The New Year is upon us, and it’s time for your winter checkup of your major home appliances
Your durable machines take the brunt of indoor work during the holidays, with extended usage for cooking, cleaning, heating and cooling. Your refrigerator, dishwasher, oven/range, washer and dryer have worked hard for you; now it’s time for you to take some spare time and put a little DIY aspect toward your appliances.
Ovens and Ranges
Clean your oven – hopefully, you already clean your oven regularly, but if not, now is the time to do so. Besides the regular grease and oven soot buildup, you might even see other parts that need cleaning.- Check the door liners – if your oven door is not closing properly, have that checked out quickly. Leaking gas into your home is never a good sign. If your door liner or spring needs replacing, check online for appliance replacement parts outlets that can get you the right part.
- Keep foil away from heating element – If you’re using foil inside your oven to help keep it clean, make sure that the foil is at least an inch away from any electric heating element. In some cases, using the foil can cause overheating and possible oven failure. This is due to the foil reflecting the heat back to the heating element.
Refrigerators
- Check the door gaskets – If the door is not showing any resistance when opening and closing, it may be time for a new gasket. To test, put a piece of paper in the door. If there is no resistance when you pull the door again, replace the gasket.
- Clean the coils – Use a brush and a vacuum to clean the condenser coils
- Install new filter – If there’s only one time a year that you replace a new water filter, make it at the start of the year.
Dishwashers
- Run the hot water tap before starting your dishwasher – Getting the water hot first will allow your dishwasher water temperature to start at a higher temperature.
- Clean the dishwasher with a vinegar rinse cycle – You can clean your dishwasher with a quart of white vinegar.
- Avoid pre-rinsing dishes – No need to pre-rinse your dishes before stacking in the dishwasher. Today’s dishwashers can handle dishes placed from the table into the dishwasher without a sink rinse.
Dryers
- Check dryness of clothes – Your clothes should not have to take more than one cycle to dry. If they do, have your dryer serviced to prevent fire risk.
- Clean the lint filter – After each load, remove the lint from the filter to permit cleaner drying.
- Clean the lint screen – Use a brush and hot soapy water.to clean and remove any fabric softener residue from the lint screen.
Washing Machines
- Avoid washing rubber items – Never wash rubberized floor mats in your washing machine, because the rubber backing could flake off and damage the washing machine’s drain pump.
- Clean the washing machine – Use a half gallon of white distilled vinegar in an empty wash cycle to eliminate odors, and remove bits of detergent and fabric softener residue.
- Check hoses – If your hoses are older than three years, and are showing signs of wear and tear, consider replacing them with braided steel hoses.
Doing household maintenance on household appliances is necessary for homeowners.
You can prevent bigger problems down the road by following the steps above to keep your appliances in good shape. If you need appliance parts, seek out the pros at Appliance Parts Company to find the right part you need at the right price.
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