Welcome to the W.L. May Company Blog.
Offering information and fun for the appliance repair industry and interested do-it-yourselfers since 2013.

To shop for appliance parts visit our Main Page
Phone: 1-800-377-8881
Email: Sales@WLMay.Com

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Kelly's Korner - Back to School Blues

Hey, All,

In just a few short weeks school will be starting all over the nation and that means it's time to get ready for the school schedule:  Regular bedtimes, more laundry, lunches and snacks, and everything else.

So take the time this week to get your appliances ready:  Clean that refrigerator and freezer so you have plenty of room for the lunches and snacks.  Check to see that your dryer vents are clean and ready to go.  Get a service tech scheduled for preventive mainentence for all your appliances.  With school starting will come cooler weather (I sure hope!), so have your furnace gone over.

Start some meal planning that you can fit in around all your extra-curricular activities - it is really nice to have something brewing in the crockpot when you're short on time between getting home from work and chauffering the kids to their activities.

And don't forget to watch out for the tykes on the streets walking to school or waiting for the bus.  Please observe school bus etiquette and traffic laws.  We want to keep everyone safe!

Enjoy your last few weeks of summer and have a great school year!



Monday, August 10, 2015

Monday Motivation



I value self-discipline, but creating systems that make it next to impossible to misbehave is more reliable than self-control. -Tim Ferriss

Friday, August 7, 2015

Friday Featured Client: Affordable Appliance Service

Carl and Michal of Affordable Appliance Service

Once a month we feature a client on this blog. It's way of saying thank you for allowing us the opportunity to help with a companies success, also it is a way of showing positive community involvement from the appliance service industry. We have found that there are a lot of unsung heroes in the appliance business, we want the world to know that. If YOUR business has had more success due to our help, or if your company is doing great things in your community, we would love to know about and share it with the world. To be featured email me at rob.m@wlmay.com.



Name?
Michal R Coston

Company?
Affordable Appliance Service

Contact Info:
Phone: (541)296-9426
Email: appliancesinthegorge@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Affordable-Appliance-Services-LLC/161850830511678

Where did you grow up?
Seattle, Washington

How long in the trade?
Since 1992

How long in your current company?
6 Years

What do you enjoy doing when you're not at work?
Wake board, water ski and snow ski

To what do you credit your success?
The schooling I got from Renton Tech School, and the work ethic from the USAF.

What do you like about doing business with W.L. May?
I like the personal interaction with the people there.

Can you share one piece of advice for others in our industry?
Don't be afraid to train younger people.

Can you share something with us that not many people would know?
My wife and I have helped with rehabilitating over 15 troubled foster kids. We even adopted one.  We have tried to make model citizens of them. To be honest, sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't, but you do the best you can.

If you would like YOUR company profiled as a featured client send an email to rob.m@wlmay.com

For more education and entertainment from W.L. May Company click...HERE

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Thursday Tweets: Dryers and Ducting


While looking through our Twitter feed we found these tweets to share with you.

The first tweet we found is also a reason for a lot of the calls for service on dryers.


Naturally, it is easy to blame the socks. After all they go AWOL so easily. But they probably are not REALLY the problem.


Not cleaning the ducting? There is a good chance that has something to do with the machine not working correctly.


Sure, it's a chore. That comes with the territory if you want to take care of your home and your appliances.


Of course, you could give up using a dryer and use a clothesline. When it rains, though, clotheslines have their own issues.


So take care of your dryer and keep it working well. To close us out, here is a tip.


For more education and entertainment from W.L. May Company click...HERE

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Wednesday Weekly Stock: Dryer Ducting

Every week at W.L. may we have several items we feature as good parts to consider adding to your stock. These parts also have special pricing available. For pricing details, ask your account representative for more information. This week we vent a little about dryer ducting.
E4E
A dryer works by evaporation. Warm air moving past and through tumbling clothing picks up moisture in the fabric. After passing through a lint screen, that air is then vented out of the rear of the dryer. Many times an older installation may have used foil type flexible ducting (in either vinyl or foil). Manufacturers now say that flexible ducting is a fire hazard. Hard piped ducting is now the recommended way of venting a dryer.

