Appliance Repair - Microwave repair, microwaves fix

microwave repair

Microwaves come in different colors, sizes and microwave repair price ranges. They also happen to be very complicated and advanced machines. In this case allot of the time the phrase “you get what you paid for” applies often. If you have a microwave that’s mal functioning it is always a good idea to way your options. With the inexpensive microwaves ($50-$100) your best bet is to purchase a new one. When it comes to more expensive and built-in microwaves its more likely a good idea to have it fixed by a company like ours. Our professional microwave repair technician will examine your microwave and will identify the problems that caused you microwave to fail. After you get your repair quote you can decide if you would like to fix or purchase a new appliance.

Please keep in mind that with microwaves self repair could be very difficult and dangerous. So a trained microwave repair person is the right person for the job. Considering that most parts are not very expensive it is always better to be safe than sorry.

So call or submit your request on-line today and a certified microwave repair technician will contact you shortly. Be advised that when you call our receptionist you may set up a same or next day appointment and know that your problem with you microwave will be handled promptly.

Microwave oven repairs

Testing dish response to microwaving
Getting rid of a burnt odor or other food odors
Removing hardened residue
Eliminating a sparking problem
Reducing excessive cooking times
Checking a chip on the inside of the cabinet for danger
Repairing a rusty panel

Testing dish response to microwaving

PROBLEM: You want to determine whether a dish can withstand the heat generated in a microwave oven.

To make sure a dish can be safely used in a microwave oven, do the following.

Place the dish in the microwave. Set the control for full power, and the timer for 20 seconds.
Turn on the microwave.
When the microwave turns off, remove the dish with a pot holder.
Carefully touch the outside of the dish to determine which of the following is true:
- The surface of the dish is so hot that you can't keep your finger on it. If so, do not use the dish in the microwave, because it could crack.
- The surface of the dish is warm, but not too hot to touch. In this case, limit the exposure of the dish to microwaving to a maximum of 5 minutes.
- The surface of the dish is cool. There are no limitations as to how long you can expose this dish to microwaving.

Getting rid of a burnt odor or other food odors

PROBLEM: You overcooked some food in the microwave, and a burnt odor still fingers in the oven.

To get rid of a burnt odor in a microwave oven, do the following:

In a microwave-proof receptacle, mix together a cup of water, the juice of one lemon, grated lemon rind, and five whole cloves. Put the receptacle in the microwave.
Set the control for full power, and the timer for 5 minutes.
Turn on the oven. When the oven turns off, remove the receptacle and wipe the cabinet with a paper towel or dry cloth.
If some odor still remains, repeat the procedure.
Lingering odors.Odors from foods previously cooked in a microwave oven can be eliminated as follows:
- Pour 1/2cup of concentrated lemon juice into a microwave-proof bowl or measuring cup. Add 1 cup of cold water.
- Place the bowl or measuring cup in the oven, close the door, and set the timer for 5 minutes. Turn on the oven at full power.
- At the end of this time, remove the bowl or measuring cup, and wipe up condensation. If vestiges of odor remain, repeat the procedure.

You change a lot of old habits when you get into microwave cooking. One of them is what you cook food in. For instance, you'll make hot chocolate in the same cup you drink it from. You'll heat dinner right on your dinner plate. But leave your stainless-steel saucepan hanging on the wall. Metal pots and pans don't work in a microwave oven because the metal reflects the microwave energy. If you use a metal pot in a microwave oven, at best you'll have a cold meal. At worst, you'll have a damaged oven. But you may be able to use a small amount of foil in your oven, especially if the oven is a fairly recent model.

You probably already own several items suitable for microwave cooking: plastic freezer containers, straw serving baskets, glass or ceramic casseroles and baking dishes, and paper towels. You can also buy a full line of glass, ceramic, and plastic cookware marketed specifically for microwave cooking: roasting racks, souffle dishes, baking pans, bacon racks, pie plates, muffin rings, ring molds — just about every form of pan you would find in conventional cookware. When you buy cooking equipment for your microwave oven, observe the following tips:

