Home appliances play a huge role in your day-to-day life. They provide convenience and help you accomplish household chores efficiently. They also require minimum effort to operate, so you won’t have to exert lots of energy, especially when you’re too tired from work.
However, you have to maintain home appliances well to prolong their life span. If something’s wrong with it, ask for help from the professionals. A few extra bucks for maintenance appliances could go a long way since it’ll help them last for years.
But keeping your appliances clean is the key to saving money. Keeping them in immaculate condition means they will perform smoothly and not need replacing right away.
Furthermore, if your home appliances aren’t cleaned properly, they’ll invite bacteria and other microbes. These can lead your family to several health issues.
If you want to know how often you should clean your appliances, here’s a guide to keeping you on track:
Table of contents
Refrigerator
Refrigerators are used by the whole family daily. Its handle can harbor bacteria that may contaminate the food inside.
Bacteria like Listeria can thrive at the fridge’s temperature. They are found in raw meats, eggs, vegetables, cheeses, and more. These are the foods commonly stocked in your refrigerator.
Listeria is particularly harmful to the elderly, pregnant women, and those with weak immune systems. If your family member belongs to any of these categories, take cleaning more seriously.
When dust accumulates in your fridge’s coils and fans, it tends to consume more electricity to keep cooling the inside. You may also invest in a fridge coil brush or a soft bristle brush to clean the coils. Dust the coils while the fridge is off, and you can vacuum the dirt.
Refrigerators are also prone to spills. When this happens, wipe it right away. Take the time to wipe it down every week from the inside out, and don’t forget to check your stored foods and toss out those starting to go bad.
You can deep clean your refrigerator every three months. Remove all the food, drawers, and racks first. Then, mix a teaspoon of dishwashing soap with hot water and use a sponge to wipe the fridge. You may also use baking soda as an alternative to dishwashing soap.
Dishwasher
Dishwashers are designed to clean dishes but don’t forget that they need cleaning, too. Since dishwashers are used every day, they accumulate dirt every after use.
Maintaining dishwashers will help prevent the buildup of dirt. This dirt might affect the performance of your dishwasher and cause damage to the appliance. Imagine if your dishwasher performs poorly and can’t thoroughly clean your dirty dishes, yikes!
Make it a habit to check the bottom part of your dishwasher every after use to avoid eating on a dirty plate. Check for leftover food residue and immediately take it away. You surely wouldn’t want food debris to cause molds in your dishwasher, yes?
Mold fungi and harmless environmental bugs can also accumulate with the dishwasher seal. You should clean it weekly using mild bleach. You should also clean the outer part as often as you wipe your kitchen cabinets.
For deep cleaning, you can do it once every month. Just fill a bowl with vinegar, place it on the top rack and run a hot water wash cycle. After that, sprinkle one cup of baking soda, then run a hot water wash cycle once more.
Microwave
Microwaves are handy for reheating cooked foods like soup and sauce. Thus, they’re very likely to get spills and splatters. Fortunately, it only takes a few steps and a small amount of time to clean microwaves.
When deep cleaning your microwave, fill a microwavable bowl with a cup of water and slices of lemon. Then, put it inside the microwave and turn it on. Allow it to boil for around three to five minutes, then wipe it clean with a sponge or microfiber cloth. Do this weekly.
You should also wipe the outer part with disinfectant wipes after using it to prevent bacteria from accumulating in your appliance.
Keeping microwaves clean will prolong their life. However, you should also take note of the things that shouldn’t be put in the microwave to avoid damage.
Washing Machine
You probably think that washing machines are hard to clean since they’re pretty big. Washing clothes is more strenuous than washing the device itself.
In cleaning your washer, use the hot water cycle, add baking soda or chlorine and run as usual. Do this weekly or once every two weeks, depending on how often you use them.
Uncleaned washers can accumulate germs like E. coli, which cannot be removed by the usual washing cycle.
Maintaining your washing machines will also help them perform smoothly and improve their lifespan. Remember that washers aren’t cheap, so you better take good care of them.
Dryer
Like washing machines, dryers need adequate maintenance, too. Because although dryers create heat, it isn’t enough to kill germs.
Furthermore, fabric softener and dryer sheets could leave residue in your appliance. After every load, don’t forget to empty your lint filter. Motion sensors should be cleaned every month using isopropyl alcohol.
Final Words
Appliances aren’t so hard to maintain when you think about the convenience they provide. After all, keeping them clean benefits you even more.
You can use well-maintained appliances for a very long time and enjoy your money’s worth. You can save more money if you know how to choose energy-efficient home appliances.
Aside from this, you can also protect your family against health conditions caused by a dirty environment.