If you are installing a dryer using hard pipe, you may find that you need to turn a corner with the pipe. That is where our first featured part this week comes into play. Part number E4E is a 90 degree elbow of 4" duct piping. This is a very popular item we get requests for daily.

MC4ZW
Of course, older installations (and some older installers) still use flex ducting. With flex ducting comes a need for clamps to secure the duct hose. The least expensive way of doing that is by using a pinch-type clamp. For those who want a more secure connection, a slightly more expensive option are screw-worm clamps. This week we feature 4" worm hose clamps. Their part number is MC4ZW.

TDIDVKZW
The purpose of the ducting is to let that moist air out of the home or laundry room to the outdoors in a controlled manner. What happens when there is no duct pipe? In those instances, the best solution (short of installing an outlet duct pipe) is by using a "vent bucket" This week we a re featuring one with the part number TDIDVKZW. How it works is the bucket gets filled part way with water and attaches to the end of a vent hose. As the moist air flows out, it passes the water in the bucket which works to help absorb excess moisture, and through wicking action, also captures lint that might have gotten past the lint screen. 
CHK100ZW
If you do have a vent leading to the outside of the house, and you are using an electric dryer, you can reclaim a little bit of the heat that is drying your clothes. Part CHK100ZW is a Heat Keeper Kit. It fits in line with your duct hosing and deflects some of the heated air back into the room it is installed in. 

UD48
Another laundry room problem that involves ducting is when there is a lack of space behind the dryer to accommodate a duct hose or pipe. To address that problem there is a space saver duct piece. Part number UD48 allows ducting if the drying is only three inches from the wall. It has a 90 outlet on both ends and is extendable from 28-45 inches long.

UD48S
In circumstances where space is so tight that two 90 degree elbows on the space saver ducting still use more space than you have, then maybe the UD48S will do the trick for you. It has a 90 degree outlet on one end, while the other side has a straight outlet.

Also featured this week are vent grills and cages that Kelly talked about in yesterdays post. For any of your dryer vent needs call W.L. May and put our parts experts to work for you.

      For more education and entertainment from W.L. May Company click...HERE

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Kelly's Korner - For The Birds

Hey, All,

Not all dryer vent clogs are caused by not cleaning them regularly.  Those open vents for your dryer are a prime place for birds to build nests.

Think about it - these vents are usually placed high enough that marauders can't get in them.  And they are pretty protected from the elements with a nice warm stream of air to keep those little chickies warm.  Perfect place to raise a family, right?

For them, yes - for you, not so much.  So how do you keep your feathered friends out of your vents?  Contrary to popular belief, birds are not birdbrained.  They are very clever and can figure out a lot of ways to get into what they're not supposed to, but W L May has a couple of different products to help you with that.

PB50
One is a bird guard wall cap - part number PB50.  This will fit nicely over your 4" vents.  Inside dimensions are 7" x 7" so it will fit over larger venting, too.  And all you need to do is screw it to the wall.

PMH4WXZ
Another item is PMH4WXZ in white, or the PMH4BXZ in brown.  This does the same job as the bird guard but has a 4" rigid aluminum vent tube to go through your wall.


These two products will deter the birds from making your home theirs, and keep them in the trees where they belong.  It is a good idea to check your whole exterior for any other vents (or unauthorized openings) you have - range hood, bath fan, attic vents, and even your gutters.  Don't forget to check for the four-footed varmits, too.  Your attic makes a great place for squirrels to hide their winter stash of nuts and they will chew through wood and plastic to get where they want.  Get rid of these freeloaders (I just wished they worked for grown children still living at home lol!).

Have a great week!

Monday, August 3, 2015

Monday Motivation

Motivation Quote by Robert Collier

Success is the sum of small efforts – repeated day in and day out. ~ Robert Collier

               For more education and entertainment from W.L. May Company click...HERE