Home appliances are products that facilitate daily household chores. They ensure comfort and ease for the family, with appliances like washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, ovens, and other appliances that have become an integral part of every home. So much so that the global household appliances market is expected to reach $763,451 million by the year 2025.
Since these appliances help simplify your tasks, you need to make sure that a certain amount of maintenance and care is taken to keep working in top condition. If you neglect your appliances, you’ll shorten their lifespan and pay a lot for their repairs.
While non-functional appliances will require you to visit appliance repair Kelowna, these maintenance tips will help increase your devices’ lifespan and save money.
General maintenance and care tips for household appliances
1. Never overload –
Refrigerators, dryers, washers, dishwashers, and freezers should never be overloaded. They have their limits, and if that limit is pushed, it can put a lot of strain on the belts, motors, and various other moving parts of the appliance. In the case of freezers and refrigerators, overloading can obstruct the airflow and make the appliance work harder to cool the contents inside. Also, it can block vents and prevent cold air circulation.
2. Change or clean filters frequently –
We must clean the appliances with filters regularly. The filter can collect debris, dirt, food deposits, lint, and other build-up if they’re not. This can lead to reducing the efficiency of the appliance and can even result in the motor overheating. How often you have to change or clean the filter would depend on the usage frequency of the machine.
3. Always use the right product –
For each appliance, you must use recommended products. For instance, not using proper laundry detergent for front-loading washers will affect the efficiency of the machine. Also, make sure to follow the instructions that come with the specific appliance model to cleaning and maintenance. Using the wrong product or the wrong cleaning technique can ruin your appliance.
Appliance-specific care tips
Now that you have a general idea of maintaining your appliances let’s look at appliance-specific care recommendations.
4. Caring for your refrigerator
- The temperature should be kept at 34 degrees Fahrenheit or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit so that the food remains fresh for a long time.
- Get a temperature monitor or sensor to keep a watch on the functioning of your refrigerator.
- Don’t put hot items in the fridge directly. Instead, make sure that it is brought to room temperature, and then you can put it inside the refrigerator.
- Don’t keep the door open for long and avoid overloading.
5. Maintaining ovens and stoves
- Always keep them clean after you’ve cooked so that there isn’t any build-up you have to worry about later.
- If you’re using an electric stove, ensure that the burner coils are free of food crumbs and there are no exposed wires.
- For gas stovetops, the burner ports should be unclogged and never let grease build up.
- Usually, electric and gas ovens have self-cleaning features which allow users to wipe off the ashes. The vital thing to remember here is never to use a cleaner on an oven with self-cleaning features. This will ruin its surface.
- Aluminum foil around the burners should not be used for gas ovens as it can block the exhaust vents.
- An externally vented hood range can be used to maintain fresh air flow or an open window.
6. Caring for your washing machine
- Make sure of using a high-quality cleaner to clean the washer once a month
- After every load, keep the door of the washing machine open so that the moisture inside the drum evaporates
- If there is any spill inside the washer, wipe it away instantly using a soft, damp cloth
- Keep all kinds of liquid away from the control panel to protect the finish of the washing machine.
- Wipe down the inside drum of the washing machine with a damp cloth. Also, the outside of the appliance should be wiped at least once a month.
7. Taking care of your dishwasher
- Prevent leaks by cleaning the seals and door gaskets
- Make sure that the drain is clear. Also, check the spray area, pump area, spray arms, and sump area to keep them clog-free.
8. Looking after your dryer
- The lint trap filter should be cleaned thoroughly after each use. Lint build-up can become a severe fire hazard, and it can limit the flow of air and increase drying time.
- Clean the entire dryer venting components so that there isn’t any lint that has escaped. These components include the vent house, lint trap housing, exterior vent, and pipe.
- Dryers come with flexible vent hoses that ought to be replaced annually, especially if you do a lot of laundry. This is done to reduce fire risk.
- The exterior vent should be checked periodically. You have to ensure that it pops open when running the dryer. It should also close entirely when the dryer is switched off. If you find that it isn’t working correctly, you need to open the cover, remove lint, and check for other obstructions.
- To get pet hair, dust, lint, and other debris, you need to clean underneath and around the dryer. You can make use of a flexible and long vent brush to reduce the build-up of lint.
- To clean the dryer vent components, you can utilize a vacuum cleaner attachment.
Wrapping up
To sum up, a household cannot function without proper appliances in today’s modern times. Since they’re such a vital part of your house, you cannot ignore them. The tips mentioned above should help you keep your household appliances in good operating condition, which will save you money in the long run. Furthermore, you will be adding a few more years to the life of your appliances.