Refrigerator or Freezer Caster Kit

Here’s a great product!  Did you ever want to move your refrigerator, maybe to clean the coils behind it, but either couldn’t do it on your own or were worried about your floor?

Enter a Refrigerator or Freezer Caster Kit. 

A Refrigerator or Freezer Caster Kit allows you to easily move your refrigerator or freezer while protecting your floor.

Each Caster Kit comes with a set of 4 heavy-duty wheels.  Each with double 7/8″ diameter and 1-1/2″ wide wheels. The kit is easy to install and also includes a jam nut and installation instructions.

On Sale for $16.99

Compare at $$20.64

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Purchase GE Water Filters & Get Up to a $20 Rebate!

Starting today and running throughout the month of October, GE is offering rebates when you buy select GE Water Filters.  Now is a great time to stock up and save some money!  The more you buy, the more you save! 

Buy 1 Filter – Get a $3 mail-in rebate

Buy 2 Filters – Get a $10 mail-in rebate

Buy 3 Filters – Get a $20 mail-in rebate

The rebate is available on some of their most popular filters.  For a list of eligible GE water filters and more information visit the GE Water Filter Rebate page on www.apwagner.com.

New filters destroy refrigerator odors and provide great-tasting water and ice

Electrolux Refrigerator Water Filters and Air Filters help to keep your Frigidaire and Electrolux refrigerators free from odors and provide great tasting ice and water.

The PureAir Ultra Air Filtration System for Frigidaire Refrigerators, made by

PureAdvantage Refrigerator Air Filter Frigidaire EAFCBF Sale price: $15.99

Electrolux, helps reduce odors inside your refrigerator for up to six months. No tools are required to install and the filter fits Frigidaire Gallery and Frigidaire Professional side by side and French door refrigerators already equipped with the PureAir Ultra Air Filtration system.

APWagner.com also carries PureAdvantage Refrigerator Air Filter, the PureAir Refrigerator Air Filter which fits all PureAir equipped refrigerators by Frigidaire, and the Electrolux PureAdvantage™ Air Refrigerator Air Filtration Cartridge. These filters help to eliminate stale and strong smells that linger in your refrigerator from milk, fruit, and fish.

Electrolux PureAdvantage Water Filter provides fresh and clean water and ice for your Electrolux ICON French door model Refrigerator. For Electrolux and Frigidaire side by side refrigerator models, order the

Electrolux PureAdvantage Refrigerator Water Filter. Sale price: $49.95

Electrolux ICON™ PureAdvantage™ PS2 Water Filter Frigidaire. Both filters provide clean and fresh tasting water by filtering out chlorine tastes and odors, lead, mercury, some herbicides 2 and some pesticides from your water. The filter will last six to nine months or after filtering 400 gallons of water.

Or just change your water filter whenever the status alert light is lit on your refrigerator.

Order your Electrolux Water Filters today and have it shipped right to your door. Enjoy a discount on Electrolux Water Filters when you order three or more filters at one time or when you sign up for the water filter subscription service.

Maytag recalls more refrigerators

The Maytag Corporation is recalling another 46,000 Maytag, Magic Chef,

Where to find Maytag Model and serial numbers

Performa by Maytag and Crosley brand refrigerators, because of an electrical failure that can cause overheating leading to a possible fire.

Maytag issued a recall of the refrigerators in March of this year and has received an additional 23 reports of incidents stemming from an electrical failure in the refrigerator’s relay. There have been 4 reports of fire and smoke causing property damage. So far no one has been injured or killed by the faulty refrigerators.

The recalled refrigerators include side-by-side and top freezer refrigerators. Model and serial numbers can be located by the printed label located on the top middle or left upper side of the refrigerator liner and have the following model and serial number combinations:

	Serial Numbers ENDING with	AND Model Numbers Beginning with
Side-by-side Refrigerators	CN, CP, YY, YZ	MZ
Top Freezer Refrigerators	CA, CC, CE, CG, ZB, ZD, ZF, ZH	CT15G4, CTB152, CTL151, CTM152, CTN151, MTB195, MTB215, MTB245, MTF195, MTF215, PTB155, PTB175, PTB195, PTB215

The refrigerators were sold at department and appliance stores, as well as by homebuilders, around the country between September 2000 and May 2004.

