Home Appliances

The control panels on dishwashers can look intimidating. They're loaded with so many dials, push buttons, and other features that the machine looks too complex to repair. It isn't. Learn to repair a dishwasher.

By Fix-It Club

Coffee makers, vacuum cleaners, hair dyers -- you probably have one or all of these in your home? Learn about the differences between heating appliances, motor appliances, and combination appliances in this article.

By Editors of Consumer Guide

A home intercommunication system is more than just an easy way to call the family to dinner or to summon someone for a phone call. Learn more, including how to install one in your home.

By Dan Ramsey

Dishwashers are not very mechanically complex. We'll show you how they work from the inside out, plus tell you how to get the most out of yours.

By Ed Grabianowski & Melanie Radzicki McManus

Microwaves are great time-savers, but cooking in them is much different than using an oven or the top of a range. Follow these tips to make your microwave food taste great.

By Editors of Consumer Guide

Is the water in your home not getting hot? Chances are the pilot light on your hot water heater has gone out. Find out how the pilot light in your furnace or water heater works.

By Marshall Brain

When the floor needs a good cleaning, most of us reach for the portable vacuum cleaner and drag it around the house. Well, what if your whole house were a vacuum? Find out how central vacuum systems work.

By Allison Klein

They both have blades for chopping food into smaller pieces, so do you really need both kitchen appliances? Learn how food processors and blenders work, and when to use each.

By Nancy Lewis & Sascha Bos

There’s a certain mystique to fine bone china — have you ever wondered why? Lenox is the only manufacturer of bone china in the United States and they’ve even produced china for five U.S. presidents. Take a trip inside the Lenox factory with HowStuffWorks.

By Katherine Neer

The sewing machine took a time-consuming, laborious task and made it super fast and easy. Find out what goes on inside this ingenious device (and check out the high-tech upgrades!).

By Tom Harris & Yara Simón

Is the air feeling a little too dry in your home? A humidifier can help make things more comfortable -- and even save a little wear and tear on your house. But what does a humidifier do, exactly?

By Marshall Brain & Karim Nice

Most of us can enjoy an ice-cold beverage any time, anywhere we want. With an icemaker, there's no need to crack, dump and refill a single tray yourself. See how icemakers do all the work for you.

By Tom Harris

Electric vacuum cleaners have been helping us keep our homes clean for over a century. There's a lot going on inside these devices -- learn how they suck up the dirt (and whatever else finds its way onto your floor).

By Tom Harris

Espresso, cappuccino, latte, double latte, double mocha latte... Espresso drinks have become coffee-shop staples all over the world. Watch us take apart an espresso machine!

By Karim Nice

You may not have given it much thought, but your hair dryer is specially designed to prevent bad things from happening to you and your head. Why is it that your hair dryer doesn't get too hot to hold? And how does it avoid burning your scalp?

By Jessika Toothman & Ann Meeker-O'Connell

Is your wardrobe filled with fabrics like rayon, silk, and wool blends? Tired of those escalating professional dry cleaning bills? The answer may be as close as your clothes dryer. See how home dry cleaning works.

By Ann Meeker-O'Connell

A dryer is actually a very simple device. In this article we'll take apart a clothes dryer and explore how each system works. We'll start by following the air through the machine, then see how the tumbler and fan turn, and finally look at the controls.

By Karim Nice

With bright colors and mesmerizing displays, lava lamps have become a popular icon of pop culture. Watch a quick video and read the article to learn more about the history and science behind these groovy liquid motion lamps.

By Tom Harris

A BBQ lighter uses something called piezoelectricity to generate a nice spark that lights the grill. Learn more about how this lighter works to grill up your favorite foods.

In my bathroom there is a plug that has a "Test" and a "Reset" button. When I push the "Test" button, it cuts off the current to the outlet. What is this? How is it different from the fuse in the fuse box?

By Nathan Chandler

You know that the purpose of a refrigerator is to slow down the growth of bacteria, but what temperature should you set your refrigerator to so that it slows bacteria, but doesn't hurt food that doesn't freeze well? Find out in this article.

This will sound like a joke, but it's not: How can I tell for sure if the light in my refrigerator goes off or not when I close the door?

If you have an old refrigerator or one of the small dorm refrigerators, you know all about the frost that forms around the coils that cool the freezer. Learn how newer refrigerators keep this frost from forming.

How do halogen lights work? How are they different from normal light bulbs? Why are they sometimes called "quartz halogen"?

Gas appliances are used in homes and business for purposes ranging from bathing to grilling food. But did you know that not all gas appliances use the same kind of gas? Find out the difference between LPG and natural gas appliances in this article.