Why It’s Important to Clean Your Ice Maker

A free-standing ice maker is a fantastic appliance to have in your home! However, like any other kitchen appliance, your ice maker requires regular cleaning and maintenance. Here’s why keeping it clean is essential for its performance, longevity, and your health.

  1. The Quality of Your Ice: The primary reason to clean your ice maker regularly is to maintain the quality of the ice it produces. Over time, ice makers can accumulate dirt, dust, and even mold if not properly cleaned. This buildup can lead to ice with an unpleasant taste or odor, ruining the experience of enjoying a cold drink. 
  2. Preventing Mold and Bacteria Growth: Moist environments are breeding grounds for mold, mildew, and bacteria. Since ice makers operate in such an environment, they are particularly susceptible to these issues. If mold or bacteria grow inside your ice maker, it can contaminate the ice and pose a health risk to anyone consuming it. 
  3. Improving Efficiency and Performance: A dirty ice maker doesn’t work as efficiently as a clean one. Over time, mineral deposits from water can build up on the internal components of your ice maker, including the evaporator plates and water lines. This buildup can hinder the machine’s ability to produce ice, leading to slower ice production and smaller ice cubes. 
  4. Extending the Lifespan of the Appliance: Regular maintenance and cleaning can significantly extend the lifespan of your ice maker. Like any other appliance, neglecting to clean and maintain your ice maker can lead to mechanical issues, breakdowns, and, ultimately, the need for a replacement. By cleaning your icemaker, you’re protecting your investment and ensuring that it continues to serve you well for years to come.

There are two ways to clean your ice maker. Outsource it to Goodsmith (available to request in the app) or do it yourself. If you choose to do it yourself, here are instructions:

  1. Turn Off the Ice Maker: Before starting, ensure the ice maker is turned off and unplugged.
  2. Empty the Ice Bin: Remove any remaining ice from the bin.
  3. Clean the Interior: Use a mixture of warm water and mild detergent to clean the interior surfaces of the ice maker, including the ice bin. Make sure to rinse thoroughly to remove any soap residue.
  4. Sanitize: Use a solution of one part vinegar to ten parts water to sanitize the interior. Wipe down all surfaces and allow them to air dry.
  5. Clean the Water Lines: If your ice maker has removable water lines, clean them according to the manufacturer’s instructions. This step is crucial to prevent mineral buildup and ensure clean water for ice production.
  6. Replace the Water Filter: If your ice maker has a water filter, replace it regularly to ensure the best quality ice.
  7. Restart the Ice Maker: Once everything is clean and dry, plug the ice makerback in, turn it on, and allow it to go through a cycle before using the ice.

Regular cleaning of your free-standing ice maker is a simple yet essential task that ensures the quality of your ice, protects your health, and prolongs the appliance’s life. Keeping your ice maker clean will save you time, money, and hassle in the long run. Don’t wait until there’s a problem—make cleaning your ice maker a regular part of your maintenance routine.

A/C Inspections Demystified

Goodsmith has lived through three summers in its young existence and if we have one takeaway, it’s that A/C system failures are largely avoidable if you catch them early enough (and rarely is a system replacement required!). Plus, if you service your units in the off-season, you won’t have to fight the crowds (or stressed supply chains) during peak summer demand. Lastly, if during an inspection we discover a material issue, you have time to evaluate your options, get additional quotes, and make a smart decision (rather than a forced one in the middle of summer without A/C, which sucks!).

Below is a summary of a single unit inspection with some basic insight (for those of you that need it) as to how an A/C unit works so that you can understand the reason for a checkup.

  1. Check freon levels: Low freon levels can mean you have a leaking condenser or coil (condensers and coils hold the chemical that removes heat from compressed air to keep your space cool). Catching a leak early can prevent unnecessary wear and tear on your system (a unit with low freon has to work harder to cool air) and prevent an ill-timed system failure (word from the wise – it is rare that your system needs freon without there being a leak so be wary if you ever hear otherwise!).
  2. Cleaning the condenser: As you might imagine, given condensers are outside, they can get mucked up with grass, dust, and other debris. Cleaning them requires some disassembly and know-how (not something we recommend you do yourself).
  3. Thoroughly clean the primary drain line: A/C units constantly create moisture, especially in Houston. That’s why every unit has a dedicated drain, typically routed to a nearby bathroom sink. However, that moisture isn’t by any means rocky mountain drinking water – it’s a little dirty and can cause build up over time (think of it like grease building up inside your kitchen drain line). While your Goodsmith maintenance team chemically flushes these drain lines during routine service appointments, a thorough once-a-year cleaning is recommended. If a primary drain line clogs and backs up, by design, the excess condensation will spill over into a pan under the A/C unit in your attic. This is something we want to prevent to avoid overflow (and subsequent water damage) or a system shutdown (triggered by an automatic switch). Neither is a situation you want to deal with in August.
  4. Check electrical components and thermostats: Every unit needs power and computing capacity, thus also requiring a multitude of components, switches, capacitors, boards, etc. While we can’t specifically determine the exact lifespan of each, we at least want to confirm every component is drawing the right amount of power (not too much or too little). Then we’ll test the thermostats to ensure proper computing. For what it’s worth, many of these components wear out before the system itself – it’s not atypical to have to replace them (these repairs make up most of our summer calls).

