Four Maintenance Tips for Kitchen Appliances

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Kitchen appliances are expensive, and the longer they work efficiently will mean a greater cost savings for your family’s budget. The key to owning long-lasting appliances is to not only use them properly, but to maintain them as well. The following are four tips to keep your kitchen appliances running in top condition.

A tip to prevent your garbage disposal from breaking down

Most tips you hear about for your garbage disposal relate to food items that will clog your drain, but there is less said about preventing the disposal from breaking down. This means not putting anything down the disposal that will make it jam hurt the motor. Most food waste is fine, but you need to avoid fibrous vegetables such as celery. The string like texture can become caught in the blades of the disposal, and this can lead to the motor working harder than necessary. Other than this, do not put anything into your disposal that is not food waste.

A second tip for a garbage disposal

You need to use it.  Often, people will go weeks without using a disposal, and it can dry up. Once this happens, the disposal may lock up. It will not work when you turn it on. Another issue is with hard water. If you live in an area where the water is very hard, running a dishwasher that empties into the garbage disposal side of the sink will create hard water deposits. Over time, this will jam the garbage disposal. Hard water, running through a disposal that is not being used, can damage it it to the point where it will need to be replaced.

Keep your dishwater clean

One area that should get your attention is the outer seal of the dishwasher door. This rubber gasket should be kept clean. It only takes a good wipe once a week, and the life of the gasket will be extended. Also, if you have problems with hard water, one solution to protecting your dishwasher is by using a half cup of white vinegar and run the dishwasher through its entire cycle. Other than this, your only other option is to invest in a water softener system.

Install a new refrigerator water filter before it expires

You may love having a water dispenser on your refrigerator and not having to worry about having enough ice because of a good ice dispenser, but if you don’t change the water filter in your refrigerator in a timely manner, you will not enjoy your refrigerator very much. Once the filter becomes dirty, there are many things you may begin to notice. The two most common will be the taste of the water and the odor. Depending upon how bad your filter has become and the quality of your local water, the water may become undrinkable and the ice unusable. The best way to avoid this problem is to change your water filter before its expiration date. With most manufacturers, this will be every six months. You can buy water filters fast online and have them delivered right to your door.

The tips above are only a few things to consider. Another source of information is often your owner’s manual. This seldom-read publication will sometimes have tips that directly relate to a particular manufacturer and model of kitchen appliance.