Keep appliances in tip-top shape

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Your appliances need tender loving care to keep them healthy. Follow this simple maintenance routine, and you’ll keep them going strong for many years.

Kitchen appliances need a checkup about twice a year. Begin with your refrigerator.

* First, open the doors and check the gaskets that seal the cooling compartments. They should form an airtight seal against the frame. If they’re cracked, have them replaced. Otherwise, just wash the gasket and frame with warm, soapy water.

* Clean the cooling fan and condenser coils. They’re usually underneath, or in back of, your refrigerator. Use a brush designed especially to clean these delicate parts. Accumulated dust reduces your refrigerator’s efficiency.

* Replace your icemaker filter every six months. It removes odors that make ice taste and smell badly.

* Check the walls of your freezer for frost buildup. If you have it, there’s trouble in your self-defrosting system. To remove excess frost, defrost the freezer. Don’t scrape it out with a tool.

Next, tend to your stove. Check the drip pans and broiler pans. If they’re too dirty to clean, replace them. Replacements are inexpensive and easy to find. Don’t cover drip pans with aluminum foil. It keeps ovens from venting properly and can short-circuit electric stoves.

Take a good look at your dish-washer. Clean or replace the filter. Dirty or damaged filters affect the dishwasher’s pump and motor seals. Make sure the little holes in the spray arms are open and free of debris. Check for rust on the dishwasher’s racks and repair or replace them if they are rusty. Tiny pieces of rust can damage the water pump.

Now head to your laundry room. Investigate these things on your washer twice a year.

* Water fill hoses for signs of leaks and aging. Even little leaks can have disastrous effects on your house. Replace those hoses every three to five years.

* Water dripping into the tub when it’s turned off. This is a sign of a bad water inlet valve.

* A level washer on a well-supported floor. If either if these isn’t up to snuff, the washer’s own weight and movement contribute to that horrible banging during rinse cycles, not to mention the early death of your machine.

Twice a year, get rid of dryer lint buildup by cleaning the vent that leads outside your house. Dryer vent brushes from 10 to 20 feet long make this messy job a cinch. If you notice the vent tube between the dryer and the wall is white vinyl, replace it. These no longer meet code. Rigid aluminum vent pipe is best.


All the best,


Timben