ByTheManual
Your home’s manuals, read for you

How to clean it, set it and fix it, the way its maker says.

Care labels, cleaning cycles, temperature settings and error codes, from the owner’s manuals, the care-label standard and the safety agencies, with the source named next to every step.

  1. Find the jobPick the appliance or the label you’re looking at.
  2. Do what the maker saysSteps and settings from the owner’s manuals, not from guesswork.
  3. Check the sourceEvery answer names its manual, standard or agency, with a link.
Start here

This season’s jobs, and the label decoder

ToolLaundry SymbolsWhat every laundry symbol on a care label means, with the temperatures: washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and dry cleaning. 40 symbols, each sourced.Kitchen AppliancesHow to Clean an OvenHow to clean an oven the maker’s way: self-clean for baked-on soil, steam clean for light spills, or soap and water. GE and Samsung steps, plus racks and glass.LaundryHow to Clean a Dryer VentClean the lint screen every load and the vent at least once a year: unplug, disconnect the duct, vacuum it, check the wall cap. From GE, the CPSC and the USFA.Heating, Air & WaterHow to Clean a HumidifierEmpty, dry and refill a portable humidifier daily, and scrub it every third day with 3% hydrogen peroxide unless its manual says otherwise (EPA). Step by step.Kitchen AppliancesRefrigerator TemperatureKeep the fridge at 40°F or below and the freezer at 0°F (FDA); GE and LG recommend setting the fridge to 37°F. What the dial numbers mean, and how to check.
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Sections

Section 1 · 2 pagesLaundryWhat the symbols on a care label mean, and how to clean and look after your washer and dryer the way their makers say.Section 2 · 2 pagesKitchen AppliancesCleaning cycles, settings and simple fixes for ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers and small appliances, from the owner’s manuals.Section 3 · 1 pageHeating, Air & WaterUpkeep for humidifiers, thermostats and water heaters, from the manufacturers and the EPA.Section 4 · coming soonError CodesWhat an appliance’s error code means and what its manual says to do, brand by brand.
How we work

Every step comes from a primary source: the manufacturer’s owner’s manual or support pages, the FTC’s care-label rule and the care-symbol standards, or agencies such as the FDA, the EPA and the U.S. Fire Administration. We name the source next to each answer, and when makers differ, we say so. How we source our answers.