domestic Appliances we have been authorised service agents for Insinkerator ( ISE ) for over 30 years. Insinkerator are the worlds leading supplier of domestic waste disposal units and hot taps. Please call us on 0800 012 1082 or email us at service@hubys.com to arrange a service call to repair your domestic appliance. If your waste disposal or hot tap is beyond economical repair we can also replace the product for you.

A waste disposer is a practical convenient way to dispose of food waste in today’s modern environmentally conscious society. They fit discreetly underneath your sink and a waste disposer effortlessly grinds food waste into tiny particles that are flushed away down a standard kitchen drain thus reducing the amount of rubbish going to landfill.