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How To Keep Your Appliances Running Like New

 

The relationship we have with our home appliances can be complicated. They tend to be expensive, which is why many homeowners dread having to replace them when they break down or malfunction.

We all have that fear. Your washer breaks down during a cycle, flooding your laundry room. Your refrigerator shuts down after you just bought groceries. Or your oven stops working right before a large family meal. Sometimes, homeowners underestimate the power of a good inspection and DIY repair, and they rush to an appliance store to buy a new one.

There’s no need to do that since you can repair some of the most common appliance problems with a few spare parts, some basic tools, no prior experience, and of course a little bit of the great virtue that is patience. Once you’re done, the appliance is practically brand new. Here’s how you can recognize appliance malfunctions and fix them promptly.

Fix your oven door seal

The function of your oven door is pretty straightforward. It has to keep heat inside the oven, without letting it leak out. After a few years of continuous opening and closing, the seal gets worn out eventually. Cracks and tears are not uncommon, and this leads to problems with heating efficiency.

At some point, the oven may lose more than 20% of the heat it produces through leaks in the seal. This means your food won’t be heated nearly as quickly as it should. This can affect your electricity or gas bill, while also making it difficult to time recipe cook time properly.

You should inspect the inside of the oven door for damaged and worn areas. If you can identify a source of the leak, it’s time to replace the seal. Once you’ve taken care of this problem, the oven will start functioning as well as it did the day you bought it.

Also, try to keep your oven clean since spilled food can stop a stove burner from turning on.

Also if the temperature in your oven seems off, or if you just bought a new oven and it’s not heating like the old oven you were used to, Then you can just recalibrate the temperature setting. Use the instructions in your manual or go browsing and look for a downloadable version using your oven’s model number. Place a good-quality thermometer on the middle shelf and expect the oven to keep a steady temperature. Then follow the outlined procedure in the manual to match the temperature setting to the thermometer reading.

Clean the dryer’s exhaust vent

The efficiency of your dryer depends on how well you maintain the exhaust vent. It’s one of the first places you should look if the appliance isn’t functioning properly. Lint tends to be the main culprit when it comes to blockages. However, it’s not only a matter of efficiency, as the lint blockage can be a major fire hazard when the dryer is on.

Luckily, fixing the problem is a piece of cake. Start by checking your dryer’s manual so that you don’t have any unpleasant surprises. Access the exhaust vent and start removing the built-up lint with your hands. A coat hanger and vacuum cleaner can come in handy for deeper parts of the exhaust vent that you can’t reach with your hands.

Inspect the refrigerator

A properly functioning refrigerator is the key to keeping your food safe and fresh. The problem with fridges is that plenty of their parts can take damage over time, which affects their ability to keep the food cold.

Keep an eye on the fridge’s water filter. These parts should be replaced every six months. After this point, the filter no longer has the ability to keep your water free from contaminants. This can lead to the production of harmful drinking water.

Individual parts should be inspected from time to time, including the fridge’s fan, door, coils, and motor. The coils need to be cleaned from time to time, as dust and grime can clog them up. Push a coil cleaning brush into the coils, pull it back, and vacuum it clean. If the coils are located on the rear, pull out your fridge to scrub them. Bonus: The clean coils will cool more efficiently and help save money on your utility bill!

Also, if you see the fan or door shows signs of damage, your best bet would be to replace them. Depending on the manufacturer, this can be a bit of a challenge. People with LG fridges shouldn’t find it difficult to get new replacements. LG fridge parts are easy to find on the websites of various suppliers. Getting new parts is a much simpler and cost-effective solution compared to buying a new fridge, so keep that in mind when choosing your brand.

Check the washing machine hose

If your washing machine is flooding your bathroom every time it starts a cycle, it’s time to start a thorough inspection. And this can be caused by problems with the door’s seal or the hose. So, if the seal is a problem, you can simply replace it.

A leaky hose is another common problem. You must check the back panel of your washing machine to inspect it. If it has weak spots or cracks, you can be sure that this is the cause of your leakage problems. So, in order to remedy the issue, all you have to do is replace the hose. It’s recommended that you do this every five years, as washing machine hoses tend to deteriorate over time. Do this preventively, so that you don’t run into a flooded bathroom at some point. After you complete the task, the washing machine will run just fine and stop leaking.

There’s another way to prevent other problems, which is to avoid overloading. Do not think for a second that you’re saving time, water, or energy, by cramming your clothes into your washing machine. Overloading your washing machine can damage the motors, belts, and other moving parts.

See if your dishwasher is cleaning right

If your dishwasher isn’t cleaning your dishes right, then it’s probably because of the filter. You can pull out the lower rack and remove the filter cover inside the dishwasher. After that, you can use a vacuum to clean off the screen.

Conclusion

Most people aren’t aware that you can DIY your home appliance repairs with relative ease, as long as the problem isn’t extensive. Some solutions only require a couple of minutes of your time. All you need is the official manual for the appliance and a bit of patience to get things back to normal. Some of these DIY repairs will help your appliances last a couple more years, which beats having to buy a new one outright. Keep the above tips in mind and you’ll have your gadgets running like new in no time.

Author Bio

 

My name is Allan Wickerson. I am a passionate blog writer who is extremely keen on writing about health, lifestyle, home improvement, and technology. My exclusive hobby is surfing the net to find amazing articles that can inspire me with some fresh ideas for article writing. I also loathe being a common person who would waste his time doing nothing. Follow me on Twitter to see some of my other articles.

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