For convenience, make sure the cookware is dishwasher safe.
The shape of a pan affects its performance in a microwave oven. Round pans are generally superior to rectangular pans, as food tends to overcook in corners. Food also cooks more evenly in a shallow pan, where it's spread out, than in a deeper dish.
Bacon racks are generally no better than paper towels. However, racks are the more environmentally sound choice, since paper towels are simply tossed out after cooking the bacon, while racks only need to be cleaned after each use.
Some roasting pans come with a cover to help keep food from drying out and spattering during cooking. Check the depth of the pan itself so that once the lid is on, it doesn't make the container so shallow that it won't hold a roast or a whole fowl. And a lidded roaster should have an opening somewhere for inserting a microwave oven's temperature probe into the food.
Be careful of pottery; it may have metal in the glaze or impurities in the clay.

Removing hardened residue

PROBLEM: Food residue has hardened on the floor or sides of the cabinet

Do not use steel wool or scouring powder to get hardened food residue off the interior of a microwave — these can rub away the finish. Instead, do the following:

Place a cup of water in the oven. Turn the oven on at full power for 3 minutes.
When the oven shuts off, do not open the door for 5 minutes. This will allow steam to work on the residue.
Open the door and let the steam dissipate. Use a damp cloth to remove the soft spots.
If some residue remains that is too hard to wipe away, repeat the procedure.

Eliminating a sparking problem

PROBLEM: Your microwave oven sparks even when there is no metal in the oven.

If sparks in the microwave oven aren't the result of using metal utensils (see sidebar), the cause may be one of the following:

Grease. Use a sudsy mixture of warm water and liquid dishwashing detergent to wash off grease that has collected on supporting shelf screws, or that has collected in crevices.
Temperature probe. The presence of a temperature probe with an exposed probe end can cause sparking. The probe should be fully inserted in food or removed from the cooking chamber when the oven is in use.
A loose cooking rack. Make sure a cooking rack is secured firmly when the oven is in use or removed when it isn't needed.

If these conditions don't apply, sparking indicates either a damaged magnetron, a faulty wave guide cover, or a badly chipped or rusted cabinet. Cooking in a damaged microwave can be dangerous, so don't use the unit until you have it checked out by a service technician.

Reducing excessive cooking times

PROBLEM: Your microwave doesn't cook food as quickly as it once did.

Though fixing the cause of excessive cooking time is not a repair you can safely undertake, it is usually a simple and fairly inexpensive procedure to have done. Before calling a service technician, check the instructions in the owner's manual to be sure you are programming the proper power level and length of cooking time. If you are, the technician should do the following to try to restore more rapid cooking times:

Remove the main cooking shelf and clean beneath it. An accumulation of moisture and grease under the shelf can be a reason for increased cooking time.
Try to restore the energy of the power transformer by switching its circuit. Many microwave ovens have a spare power transformer terminal. The power transformer can be restored to full energy by switching it from the sluggish power circuit to the unused, lively circuit. Two power terminals — the one that has been in use and the spare — will be similarly marked. If the technician finds this to be the case with your microwave, he or she will disconnect the transformer wire.
If the preceding two steps do not reduce cooking time, your problem is that the magnetron tube has lost power.

If you wish to restore full power, you will have to consider having a new magnetron tube installed.
If your microwave is a fairly new product, you can probably use a small amount of aluminum in it. That's because the design of more recently manufactured magnetron tubes (the part that emits microwaves) reduces the feedback of energy so that it won't reflect off aluminum and cause sparks inside the unit.
To find out, place a two-inch-square piece of aluminum foil on a microwave- proof dish. Place the dish in the oven, and turn on the appliance for three minutes. Is there sparking during this period? If not, a small amount of foil can be used safely in your oven. A "small amount" means an amount equivalent to that used to cover the legs and wings of a whole chicken or covering the corners of an oblong casserole dish. When you put on the foil, be careful that it doesn't rest against the sides of the oven.
You can also put aluminum foil pans, including TV dinner pans, in a modern microwave oven, as long as the pans are less than 3A inch deep. The first time you do this, however, observe the inside of the oven. If sparks appear, turn the oven off at once.
Other metal utensils. Here are some guidelines for other types of metal utensils:

It is safe to use skewers and poultry clamps in an oven if a large quantity of food is being cooked, but do not allow them to come into contact with the sides of the oven while the oven is on.
It is safe to use any metal item that has been specifically manufactured for a microwave, including a food thermometer and food sensor.
Don't place pewter, silver, stainless steel, or aluminum (other than that specified above) into a microwave. This restriction applies also to any dishes having gold, silver, platinum, or other metal trim.
Remove twisters from plastic or paper cooking bags before placing bags into a microwave. The metal in a twister can get hot enough to melt a plastic bag or set fire to a paper bag.

