Ruined Cable

Be Careful With That Flymo Lawnmower Cable

June 28, 2010 | Gardening Tips | No comments

I’ve often wondered why we sell so many replacement Flymo cables. Surely you’ve got to be pretty careless to run over the power cord when you’re mowing the lawn? Well, I’ve since found out that it’s actually very easily done. I now feel somewhat humbled.

I was happily mowing away, thinking about what a fine job I’ve done with the lawn this year, then Bang! You’d be surprised at what a noise it makes as the cable is dragged into the blade and minced. I leapt backwards into the air, away from my Flymo, and immediately thought “Ahh, that’s why we sell so many Flymo cables.”

I’m pleased to say that I was unhurt in this little incident. However, I might not have been so lucky, as I didn’t have an RCD Safety Plug fitted. These little devices cut the power in a matter of milliseconds so that if the severed live cable flings around and hits you, you don’t become the easiest route to earth and get a nasty shock. I have now replaced the cable and invested in a safety plug – at under a tenner, they’re a low price to pay in case my mind goes wandering again.

Washing In Machine And Basket

How to Open a Washing Machine Door That's Stuck Closed – New Video

June 11, 2010 | Laundry Appliance Repair, Help & Advice | 4 comments

So, the washing machine finishes its cycle and you’re just waiting for that satisfying ‘click’ which means you can open the door…only the click seems to be taking that bit longer to happen. A while longer and you realise it’s not going to. A few futile tugs on the door handle, then despair. Your lovely clean clothes you’ve been planning to wear at the weekend are stuck inside the washing machine. It’s now a race against time to get them out, somehow, before they start to get smelly.

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How To Open a Washing Machine Door That’s Stuck Closed – New Video

June 11, 2010 | Uncategorized | 4 comments

It’s definitely happened to me a few times, and you’re one of the lucky ones if it hasn’t happened to you.

So, the washing machine finishes it’s cycle and you’re just waiting for that satisfying ‘click’ which means you can open the door…only the click seems to be taking that bit longer to happen. A while longer and you realise it’s not going to. A few futile tugs on the door handle, then despair. Your lovely clean clothes you’ve been planning to wear at the weekend are stuck inside the washing machine. It’s now a race against time to get them out, somehow, before they start to get smelly.

Yanking the handle won’t help, in fact you’ll probably break it. Anger won’t solve this problem either. Thankfully there is a little trick that might just work, as Rory demonstrates in the video below:

This won’t work with all machines, but it could save you calling out an engineer and some tears. If you have ended up snapping the door handle off in a rage, or if the washing machine door interlock mechanism was the problem, we’ve all types of washing machine door fittings.

And trust me, if you pull this little bit of magic off, you’ll be more than impressed with yourself!

A New Day, A New Homepage

June 4, 2010 | eSpares Updates | No comments

If you’ve visited our homepage today you might have noticed that it’s been fully redesigned. We think there are loads of great additions, and there have also been a few tweaks and reshuffles too. Here’s just a few of the improvements we’ve made:

  • There’s now a rotating graphic with some rather dapper photos of spare parts and products we sell
  • Both the brand graphic section and the ‘Featured Spares’ section have been re-jigged
  • The Advice Centre now has a whole section on the page, all the better to Fix It Yourself with
  • There’s more of an emphasis on the social side of things. Latest posts from this very blog are now proudly displayed on the page, as well as nice big links to our Twitter, YouTube and Facebook profiles.

Now, if you want to get in touch, for any reason, there’s loads of easy ways to do it. We look forward to hearing from you soon, and do hope you like the new homepage.

Check it out!

Presenter For The Day – My Foray Into Being on Screen

June 2, 2010 | eSpares Updates | No comments

As you may have noticed if you’ve read previous posts, I have assumed a role as one of the presenters of our How-To videos. Now, this isn’t a natural progression for me, it had not been part of my plan to go all Dave Benson Phillips. In fact, just two months ago, I’d have described myself as a camera-shy fellow who’d never dream of doing anything like that. However, after some gentle, coaxing assurances from co-workers, I decided to give it a crack. Why not I thought, hopefully these videos will give people more confidence to fit spare parts themselves – they seem to have responded positively to Helen, Matt and the gang’s work.

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Presenter For The Day – My Foray in to Being on Screen

June 2, 2010 | Uncategorized | No comments

As you may have noticed if you’ve read previous posts, I have assumed a role as one of the presenters of our How-To videos. Now this isn’t a natural progression for me, it had not been part of my plan to go all Dave Benson Phillips. In fact, just two months ago, I’d have described myself as a camera shy fellow who’d never dream of doing anything like that. However after some gentle, coaxing assurances from co-workers I decided to give it a crack. Why not I thought, hopefully these videos will give people more confidence to fit spare parts themselves – they seem to have responded positively to Helen, Matt and the gang’s work.

With this in mind I headed to my first shoot, ‘How to reverse a fridge door’ – but it did nothing to calm my nerves and I was all ums and ahs and what-am-I-doings for the first few takes. Soon after though, under the tutelage of Helen, queen of the Fix It Yourself video, and cool hand Gabe, super director, I was feeling relaxed and getting in to the groove. In fact, I was really enjoying myself. The words started flowing easier and we got in to the nitty gritty of hinges, doors and the rest.

I’ve since fronted a few more videos, and hope that I can continue doing so. Mostly though, I hope they’ll help people to fix it themselves.

How To Reverse a Fridge Door – New Video

May 24, 2010 | Uncategorized | 17 comments

Picture this, everything in your kitchen is perfect except your fridge door opens in a way that blocks the flow of your kitchen. If only your refrigerator door opened from the other side, so that it was immediately next to the wall when opened, your kitchen would be perfect. In this new video Rory will show you how to change the hinges on your fridge so that the door will open from the opposite side.

Washing Machine Drum

How To Replace a Wheel on a Henry or Hetty Vacuum – New Video

May 21, 2010 | Vacuum Cleaner Repair, Help & Advice | No comments

Henry and Hetty vacuum cleaners are part of the Numatic appliance range. We have one in our office and I got to use it when Mike accidentally broke a glass by his desk. True story. What impressed me about our Henry is that despite appearing to be a rather simplistic looking vacuum cleaner it’s got great cleaning power and is very sturdy. They are clearly made to last the long haul.

So if a bit on your Numatic vacuum breaks I would recommend trying to fix it, rather than buying a new cleaner. In this new advice video Rory will show you how to replace a back wheel on a Hetty vacuum cleaner.

If after watching this video you decide that you need some Henry vacuum spares please make sure to check out the eSpares website.

Yellow Kitchen with Cookerhood

Smelly Cooker Hood

May 20, 2010 | Kitchen Appliances Repair, Help & Advice | No comments

The cooker hood is responsible for extracting the air around hob, funnelling grease from collecting elsewhere in the kitchen and helping to keep cooking smells to a minimum. It’s a little known fact, but your extractor fan needs regular maintenance in order for it to perform fully. All the filters on a cooker hood should be replaced at least once every year to keep your kitchen from becoming smelly. If you’ve got a metal filter on your extractor fan this should either be cleaned of grease build up or replaced. In this new video Rory will show you how to clean the grease from a metal cooker hood filter.Read more