Now that the holidays are over, it’s time to get our house back in order—schedule appliance maintenance for this year’s spring cleaning with Atlanta Appliance Services. Clearly, having a home maintenance schedule is essential for the upkeep of your home. Therefore, we recommend you have your heating and cooling system, appliances, electrical systems, and more checked.
Here are a few of the systems in your home that need to be given the once-over each year. That said, Atlanta Appliance Services can help with the appliances– but we also recommend you contact a local plumber and HVAC tech for the rest of the tasks.
Heating and Cooling System
Air conditioner coils, filters, and fins require maintenance for your unit to work efficiently. Unfortunately, when you don’t keep up with the necessary maintenance, your unit will decline in performance, and energy use will increase.
Air Conditioner Filters
Air conditioner filters are the most critical part of maintenance upkeep to ensure your unit’s efficiency continues. Dirty and clogged filters reduce the amount of airflow that your system receives. When the airflow is obstructed, air bypasses the filter and puts dirt directly into the evaporator coil. This impairs the coil’s heat-absorbing capacity. Replacing a dirty air filter with a fresh and clean one lowers your air conditioner consumption by 5% to 15%.
Most central air conditioner filters are located along the return duct length. Typically, air filters are in the ceilings, the wall, or the air conditioner. Smaller air conditioners, like room units, have a filter mounted on the grill facing your room.
Some air conditioner filters are reusable, but most of them need to be replaced. These are available in many different types of varieties and different efficiency levels. Replacing or cleaning an air conditioner’s system filter every month during the cooling season is recommended.
If your air conditioner isn’t in constant use, you may need to change your filter more often as it is subjected to more airflow. Another thing to remember is if you have a dusty environment or pets in the home, consider changing your filter more often.
Air Conditioner Coils
Over months and years, air conditioner’s evaporator coils and condensers collect dirt. Having a clean filter prevents the evaporator coils from getting dirty quickly. Over time the coil will sit and collect dirt, reducing the airflow and insulating the coil, making its ability to absorb heat difficult. So, check your evaporator coils yearly and clean them as necessary to avoid this kind of problem.
Schedule Appliance Maintenance for Your Refrigerator
Out of all the appliances in your home, refrigerators are one of the few things that are constantly running. Have you ever thought of that? If you take care of them correctly, refrigerators can last between 10 to 18 years. That’s why maintenance is essential.
It only takes a few minutes to complete simple refrigerator maintenance tasks. Performing these simple maintenance tasks will help your unit run more efficiently, save energy costs, and avoid expensive refrigerator repairs while minimizing wear and tear.
Clean the Coils
When you keep your coils clean from dust, pet hair, and debris, they will run better. You might have to remove the refrigerator’s grill to reach them, but it’s as simple as snapping it off and on. If your refrigerator’s coils are in the bag, carefully roll your fridge away from the wall and start cleaning.
This will also give you a chance to clean around the floor and underneath the refrigerator, picking up anything that has fallen. If you go the extra mile, you can purchase a special coil cleaning kit, but using your everyday vacuum and a stiff brush will also get the job done.
Run the brush of your vacuum over the coils to remove the dust, and think about cleaning your condenser fan. The coil should be cleaned once or twice a year. This tip can make your refrigerator last longer while only taking up a few minutes of your day.
Check the Gaskets
Frequently inspect the gaskets around your refrigerator in the freezer. If you see any signs of wear and tear, it could indicate that cold air is escaping causing the fridge to work harder, which shortens its lifespan.
You can avoid this problem by replacing the gaskets. You can find these refrigerator seal replacements at your local store. To prolong the life of the gaskets, be sure to clean them regularly with warm soapy water. This helps prevent future damage from things like spills and crumbs.
Change Water Filter
People typically don’t realize you need to change the filter in your refrigerator for your ice maker and water dispenser. A great way to remember this is to change the filter when you change the other filters around your house, typically every three months.
Oven and Stove Spring Cleaning Maintenance
Self-Cleaning
To start off, we can make this easy! You should make use of your oven’s self-cleaning feature and get familiar with how it works. And no matter what, never turn on the self-cleaning feature and then leave the house.
Gas Lines
Inspect and replace your gas lines. Each time you purchase a new oven, update your gas line too. A new line means less chance of it breaking down. If you’ve had your range for a while, consider inspecting the line. If it looks worn at all, replace it.
Door Gaskets
Your door gasket is a rubber piece that goes along the oven door. This helps seal in the heat. As time goes on, the gasket will begin to crack and loosen. Because of the loosening and cracks, it allows the heat to come through the cracks to the outside of the oven and makes your oven not work as hot as it used to.
Schedule Appliance Maintenance for Washing Machines
Just like your oven, you can use the washer’s “clean washer” feature as often as you feel that you need to, but if it’s one of those things you don’t think about, consider creating a cleaning schedule to keep up with it. This will benefit your washer by prolonging its life span. This is a plus because it saves you money and time spent looking for a new one.
Check Door Seals
Front-load washers can pose quite an issue when it comes to door seals. They never move, which is great, but it gets hard to keep them clean because water is constantly on the seals. The best way to help this problem is to wipe away buildup with warm bleach water and leave the door open to dry when the washer isn’t in use.
Check External Connections
Carefully unplug from the power and check your water supply and drain hoses from your washer for any leaks or water puddles on the ground.
Schedule Appliance Maintenance for the Dryer
There are many maintenance things you should do foy your dryer regularly, but here are some things you can do each year to help prolong the life of your dryer.
Give the dyer a really good deep clean annually. You could really even do it as little as twice a year.
Vent cleaning is one of the most important things you can do when it comes to fryer maintenance. This will help prevent the buildup of lint in the dryer stack, which, if you didn’t know, is a fire hazard. That’s the last thing we want anyone to have to go through.
Dishwasher Upkeep
Like most of your appliances, keep your door seals and filters clean, which will result in the appliance’s life being prolonged.
In addition to keeping those two things clean during your spring cleaning, take the time to clean the spray arm. It’s recommended to remove the spray arm to help remove any blockages once a year. If you think about it, do it twice a year for additional upkeep.
Maintaining Your Garbage Disposal
If you have the pleasure of having a garbage disposal, you probably use it a lot. Then you have it break down, you know what an inconvenience that can be. To prevent breakdowns and repairs, here are a few things you can do to prolong life and prevent damage.
Please, Never Put These Items in The Disposal:
1| Fibrous materials like a corn husk.
2| Food that expands when water is added.
3| Large amounts of any food.
4| Grease fats or oils- put these in a container and then throw them away.
Schedule Appliance Maintenance for Spring Cleaning
As you prepare for the new year, consider booking with Atlanta Appliance Services this spring. We will come to your house at whatever time is best for you, look at your appliances, and ensure they are working properly. Furthermore, our team is trained to give you tips to prolong the life of your appliances and get them back on track to work and work well.