Whether you turn your oven on to bake a frozen pizza or to roast the holiday ham, you probably expect it to heat up to your desired temperature the way it did when you first purchased it.
But as time passes, all appliances – ovens included – can require maintenance. As the weather cools down, this can be a good time to practice some winter home safety and get your appliances inspected. Here are some tips on what to look for so you can practice good winter health in your home:
* In the kitchen, do a thorough cleaning of your oven/stove/range. Clean the knobs, the control panel and the drip pan, and if it’s burned out, replace the light inside the oven so you can better see what’s baking.
* On your dishwasher, you may have noticed the dishes just aren’t as clean when they come out. Your water inlet valve may be broken or worn, preventing water from entering the dishwasher. Some dishwashers have a filter, and fall is a great time to clean that out to better improve the cleaning cycle. Also clean the spray arms inside the dishwasher, making sure no food or debris is clogging the water holes.
* Clean your refrigerator for good winter health, but also clean the condenser coils, removing dust bunnies, pet hair and food items, which can shorten the life of your refrigerator.
* Moving on to the utility room, the humidifier can be cleaned out as the temperatures cool before you need to turn it on again. Remove all the built up scale, rust and hard water deposits.
* Remove window air conditioners and store them in the basement, where they are out of reach of birds, wasps and small rodents. If your air conditioner is fixed, cover it to keep out all the landscaping debris that could get caught in it.
* Sweep out your dryer vents. Even if you clean out the lint trap in your dryer with each use, lint can still collect in the vent as it travels up to the roof or out the side of your house.
* As you’re checking your dryer, take a look at your washing machine’s hoses for any cracks or corroded fittings. A general maintenance tip – these hoses typically will need to be replaced every three to five years.
Practicing a little winter home maintenance on your appliances will help you to keep them functioning longer and better.
