When your appliances fail, sometimes the problem could have been avoided. This can be as easy as a simple cleaning, other times it’s just a lack of maintenance that causes the malfunctions, either way negligence can get expensive.
The Home Depot has put together a list of common problems that are easy to control by a simple maintenance and cleaning routine.
Your refrigerator coils are probably the most neglected part of your home. Brushing and vacuuming out the coils on a regular basis will keep your refrigerator running like new for a long time. Not keeping them clean forces the motor and compressor to work overtime to keep the inside cold. Eventually it gets overworked and your refrigerator burns out. Especially when your refrigerator is in dusty, greasy or pet friendly conditions your coils need to be cleaned every 2-3 months. If you find that cleaning every three months is redundant, push it back a bit. Find a schedule that works for you and stick with it. Set up the vacuum hose at the front of the fridge as close to the coils as you can get. Run the brush back and forth through each opening in the coil grate. A flashlight will help you see what you’re doing. An upright with a hose or household canister vacuum will work, but there’s nothing quite like a wet/dry vac to pull all that dust out.
Though we clean our lint filters before ever load, these little screens don’t catch all the lint created by our dryers. They catch most of it, but the rest will build up inside the dryer to some degree and can slowly block the vent duct that runs outside of the home. Buildup accumulates in the most restrictive spots. In a solid wall vent the buildup will likely be right at the outside wall on the flapper that keeps cold air out. If you’re using a flexible ducting, buildup can occur just about anywhere. Schedule a cleaning every 3 months.
Most of us have central air conditioning with forced air furnaces. To protect the furnace motor and keep the ductwork clean, a furnace air filter is intake at the cold air intake. Regardless of the quality, your filter needs to be replaced every 3 months, cleanable filters need to be cleaned every three months and 4” thick filters need to be replaced once a year.
Regular cleaning of your clothing washer is a simple but needed task.
When your dishwasher detergent formula changes, it leads to slow buildups of residue. Regular cleaning will help keep your dishwasher running like new and give your dishes that spotless clean.
Cleaning your ceiling fan can be a pain, but is important. Instead of dragging out the ladder every time it starts looking like it should belong in a haunted house grab a duster made for fans that has a long handle and a brush on the end that collects the dust instead of pushing it around.
When your faucet starts to rebel by spitting and spurting out water it’s probably a clogged aerator. Over time rust, lime and sediment will build up in the aerator which causes faucets to get tired and cranky. The solution is easy. Unscrew them with a pair of pliers, using a small towel or something soft as a buffer to keep the pliers from damaging the metal finish. Pull out the rubber washer and pop out the inside parts. Use an old toothbrush and some kind of pick (a wooden toothpick would do) to dislodge the rust and rinse it away. Once reassembled the faucet should run smoothly. It takes about 5 minutes to complete after your first time.
These projects are as easy to do as they are to forget. Keeping up with them can save you money and time down the road.
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