Consumers should contact Maytag to determine if their refrigerator is included in the recall and if so, to schedule a free in-home repair. Consumers should not return the refrigerator to the retailer where it was purchased.

Details: by phone at 866-533-9817; by Web at http://www.repair.maytag.com.

The refrigerators were manufactured in the United States by Maytag Corp. of Newton, Iowa,

For more information

http://www.repair.maytag.com

Maytag Expands Recall of Refrigerators Due to Fire Hazard

Maytag Refrigerator Parts

Cash in your old refrigerator for a new energy efficient model

Now is the time to take advantage of the many “refrigerator recycling” programs being run by utility companies and state governments across the U.S.

Most programs will offer a rebate check (average $30) when you purchase an approved energy efficient refrigerator. The programs also will haul away your old, working refrigerator where parts of it will be recycled and made into such things as new appliances, cars, road asphalt, or even burned to produce energy.

A blog post by the New York Times states, “Utilities commonly estimate that homeowners can save up to $150 a year on their electricity bill by dumping their old refrigerator or freezer.”

You will also be helping the environment by shutting off old refrigerators that emit ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons.

Check with your local utility or state government to see what other programs they offer for other types of appliances as well. But hurry, usually these programs are for a limited time. A quick check found that one such program run by efficiencyvermont.com, a Vermont-based power provider, also provides rebates for ENERGY STAR qualified room air conditioners, clothes washers, and dehumidifiers.

Appliance recycling programs offer a great way to reduce energy costs over time, help the environment while saving consumers some money at the time of purchase.

For more information on just some of the refrigerator recycling programs being offered, visit the websites listed below:

• Vermont Rebate Programs
• New Jersey’s Refrigerator Recycling Program
• · Massachusetts Refrigerator Recycling Program for National Grid electric customers
• Rhode Island Refrigerator Recycling Program National Grid electric customers

For more information on making your current appliances from energy efficient, visit APWagner.com.

Refrigerator Energy Efficiency tips

Air Conditioner Energy Efficiency tips

Dehumidifier Energy efficiency tips

Summertime blues: my garage refrigerator no longer works; no longer keeps things cold

A garage refrigerator can be a handy item providing extra refrigerated storage space and allowing close proximity to the outdoors grill. Most people use their old kitchen refrigerator for this purpose.

However, be aware that many household refrigerators were not designed to operate in extreme outdoor temperatures and that this can cause the refrigerator to either run constantly, stop freezing/cooling or to stop working altogether.

According to Whirlpool’s Website, your refrigerator should not be placed in areas where, “temperatures go below 40°F or hotter than 100°F.”  The hotter the temperature inside your garage, the more the compressor will need to run in order to keep temperatures low. A constantly running refrigerator requires more energy and can wear out parts of your refrigerator faster like the compressor. Once a refrigerator’s compressors is shot, it will need to be replaced by a certified professional as this is a sealed system and only an EPA certified technician can legally work on a sealed system.

If your garage refrigerator is not cooling or your garage freezer is not freezing, there are a few items you can check:

Make sure that there is power to the appliance from the outlet

Check to see if the light comes on when you open the door. If not, see if there is power to the refrigerator by plugging it into a different outlet. Test the old outlet with another electric device that you know works. If there’s no power, check your fuse or circuit breaker.

Check/Adjust the temperature controls
The ideal temperature inside your refrigerator should be 40ºF or below, and your freezer 0ºF or below. Try adjusting the temperature controls for your refrigerator and freezer to make sure the proper temperatures are reached. Sometimes, rearranging how you put your foods in the refrigerator can make a big difference.

Refrigerators have either a mechanical defrost timer, or an ADC (Adaptive Defrost Control). If your refrigerator has a mechanical timer, set the cold control to the coldest setting and then advance the defrost timer. You can manually advance the timer with a screwdriver. Insert the screwdriver into the advancement pinion and turn clockwise a 1/4 to 3/8’s of a turn. If the compressor starts, replace the defrost timer.

