Avoid Appliance Repairs with 5 Easy Maintenance Strategies
We live in an era of luxury where we often take things for granted, and our dependence on modern conveniences becomes especially clear when our appliances malfunction. What are we supposed to do when our dishes and clothes don’t wash themselves?!
Sooner or later, this “first world problem” is going to come crashing down on you. Appliances break down: it’s inevitable, but there are some things you can do to prolong their lifespan. As Whitby’s leading appliance repair provider, Quick Fix appliances knows just the right maintenance tips to keep your appliances lasting as long as possible. Read on to learn some maintenance guidelines you can use at home to save yourself the time, money, and stress associated with untimely appliance breakdowns.
Washing Machine Maintenance
- Be sure to empty the pockets of all clothing before tossing it in for a wash cycle. Leaving coins, lighters, pens, and other items tucked into your laundry can damage the washing machine’s pump, causing you to seek out an appliance repair sooner than would otherwise be required.
Additionally, be sure to never overload the machine. It’s true that under loading wastes energy and reduces the amount of scrubbing “tumbling” that your washer will produce, but overloading is even worse. Heavy, off-balanced loads can really wreck your washing machine’s internal components.
Dryer Diligence
- Make sure you clean your dryer’s lint screen before every single use. This is a crucial step you need to take to avoid creating a fire hazard, but it’s not all you need to worry about. To eliminate the chances of a dryer fire, make sure you clean out the inside of the appliance, and take time to check the vent once per week. Invest some time or money to have the vent vacuumed out once every few years as well.
Fridge-Friendly Tips
- Keeping your refrigerator in good working order is all about cleaning the condenser. A dirty condenser forces the compressor to work overtime, which leads to overheating. Condensers typically get clogged up with dust and animal hair. It’s a pain to pull the fridge out, but five minutes of weekly maintenance is all it takes to keep your fridge working the way it should for longer.
Dishwasher Duty
- If you want to avoid appliance repair fees with your dishwasher, make sure that you rinse everything off with warm water before you wash each load. Many people make the mistake of jamming their dishwashers full of food-laden dishes and cookware, and it’s a big problem. Food debris has to go somewhere, and that usually means clogging up the pump, drain lines, or spray arms, all of which combine to make for some costly appliance repairs.
Oven and Range Responsibilities
- Wipe up spills as soon as they occur. This will save your “self-cleaning” cycle a lot of extra work, and eliminate a lot of the repair calls that occur when someone bangs up internal components while trying to scrub away particularly stubborn baked-on messes.
If you’re using a gas range or cook-top, you’ll also want to be very careful about letting any moisture come into contact with the igniter switches. These are found right under the burner control knobs. If your cooking or cleaning attempts get these igniters wet, you’ll have a hard time lighting up your stove to cook your family meal!
