I have a holmes 1 touch model hqh319 electric heater.. would love to be able to clean the dust off the bottom metal inside the heater where the coils are unable to get to screws inside any suggestions?

The fan may be failing

Check for ice / frosting inside the freezer .... If present you probably have a defrost problem.... This causes the freezer coil to ice up and block the air flow ... the causes could be a bad defrost heater , defrost timer, defrost sensors, or control board. Also make sure that the condenser coil is clean. remove ALL dust with a vacuum and a coil brush .the coil is located either on the bottom or on the back side of the unit... You didn't give the Make and model #

You would have to contact the makers of the heater to give you a clear answer on that , most heaters smell when first put on from new and you would have to burn this off first ,

Does the unit have a built in gfi plug? If it does and it won't reset I would replace the heater. It sounds like a dead short on the heater. It would not be cost affective to get it repaired.

if you have a vacume cleaner with blow on it blow the dust out , or a shop vac ,

get someone to have a look you may have damaged electrical or mechanical parts in heater and if its reseting and you can't get it to go at all there may be a good safety reason for this i always say if you haven't been taught to do something by a profesional don't learn by killing yourself as it is a possible out come for people how think they can fix it, you should know if you can fix and if you don't know don't fix even people with experiance still have trouble with heaters so don't risk it get a service agent there to look at problem or take it an appliance repair agent

Try fixya for the correct manual or webpage the brand name.

Hi: Those areas are designed to be warm to keep moisture from forming there(Moulion coil). When they get hot it means the fridge is over working. The condenser coils remove the heat from the fridge. When clogged the heat will leave anywhere it can. The moulion coil is the strip you described,and will overheat when the condenser coils wont disperse the heat. Most likely the coils need a good cleaning, on the bottom of the ref. Use a coil brush and a vacuum. Or even an air compressor to blow the dust and hair out; plan on dusting the house too. Pull the grill off the front and clean them. If real bad pull the panel of the lower back and clean it out too. Since you work in detroit the dust and hair on the coils would be like putting a blanket over your radiator. Parts would heat up. I hope it's just the coils. If a compressor is failing you can get the same symptoms. I hope it is the latter for you, as I'm in your boat also. I hope this helps, Jeff

Hi: I've dealt with Kenmore for 30 years. Unfortunately the new model numbers don't reveal the age. I must assume it's a newer model. I'm not disputing what you said about it running all the time, but please read on. Oddly enough the new energy efficient referigators run 70 to 80% of the time. They use a smaller compressor without the big amperage start-up. The best I can describe them is that they freewheel alot. The 106......of your model number means it was built by Whirlpool. A very quite and energy efficent refrigerator. If your power bill is high get a meter from your power company, most have them. Just to double check the power consumption. Good luck Jeff

This may seem too simple of an answer based on your extensive troubleshooting thus far, but the most common reason for cold air running of any electric dryer is a broken heater coil. This is simply a coil of wire that is heated to warm the air in the fan duct. These often overheat and break if the vent duct is blocked, too long, or has odd bends that can restrict flow. Recommend replacing heater coil and use smooth wall vent pipe. Avoid coil type flexible duct.