Check your refrigerator’s door seal for leaks, cracks

Try putting a dollar bill between the gasket and the frame of the freezer as you close the door. If the dollar comes out without resistance, then you need a new door gasket. A tight seal around your fridge’s door keeps cold air from escaping and keeps the hot air out.

While checking the gasket, make sure your refrigerator shuts properly. It’s easy to make hinge door adjustments if necessary.

See if the compressor is running

The compressor is in a case with no visible moving parts. It is usually located at the back of the refrigerator near the bottom. If it’s humming, or making a steady noise, and your refrigerator is still not cooling properly, there could be a problem with one or more various components.

If you don’t hear anything, you can take the cover off the side of the compressor and test for voltage at the two leads. If no voltage is present, it’s time to check the cold control. To test if the cold control is bad, you can temporarily jump the two wires at the cold control. If you get power to the compressor after doing so, the cold control needs to be replaced.

Sometimes you can hear a click-buzz-click sound coming from the compressor. This is the relay/overload at work. If you hear this, power is getting to the compressor. If you do, something is wrong with either the compressor or the compressor starting components. If you have a newer model with solid-state starting components, you may not hear anything at all.

Some tips in order to keep your Garage refrigerator running

Keep some frozen jugs of bottled water inside the garage refrigerator

In order to help keep the inside temperature low. Believe it or not, having no food or items inside your refrigerator causes the refrigerator to run more often to cool the empty space. When storing water jugs in the freezer, be sure not to fill the jugs up all the way to the top as the ice will expand.

Clean the condenser coils on your refrigerator.
The coils, located behind and under refrigerator, can accumulate dust, lint, and pet hair. Inside a dusty old garage, the problem can be worse. The accumulation of these deposits will make your refrigerator work harder to cool. Unplug the unit and use a coil condenser brush and/or a vacuum to clean the coils.

Give it Some Space
Condenser coils on the back of the refrigerator need some room to allow heat to radiate away from the fridge. Make sure your refrigerator is not too close to the wall or adjacent cabinets.

Don’t forget the drain pan
Clean the panel that covers the drain pan and other components. The panel helps to direct air-flow away from the fridge, allowing the fridge to work more efficiently.

For more refrigerator help

Refrigerator Repair Help

Ask a Refrigerator Repair Question

Popular Refrigerator replacement parts

Recall issued for Viking Built-In Refrigerators being due to injury hazard from doors detaching

A voluntary recall was issued for 45,000 Viking Brand built-in refrigerators due to the doors detaching from the refrigerator. The company has received about 57 reports from consumers about the doors detaching, including four reports of injuries involving bruises, broken toes/fingers, and strains.

The model and serial numbers are located either behind the produce drawer or on the ceiling of the interior of the refrigerators.

Involved in the recall are built-in 48-inch wide side-by-side refrigerator/freezers and the built-in 36-inch wide refrigerators with bottom freezers with model and serial numbers with date codes listed below.

The model and serial numbers are located either behind the produce drawer or on the ceiling of the interior of the refrigerators.

model and serial numbers involved in the recall

The first six numbers in the serial number are the manufacture date of the unit in [mm][dd][yy] format, e.g., serial number 051903G0000000375 was manufactured on May 19, 2003 and serial number F01250210170 was manufactured on January 25, 2002.

Viking Built-In Side-by-Side Refrigerator/Freezers

The appliance and specialty retailers were sold nationwide from July 1999 through April 2006 for between $4,725 and $6,400.

The 42-inch wide or freestanding refrigerators are not included in this recall.

Consumers with recalled refrigerators should contact Viking immediately to schedule a free in-home repair. Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled refrigerator if the door isn’t sealing properly, is sagging, or fails to open and close properly. If the door is functioning properly, consumers may continue to use the refrigerator until it has been repaired.

Viking Built-In Refrigerators with Bottom Freezers

Consumer Contact: For more information, contact Viking toll-free at (888) 345-2650 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit Viking’s Web site at www.vikingrange.com

Read this press release online at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Website.

