Posted by When it comes to home appliances, we’re all afraid that the appliance we rely on the most will break down when we need it the most. Imagine your washing machine breaking down in the middle of the wash while you’re in the middle of a busy week.
Or your fridge not cools just after you’ve bought fresh food. Another undesirable scenario is your oven not working properly the day before the festive meal. No one wants to live through these situations. Even though these situations are unpredictable, you can avoid unexpected breakdowns by following certain home appliances maintenance tips.
We’re not going to discuss comprehensive appliance maintenance steps that require experts and hefty bills. Instead, we’ll introduce you to some simple maintenance tasks that will help you keep your home appliances in good condition for a long time.
How to maintain your household appliances
The most important tip for maintaining household appliances is to follow safety precautions before you touch them. This includes wearing protective gloves and safety goggles. We also recommend that you switch off all appliances before starting work.
Our appliance maintenance guide breaks down the maintenance process for different appliances. Here you will find the best methods for maintaining different types of appliances.
Refrigerator
Here you will find effective tips for maintaining your refrigerator:
- This tip applies to refrigerators with an ice maker or water filter. Replace the water filter at least every six months. You will find information in the operating instructions to help you find the right filter for your model.
- Vacuum the fridge and freezer coils once a year. The coils are usually located behind the ventilation cover of the refrigerator.
- Take special care to keep your refrigerator clean. Ice and dirt deposits can impair the efficiency of the appliance.
Dishwasher
- The most important maintenance tip for microwaves is to keep the appliance clean. We recommend cleaning your dishwasher regularly, approximately every six months.
- We recommend using a recommended cleaning solution for your dishwasher. The shelves in your dishwasher have vertical pins that need to be replaced regularly. Please check these and buy replacement pins if necessary. This will prevent the vertical pins from soiling the crockery.
Range, hobs and ovens
- If your oven is a newer model with a self-cleaning function, it will be easier to maintain. We recommend using the self-cleaning function every six months.
- Wait 6 hours after using the self-cleaning function. Then remove the plug from the socket and wipe the interior with a solution of water and white vinegar.
- There is a further maintenance instruction for range with spiral burners. It is important to check the spiral burners of your range regularly for red spots. These red spots mean that the coils can short circuit after just a few uses. If you discover red spots, you should replace the burners quickly.
Ventilation hoods
- Cleaning is one of the most important tips for maintaining household appliances. It applies to all household appliances, including range bonnets.
- We recommend cleaning grease filters and extractor bonnets regularly. Depending on the frequency of use, cleaning every few weeks should be sufficient.
- Another area that requires attention is the extractor bonnet fan blades. Regular cleaning is important to prevent grease and dirt from building up and impairing the efficiency of the fan blades.
Microwave ovens
- The first thing you should pay attention to is the microwave and how you use it. Always unplug it when you are not using it.
- Also, avoid running the microwave without food. This can damage household appliances and even pose a fire hazard.
General Tips for Maintaining Household Appliances
Above we have described effective maintenance tips for each household appliance. Here, we will give general tips for various household appliances.
Read on to know what we mean.
Cleaning the Cooling Coils of a Refrigerator
- Half of the time we get calls for refrigerator repair; it is because the coils are dirty. If your fridge suddenly stops working on a hot day, the first thing you should do is check the coils.
- Often, the coils can be accessed by removing the front grill of the refrigerator. This step will expose the coils so you can clean them with a special cleaning brush.
- You will need to run the cleaning brush over the coils a few times before cleaning. For refrigerators where the coils are located on the back, you will need to turn the refrigerator over for cleaning.
- Cleaning coils tops our list of household appliance maintenance tips because their impact is undeniable. Clean coils allow the fridge to cool food more efficiently. Additionally, effective cooling means long-term savings on your energy bills.
Recalibrate the oven temperature display
- Sometimes, your oven temperature is not high. This is an indication that you need to recalibrate your oven’s temperature settings. The best way to do this is to follow the instructions in your unit’s manual. If you can’t find the manual, you may only be able to find it online in a downloadable format.
- Recalibrating the oven usually requires an available thermometer. Place the thermometer in the centre compartment of the oven until the unit reaches a constant temperature. Then follow the steps in the owner’s manual to synchronise the oven’s temperature display with that of the thermometer.
Keeping the dishwasher clean
- Nine times out of ten, the answer to how to care for household appliances is to keep them clean. This also applies to situations where the dishwasher no longer cleans dishes effectively. The culprit is usually a dirty food filter.
- If the filter is clogged, the water cannot reach the spray arms of the appliance. As a result, the dishwasher no longer effectively cleans the plates in the top compartment.
