You rely on your appliances every day. Your trusty dishwasher keeps you from laboring over those pots and pans, and you don't know how your great grandparents survived without a washer and dryer. The fridge lets you stock up on groceries once a week and the freezer holds everything from your favorite ice cream to that meat you bought on sale but didn't use by the sell date.
A lot of people neglect their appliances, assuming they will just keep on running. You can extend the life of your appliances and save yourself costly plumbing bills if you simply follow this monthly appliance maintenance check list.
Appliance Maintenance Check List
Check all appliance hoses for cracks.
Appliances are hooked up to your plumbing system by hoses. These hoses crack over time, and they become especially vulnerable if you have a washing machine that rocks or if you move your appliances to clean under and around them.
Check appliance hoses to see if they are brittle and about to crack or if they have already cracked. Replace the old appliance hoses. You can get replacement hoses from the hardware store or online; they are simple to replace and inexpensive.
P.S. If you've got a musty smell coming from under your kitchen sink or somewhere in your laundry room, it's likely that you have a cracked appliance hose that has been leaking very slowly. The smell is from the mildew and/or wood rotting where the hose has been leaking.
Run vinegar through your dishwasher for a cycle to clean and deodorize it.
Your dishwasher will become coated with grease and grime from dishes, especially if you typically run it while running a lot of other appliances. If you have a small or inefficient water heater and your family is taking baths plus running a hot wash of laundry while your dishwasher is running, the water may not be hot enough, and you will find an extra layer of residue building up inside the dishwasher.
Keep dishes sparkling clean and the dishwasher smelling great by running two cups of white vinegar through the dishwasher once a month. Works like a charm.
Clean the drain basket of your dishwasher to prevent poor drainage.
Another cause of perpetually dirty dishes (you know that nasty film that can be left behind) is a dirty drain basket.
The drain basket in the bottom of your dishwasher is there to catch bits of foods that are too big to go down the drain. Take the time each month to check the drain basket and empty it. Use an old toothbrush to scrub it, and then rinse it with hot water and vinegar. Presto! Cleaner dishes and fewer plumbing problems.
Clean your garbage disposal.
Think about the things your garbage disposal grinds up each month. Once you're through shuddering, take some time to clean and deodorize your garbage disposal. It takes two minutes and will make all the difference.
Start by pouring one cup of baking soda into your kitchen sink drain. Follow with a cup of white vinegar. Let it bubble for a minute, and then run hot water down the drain.
Next turn off the hot water and switch it to cold. Put one to two cups of ice down the disposal, turn on the cold water, and run the garbage disposal. This will sharpen the blades and clean the disposal at the same time.
Need an Appliance Installed in Charlotte?
E. R. Plumbing Services installs appliances to homes in a 25-mile radius of Charlotte. Whether you need appliance maintenance (plumbing repairs) or you need a new appliance installed (and the old appliance hauled away), we are here to help. Just give us a call at 704-846-5371 and we'll get an experienced plumbing technician out right away.
Article Summary
Quick question & answer: Is there an appliance maintenance checklist?
Yes! To maintain your appliances monthly, you can check all appliance hoses for cracks. Run vinegar through your dishwasher for a cycle to clean and deodorize it. Clean the drain basket of your dishwasher to prevent poor drainage. Lastly, clean your garbage disposal.