We look forward to being of service and are here if you have any questions on the topic. On a final note, if you already have plans to upgrade your system, switch out old thermostats, etc., we strongly recommend you do so before summer, be it through Goodsmith or another provider. While seemingly simple, something as basic as changing a thermostat can go sideways.

Winter Freeze Alert 2022: How to manage your house for the next three days!

The winter freeze is officially here. Hopefully, your house is prepped (we completed over 150 jobs in the last 48 hours). Now it’s time to actively manage your home for the next three days. Here are key next steps:

Outdoor Sinks, Bathrooms and/or Showers:

Precautions Inside the Home:

Emergency Prep (if you experience a pipe break or if we lose power for an extended period)

How to prep your home for the Freeze in Houston

Another round of freezing weather is headed our way and we know for many of you, this raises some concern. As we look back at February 2021 freeze, it’s important to note that the lack of power, not the cold weather alone, was the cause of many broken pipes. If your home is well heated and you take some basic precautions, all should be ok. Every home is different and most of our homes are not designed to withstand extended, freezing temperatures, so pay attention. 

Basic Preventative Tips

Step 1: Pre-Freeze

  1. Unhook all hoses from hose bibs. Hoses allow water to back up into pipes in exterior walls that are particularly vulnerable to freezing.
  2. Check insulation of all exposed exterior pipes. Your maintenance team should have completed basic winterization during a prior maintenance visit, but we encourage you to double check (certain, older maintenance plans did not include winterization and some new members may not have received this service yet). REMEMBER, if conditions are cold enough, long enough, insulation will only slow the freezing process – we can’t prevent it entirely if cold temps are sustained. 
  3. Drain your sprinkler system backflow preventor. These junctions in your landscape irrigation system are notorious for freezing. Draining most of the water from them is simple, however, supply-side water will remain and is subject to freeze. As such, we recommend wrapping the entire structure with a blanket and some tape (don’t use duct tape if you want to use the blanket again). Also, if you have an extra old cooler, place the cooler upside down over the backflow to add a third layer of protection.   

Step 2: During the Freeze

  1. Open the cabinet doors below your sinks on exterior walls. If you have a plumbing fixture on an exterior wall (e.g., a sink under a window), open the under-cabinet doors to allow in the warm air from your home. Remove extra towels or anything that might inhibit the warm air from contacting your water pipes.  
  2. Allow faucets, showers, tubs, and hose bibs to drip. A small flow of water flowing through your lines can slow the buildup of ice in your pipes. This does not need to be scalding hot water – cold/room temp is fine – you are just trying to keep it above 32 degrees. And keep your eyes on the pressure. If the entire neighborhood does this, water supply may fall, and pressure may drop precipitously – just keep an eye out.

Tank Water Heater Worst Case Scenario

If temperatures are below freezing for an extended period AND you lose power, be ready to shut off your water and drain your pipes, but be THOUGHTFUL (there may be unintended consequences).

To shut off your water, there should be a valve on the side/front corner of the house (typically straight back from the city meter box). If you can’t find it, go to the street meter, and turn the water off there. A meter key makes this easy, but if you don’t have a meter key, watch this video which provides an alternative solution – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIJp8UOfnPI. Next, drain your pipes by turning on every sink, faucet, and shower in the house until there is nothing left in them (don’t forget hose bibs). Note, do not close them after they are drained – leave them open.

Some things to keep in mind:

  1. Check for a recirculation pump – if you drain the water make sure you unplug the pump, so you don’t burn it out. If you do burn it out, it’s a $500-$1,000 replacement. All circulating pumps are different, so we suggest checking your owner’s manual.
  2. All tanked heaters are different – check your owner’s manual to see if other actions are required when turning off the water. If you don’t have a hard copy of the manual, Google the model number.

Tankless Water Heater Worst Case Scenario

Tankless heaters are tricky. They are expensive and finicky in the event of a freeze and failure. 

Priority one – keep water flowing through the unit (and your house) as long as possible with a steady drip. If you lose power, still keep water running through the unit to prevent freezing. If an outage is going to last a while, try running an extension cord from the unit to your car to keep it running and warm.

If all else fails, it’s time to shut off your water, drain your house, and drain the unit. You will need to check the manual (if you don’t have a hard copy of the manual, Google the model number) of your particular water heater to see how to drain the water completely from the unit to protect the water still in the units from freezing.     

To shut off your water, there should be a valve on the side/front corner of the house (typically straight back from the city meter box). If you can’t find it, go to the street meter, and turn water off there. A meter key makes this easy but if you don’t have a meter key, watch this video which provides an alternative solution – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIJp8UOfnPI. Next, drain your pipes by turning on every sink, faucet, and shower in the house until there is nothing left in them (don’t forget hose bibs). Note, do not close them after they are drained – leave them open.