- Fortunately, you can perform this household appliance maintenance task in less than two minutes. First, pull out the bottom rack and remove the filter cover in the dishwasher. Then clean the filter with a dry or wet hoover.
- We also recommend that you check the float switch near the filter. Slide the switch up and down to make sure it is not stuck. Rock the switch up and down and clean it with water.
Keep appliances quiet
- Most home appliances vibrate when they are working. Dryers and washing machines move around a lot and transmit vibrations to the floors of your home.
- Therefore, an important tip for maintaining your home appliances is to use anti-vibration mats on the feet of your appliances. These anti-vibration mats are made of a flexible rubber material that prevents the appliance from moving during operation.
Avoid slamming doors
- Try to avoid slamming the door of your washing machine or tumble dryer. Although they look sturdy, most washing machine and tumble dryer doors are prone to wobbling. Therefore, if you get into the habit of slamming the doors, they will eventually break.
- This is a home appliances repair problem that can cost very expensively. You can avoid these costs by carefully lowering the lid (or closing the door) every time you use the appliance.
Cleaning a dirty range hood
- You can’t talk about maintenance tips for household appliances without mentioning how to clean your range bonnet.
- When regularly cleaning dirty range bonnets, it is important that you do not forget the exhaust air filters. It is equally important to clean the metal grease filters with warm soapy water. You can either wash the filters by hand or put them in the dishwasher.
- It is not possible to clean range bonnets with charcoal and paper filters. In this case, it is better to replace the filter completely.
- Make sure that the burners on the electric hob are making good contact
- When cooking dinner, it may happen that the burners do not work properly. The first maintenance measure is to switch off the affected burner. Then unplug the burner from the socket, plug it back in and turn the burner until it makes better contact.
- If the burner’s contacts still feel loose, remove it and bend the burner’s pins to connect them together. A tight connection will improve the burner’s ability to heat food.
Keep the fridge seals clean
- The gasket in your refrigerator is responsible for the proper sealing of the appliance. This sealing mechanism allows the refrigerator to maintain its internal temperature.
- However, sticky substances such as jam and syrup can build up on the refrigerator. These substances can stick the door frame to the seal, making it almost impossible to open the refrigerator door. In addition, pulling on a stuck refrigerator door can tear the seal – a malfunction that can cost up to thousands of rupees.
- A refrigerator with broken seals will have to run longer to keep your food cold, which will drive up your electric bill. We recommend cleaning the seals with a sponge and warm water.
- Avoid using cleaning agents as these can damage the seal.
Check the seal on the oven door
- A poor seal can cause your oven to lose up to 20 % of its heat. A poor seal can also lead to uneven cooking. Over time, food will take longer and longer to cook.
- You can avoid these pitfalls by checking the seal regularly. Open the oven door and check for a rubber seal around the door. On some models, the seal may be made of a fiberglass material.
- Feel to see if it is broken, torn or deformed. You can also check for leaks with the oven door closed.
Clean the dryer vent
- The dryer vents can affect your appliance’s ability to dry your clothes. In addition, a dirty dryer vent can cause a fire.
- To clean the dryer vent, first loosen the clamps and then pull the vent pipe (usually located at the back of the dryer). Use a straight hanger to remove lint from around the pipe and then vacuum the part thoroughly.
Repairing dishwasher racks
The tines of your dishwasher rack will start to rust after constant use. This rust can stain the cutlery and crockery in the appliance. Therefore, in our list of appliance maintenance tips, we recommend using a sealant to repair rusted and chipped edges. Make sure your dishwasher is completely dry before you use it.
Check the washing machine hose
- Water damage in your washing machine is most likely caused by a leaking hose. Therefore, your appliance maintenance is not complete without checking the hoses connected to the back panel of your washing machine.
- Look for cracks, weak spots and leaks in the hose. Make sure you repair any deformations that need to be repaired. However, sometimes it is better to replace the entire hose.
Watch out for equipment overloads
- It’s impossible to create a comprehensive guide to home appliance maintenance without addressing the possibility of overloading.
- Overloading a washing machine or tumble dryer can cause damage to belts, motors and other moving parts. The same applies to dishwashers and microwaves. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s recommended guidelines for appliance capacity.
Final thoughts:
To ensure that your appliances are in good condition for a long time, you need to be vigilant. Above we have discussed appliance maintenance tips that you should know.
With these tips, you can ensure that your home appliances are in good condition for a long time. If you experience any problems, the expert technicians at Lahore Centre, the best electronic store in Lahore will repair your damaged appliance the same day you call. Contact us today!
Visit site: lahorecentre.com
Email us: info@lahorecentre.com
Contact # 0333 363 3637