Appliance makers recruit bloggers to test their appliances

Appliance makers are finding a new way to connect with consumers – through bloggers, more accurately mommy blogs.

Frigidaire recently delivered brand-new appliances to the homes of a select groups of bloggers. The bloggers will using the new appliances for several months in their home and blogging about them. The claim by Frigidaire is that their new line of appliances with new time-saving features will help moms reduce the time they spend on household chores by up to eight hours per month.

Some bloggers received one new Frigidaire appliance to “test drive,” such as a dishwasher, washer and dryer, refrigerator, range and microwave and a select group of bloggers, dubbed the “Super Test Drive Team,” received  all six appliances to try out.

To find out how the real-life moms are digging their new appliances, check out their blogs online. You can also follow the test drive on Twitter, hashtag #FrigidaireTeam.

I checked out a few of the selected bloggers and so far, nothing has been written about the new appliances. I do not know if they have actually received their Frigidaire appliances yet, and the only announcements I could find from a few of the blogs I checked out was that they were selected and excited about receiving their new appliance.

Receiving a new appliance can be exciting, even if it is only temporary. I wonder if Frigidaire will offer them the possibility of purchasing the new appliance after having tried it out for several months? I can’t imagine wanting to give up a new appliance.

How to follow the Frigidaire Blogger Test Drive

• Bloggers selected for the Frigidaire Test Drive
• On Twitter #FrigidaireTeam
• Frigidaire Facebook Page

Interested in becoming part of an appliance test drive? Contact Market Reader Pro®, a company that does marketing research for major corporations and take a survey to be part of their new appliance test group.

“Selected participants will use the cooking appliances in their home for three to eight months and will be asked to provide feedback through online surveys and interviews. Participants will, of course, be paid for their time and opinions. New cooking appliance product testing will include using state-of-the-art cooktops, ovens, and ranges in your own home. Some studies may also include testing and preparing a provided set of recipes using the test appliance.”

Stinky office refrigerator sends 28 to hospital

If you ever needed a reason to keep your refrigerator clean, then read this article from the San jose Mercury News, “Stench from rotten refrigerator sickens 28; San Jose office evacuated.”

Apparently, not only was there rotting food in the mini refrigerator, but it was unplugged and moved to a conference room for cleaning according to CNN.com.

“ The refrigerator had been unplugged for some time and moved into a conference room for cleaning. When the woman tried to scrub down the mess, the stench from the cleaning chemicals combined with the rotting food.”

“Someone also took some spray and tried to deodorize the air,’ said Capt. Barry Stallard of the San Jose fire department. “And it turned out that was spot cleaner, not a deodorant. So it made people very sick.”

Bam, all that stink created the perfect noxious smell storm that sent 28 people to hospital and ended up in a massive building-wide evacuation. A HazMat team was called in to investigate the source of the stench. One experienced firefighter theorized the powerful odor might have been produced by rotting meat, but the mixture of different cleaning chemicals probably did not help matters.

In the end everyone turned out to be ok, and everyone joked about the matter. Oh and the original woman that was brave and considerate enough to clean out the stinky fridge?

“She suffers from allergies, firefighters said, and had had nasal surgery. She didn’t smell a thing, ” according to the story on CNN.com.

Some refrigerator cleaning tips

Use the proper cleaners and don’t mix cleaners. Especially do not mix ammonia with bleach. This combination results in an irritating fume called chloramine gas, according to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.   “Exposure to chloramine causes irritation to the eyes, nose, throat, and airways. Symptoms include teary eyes, runny nose, sore throat, coughing and chest congestion.”

Do not mix bleach to products containing acid such as drain openers, toilet bowl cleaners, oven cleaners, and vinegar as this combination produces chlorine gas.

“Chloramine gas, causes irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. Chlorine gas, however, causes more severe and long-lasting effects than chloramine. Some exposures to chlorine gas may require medical treatment,” Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Open a window when cleaning. When using strong cleaning agents like mildew remover, oven cleaners, drain openers, or toilet bowl cleaners, take a break if you feel light headed, dizzy, throat irritation, difficulty breathing, or coughing. Open a window to help ventilate the area.

Visit the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for a list of potentially hazardous cleaning chemicals.

