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Best Ways to Keep Your Kitchen Appliances in Peak Condition

The typical kitchen is packed to the brim with cutting-edge appliances. Without these modern marvels, food storage, meal prep and post-meal cleanup would be considerably more cumbersome and time-consuming. However, since we’ve grown up in a world where such appliances are commonplace, we generally don’t stop to appreciate them until unexpected mishaps occur. Since replacing certain appliances can put a tremendous strain on a household’s finances, budget-conscious families would be wise to get out ahead of prospective problems and nip appliance breakdowns in the bud.

Consistent Maintenance Visits

Refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines and other big-ticket appliances require regular maintenance visits to operate a maximum efficiency. These visits typically entail having the aforementioned appliances thoroughly inspected by licensed professionals. While carrying out these inspections, maintenance professionals record any problems – or potential problems – they encounter and take the necessary steps to remedy them. Catching small issues before they have a chance to become larger problems stands to save you a considerable sum in repair costs and exponentially extend the lives of your appliances.

By the same token, don’t hesitate to address seemingly minor issues with your kitchen appliances. The longer problems go unaddressed, the more significant – and costly – they’re liable to become. With this in mind, promptly contact a dependable home services company the next time one of your appliances exhibits even a minor problem. Just remember – spending a little bit of money in the short term is preferable to losing a small fortune in the long run.

Clean Appliances as Needed

Many kitchen appliances need to be cleaned on a consistent basis. Failure to clean these devices as needed can adversely impact their efficiency, power consumption and overall lifespans. For example, stoves, ovens and refrigerators have problems operating at peak efficiency when they accumulate excessive grime. The exact cleaning mechanics vary by device, manufacturer and model, but if you’re unclear on how to go about cleaning any of your appliances – or how often you should clean them – make a point of consulting the relevant owner’s manuals or manufacturer websites. Additionally, if you don’t feel up to the task of cleaning certain appliances, consider farming this out to maintenance professionals.

Use Appliances as Directed

Although using appliances as directed may seem like a no-brainer, many of us have no reservations about putting essential appliances through their paces. For instance, people habitually overload dishwashers and washing machines, which impacts these devices’ ability to properly clean and reduces their lifespans. Depending on the device and degree of misuse, failure to use an appliance as directed can also result in considerable safety hazards. Improperly operating a stove, oven or microwave stands to start a fire and put the safety of your entire household at risk. Even if appliance misuse seems like a good idea in the moment, a single bad decision can have disastrous consequences.

Of course, even in the absence of misuse, accidents can still occur. That being the case, take care to sit with certain appliances whenever they’re operational. It’s never a good idea to leave stoves, ovens or microwaves unattended. If an unexpected mishap occurs while you’re in another room, you may not become aware of the problem until considerable damage has already been done.

Put Warranties to Good Use

A good warranty can save you a king’s ransom in repair costs. Manufacturer warranties generally cover appliances for a period of six months to one year and pertain solely to issues that are explicitly the fault of the manufacturer. Conversely, extended warranties tend to be a bit more flexible. These warranties often represent agreements between consumers and retailers, instead of consumers and manufacturers. Lasting for one to three years, extended warranties deal with a wider range of issues and typically provide coverage for both manufacturer defects and user mishaps. So, the next time you purchase a new kitchen appliance, you’d be wise to explore your warranty options.

Our kitchen appliances work hard for us on a daily basis. In the absence of functional fridges, ovens and dishwashers, storing and preparing food would be an exercise in endurance. In fact, these appliances are so reliable that many of us take them for granted. Most people have never lived in a world without these game-changing appliances, so it’s easy to simply regard them as part of the scenery. It isn’t until an essential kitchen appliance breaks down or incurs damage that we come to realize how important these devices actually are.

 

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