Checking a chip on the inside of the cabinet for danger

PROBLEM: your microwave oven has a chip in the surface of the floor, and you wonder if it poses a health hazard.

A tiny chip in the floor surface of a microwave cabinet may or may not be cause for concern. Го find out, do the following:

Put a cup of water in a microwave-proof receptacle into the oven. Do not place it on top of the chip.
Set the control on full power for 30 seconds. Turn on the appliance.
At the end of the time, open the door and move your finger close to the chip. If you feel toy heat, call a service technician, who will check the unit for radiation leakage.

Repairing a rusty panel

PROBLEM: Your microwave oven has developed some rust on interior surfaces.

Rust that develops on a panel inside the cabinet of a microwave oven can eat through the panel and lead to radiation leakage. It should be repaired as soon as possible. Do the following:

Unplug the unit.
Wipe the damaged surface with a soft rag to remove loose flakes of rust.
If the rust is under a glass shelf, remove be shelf. If the shelf is held by sealer, use a razor blade or utility knife to slice through the sealer. After the shelf has been removed, clean off any strips of sealer that remain.
Buy a spray can of enamel paint for your make of microwave oven from a dealer who sells your type of oven. Also buy a tube of RTV [room temperature vulcanizing) sealer if the unit has a glass shelf.
Following directions on the can of paint, refinish the damage. Let the paint dry.
Install the glass shelf. Then, following directions on the tube of sealer, apply a bead around the edges of the shelf.
Before using the oven, let the sealer cure for the length of time specified in the instructions on the sealer tube.

Most microwave ovens are equipped with a fuse that prevents damage to the appliance if lightning causes a surge of current to pass through your home's electrical system. When a surge hits the fuse, it burns apart (opens) to keep the overload from getting to the capacitor, magnetron tube, timer, and other electronic components that could be dam-aged. Once the fuse has done its job, it has to be replaced, because without an intact fuse a microwave oven won't operate. Replacing the fuse involves disassembling the cabinet, so this is not a job for someone not familiar with microwave oven circuitry. Even with the electricity turned off, it is possible for someone poking around inside the cabinet to receive a severe shock from the capacitor, which stores electrical energy even when the unit is turned off.
To keep a surge from destroying an internal fuse, plug the oven into a surge protector, which is available in any hardware, appliance, or electronic parts store. If lightning should strike, the circuit breaker inside the surge protector will trip to keep electricity from damaging the fuse and other components of the microwave.
Most surge protectors have a circuit breaker that can be reset to restore the device to service after the breaker has done its job. Not only will you not have to call in a service technician to replace the fuse in your microwave oven; you won't even have to buy a new surge protector. Surge protectors are a good investment, not only for your microwave but for many of your other home appliances as well.

If your microwave oven stops running, the fan motor, thermal cut-out switch, or interlock switch is probably the cause. All these components are easily replaced by a service technician.
The fan and thermal cut-out switch work as a team. The fan cools the magnetron, which is the part that does the cooking. The thermal cut-out switch shuts the oven off if the fan malfunctions, so no damage will occur as the temperature rises. After the service technician checks to see if the fan is rotating, he or she should test the thermal cut-out switch. When the oven operates for a few minutes, heat can cause a faulty thermal cut-out switch to open prematurely. When the thermal cut-out switch opens, the microwave shuts down. The technician will use an ohmmeter to determine whether resistance in the thermal cut-out switch circuit is within the bounds set for it by the manufacturer. If not, the switch has to be replaced.
The interlock switch shuts off the oven if someone opens the door while the unit is running. It also interrupts operation if one of the terminals is overly sensitive to heat. As heat rises, the effect on the switch is similar to what happens when someone opens the oven door. The circuit is broken and the switch shuts off the oven, even though the door is still closed. If the interlock switch is faulty, it too has to be replaced.

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