Prevent this happening in the first place!

Regularly clean out your fridge and toss expired products, leftovers, and anything fuzzy or green that shouldn’t be. To keep your fridge smelling fresh, consider using a Fridge Aid Deodorizer that destroys obnoxious odors before they start. These refrigerator deodorizers can also be purchased in a 12 pack, so you can have an odor-free fridge all year.

More Information:

• Refrigerator Odor Eliminators
• Stench from rotten refrigerator sickens 28; San Jose office evacuated,SanJoseMercuryNews.com
• Big stink: Refrigerator cleanup sickens 28, USAToday.com
• Office refrigerator stench packs punch, sends seven to hospital, CNN.com

15 money-saving tips for your home in celebration of Earth Day

Happy Earth Day Everyone! Now is a good time to put some energy and Earth-saving tips into practice.

Not only will these tips help the Earth by saving energy, it will also help you save money by cutting your utility bills. These are small, simple changes that everyone can do.

Rainbarrels.info will show you how to make your own rain barrel out of a trash can.

1. Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth. Faucets spit out at least 2 gallons of water a minute. So each person who runs the faucet while brushing twice a day is estimated to waste about 8 gallons of water, according to an article from the Middletown Journal.

2. Ditch the water bottle, install a water filter instead.  Install a refrigerator, faucet, or undersink water filter and skip the bottle.  In 2006, nearly 38 million disposable plastic water bottles ended up in landfills according to the Website Earth911.com.  Not only do plastic water bottles fill our landfills, they also require petroleum to be produced.

Sign up for a water filter subscription, and new replacement water filters will be sent to you in the mail when you need them.

3. Always run your dishwasher and washing machine on full loads.

4. Turn off the drying cycle on your dishwasher and let the dishes air dry.

5. Hand your laundry out to dry instead of using the dryer.

6. Fix your leaky faucets by replacing worn out washers. If you think dripping faucets are not costing you much, check out the water drip calculator from the United States Geological Survey Website. The water drip calculator provides an estimate on how much water you are wasting due to leaky faucets.

7. Check your refrigerator door gasket for leaks. Your gasket is the rubber-like strip surrounding the door of your refrigerator. It helps to keep cold air inside your refrigerator. Cracked or broken gaskets should be replaced, as cold air can seep out.

8. Clean your refrigerator’s condenser coils. Clean coils help your refrigerator run more efficiently, saving you money.

9. Clean your clothes dryer’s vent work. The exhaust for your dryer becomes stuffed with lint over time. Not only does this make your dryer work harder, it also takes your clothes longer to dry, and could possibly lead to a fire.

10. Install a hot water dispenser. If you drink hot beverages a lot, a hot water dispenser could save you some money. A hot water dispenser uses an insulated hot water tank under the countertop, so very little energy is lost to the surrounding environment.  It also uses less energy because it does not cool incoming water from the water line; it keeps a reserve amount of hot water in its tank.

11. Limit the time the stove/oven is used during the summer months to help keep you cool.

12. Recycle your old appliances. Check with the company that collects your garbage to see if they offer any recycling programs. Some disposers will also pick up your appliances for free.

13. Buy an energy-efficient appliance. Even though it will cost you money up front, you will receive savings down the line in terms of electric, gas and water bills. Some utility companies are also offering “rebates” to customers who buy qualified energy-efficient appliances. Check with your utility company.

14. Unplug unused electronics. Plugged in electronics that are not in use, still consume some energy called “vampire power”. Purchase a Kill-A-Watt energy strip that automatically turns itself off.

15.   Install a rain water barrel to catch water runoff from your gutter. A plastic barrel with a spigot at the bottom will allow you to use the barrel-water to water your lawn and flowers, or to clean your driveway.

Learn  how to make your own rain barrel, courtesy of  the University of Florida’s IFAS Extention.

You can even make a rain barrel out of a trash can!

For more tips, read the Middletown Journal’s story on 99 tips on things you can do to help save the planet.

The Conscious Consumer Blog has a great article about the top “green activities” that you can do that will make the biggest difference to our planet. Read “Pick your green battles.”