Turning the Water Back On

Assuming you have shut the water off, the freeze has passed, and you are ready to turn it back on, there is a proper sequence. First, all faucets and fixtures throughout your home (showers, sinks, tubs, hose bibs) should still be open, but if they are not, open them. Second, go outside and slowly turn the water on. With all the valves open throughout your home, there should be no pressure in the lines. Go back inside and turn them off one at a time – you might consider waiting 30 seconds at each fixture before you move on just to make sure there is no leaking. If you see evidence of a leak, re-open the valve and go back outside to turn off the water – then let us know and we will start working on a remedy.

You can turn the sprinklers back on yourself or if you have a yard service, ask them to. Test your system and check your sprinklers for pressure – a sprinkler head that doesn’t have much pressure may be a sign of a cracked pipe – let us know and we can help.

Smoke Detectors 101

Smoke detectors, which should be omnipresent in your home, are designed to pick up on the slightest hint of smoke. 

However, as they age, sensors fade and particles of dust may be mistaken for smoke, especially after a seasonal battery change. When we change batteries in our smoke detectors every year (which we should!) this may agitate the device (and sensors) resulting in unexpected, surprising, and frustrating false alarms. In 99% of cases, these false alarms have nothing to do with batteries or power.

As part of our maintenance program, we change your smoke detector batteries and sometimes we hear from members that chirping starts only after we leave. If and when this happens, let us know. We can dust and reset the unit or, if they are older, replace them.

Appliance Repair Vs. Replacement

Age, type, brand, and replacement cost all matter when deciding between repairing and replacing an appliance.

Older products, except for high-end refrigerators, freezers, ranges, and hoods, are often candidates for replacement.

Brands such as Sub-Zero and Wolf, which are top-notch, should be serviced before you consider replacing. They should last 10+ years!

Modestly priced appliances (e.g., microwave, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, etc.) that have broken are candidates for replacement, especially if they are older. Anticipate at least a few hundred dollars in repair costs and do your best to weigh your options.

Paint Touchups: What you need to know

Paint touch-ups are not all created equal. There are multiple factors that dictate the amount of work required to complete a job successfully.

Age: Walls, and thus paint, start to change color within months of application (because of light, dust, dirt, etc.). When touching up your home, even if you have the original can, a perfect match cannot be guaranteed.

Location: Touch-ups will always be noticeable. If the location of the work is in a high-traffic, very visible area, consider painting “corner to corner.” While more expensive, this is the only way to completely mitigate any color difference.

Paint Finish/Application: There are many different finishes and applications that will impact outcomes. For example, high gloss/lacquer paint will always show scars and paint originally sprayed on will look different if brushed over. All things to keep in mind.

Product: Color matching is hard. Whether you have the original can or take an existing sample to Sherwin Williams to color match, the result may be imperfect and the only thing to do is to keep trying until we get it right. Don’t stress if it’s not perfect the first time.

When submitting a new request for paint touch-ups in your home, consider the above and be sure to clearly articulate your needs/expectations. We are here to provide you with the service you desire but also want to set realistic expectations. We are always available to talk through options, so please let us know if you have concerns before we start your project.

What we need to know before your wall hanging appointment

The physical practice of mounting items to a wall is easy, the tools and equipment are standard, and outcomes are predictable. But as installers, we rely on you to tell us where to put things.

Our preference is that all materials are on-site and that you are present during the service appointment to ensure the location and height of the item are right.

If you cannot be there on the date of service, blue tape an outline of what we are hanging (including height and horizontal alignment) and write notes on the tape with additional instructions (e.g., “the drapes barely touch the floor”).

Please keep in mind that hanging heavy objects may require some ingenuity (and potentially a follow up visit), especially if a wall stud or brace is necessary to ensure a strong hold.

Sheetrock repairs: What you need to know

Not all repairs are the same when it comes to damaged sheetrock in your home.

The texture of your walls (e.g., roll on application, sprayed on splatter, brush applied stomp, etc.) is like a fingerprint. While we can get very close to matching the original, perfection can be hard to achieve. What does this mean? Your houseguests won’t notice a thing, but you might…

What should you do with this information? Before you begin, determine the level of imperfection you are willing to accept. The higher your tolerance, the smaller the patch. The lower your tolerance, the larger the patch area (FYI, this could require multiple days and multiple attempts, which can be more expensive). Keep in mind, if you aren’t sure, you can always start small, assess, then expand as needed.

The reason behind trip charges

Medical ailments often require a diagnosis, sometimes including an in-person visit, lab work, x-rays, etc. Thereafter, we have prescribed treatment plans. Ultimately, both the diagnosis and the treatment must be paid for.

The same is true in caring for your home, especially with respect to mechanical equipment (e.g., HVAC, appliances, garage doors/gates, irrigation systems, etc.). Brands, parts, root causes, etc. can vary tremendously and as such, may require an in-person assessment before repairs can start. There is an opportunity cost of these assessments, thus trip charges.

The good news in most cases is that if you proceed with the recommended repair, trip charges are typically waived. The bad news, if you don’t proceed, the trip charge is still valid. The recommended solution may not be the one you want to hear, but there remains a cost for that news. While trip charges may seem like frivolous attempts to make a buck, they are a necessary element of the industry.