You need kitchen appliances to execute everyday household tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and keeping the food fresh. When the appliances develop a problem, you have to hire an appliance repair professional to fix them.

Top-notch technicians don’t come cheap, so when your appliance keeps on developing problems, the fees charged by the contractors can quickly add up.

Luckily, you can reduce the frequency you hire contractors by taking good care of your appliances. How do you do this? Put these tips into consideration:

DIY oven/stove maintenance

Start with confirming that the door provides a tight seal. When the door is poorly sealed, the oven can lose up to 20% of its heat. This results in the food taking a long time to cook. The food can also cook unevenly.

To confirm the condition of the seal, open the oven door and find the gasket around the door perimeter. Are there any broken, deformed, or torn areas? If they are there, replace the seal.

You also should clean or replace the vent filters. To do it, wash the metal grease filters in soapy water or use a dishwasher. If your appliance has paper or charcoal filters, don’t wash them. You should replace them if too dirty or worn out.

Also, pay attention to the stovetop drip bowls. You need to clean them by presoaking them in a cleaning solution. You should then handwash and replace the bowls. Make a habit of cleaning the drip bowls immediately after spills. This is because if the spills burn into the bowls, you have to replace them.

DIY garbage disposal repair and maintenance

One of the most common issues you will have with your garbage disposal is the appliance clogging up now and then. The clogging comes about when you go for a long time without cleaning it. To prevent the clogging, clean the appliance.

To avoid injuries, ensure that the disposal is off before you begin the cleaning. When cleaning the garbage disposal, be on the lookout for both large and small items that might have got stuck in the unit.

Use tongs or any other tool to remove the blockages. Never use your bare hands for cleaning.

After removing any large items that might be there, pour a mixture of ice cubes and vinegar or salt down the drain. Wait for at least 10 seconds then run cold water over it. To remove any odors that might be there, place a handful of citrus peels in the disposal, run cold water and turn it on.

You should be cautious of the materials you allow down the garbage disposal. As a rule of thumb, avoid fibrous materials that have high chances of causing clogs.

DIY refrigerator maintenance tips

Dust, dirt, and pet hair tend to clog up refrigerator coils restricting airflow and causing the fridge to work harder to cool the food. Once or twice a year, use a vacuum to clean the coils and suck up any loose particles that might be there.

The location of the coils varies depending on the refrigerator model. Most of the refrigerators will have the coils behind the kick plate or at the rear.

In addition to cleaning the coils, you also need to change the refrigerator water filters. Water filters that don’t remove the contaminants and impurities expose you to harmful water so you should change them once every three to six months.

DIY dishwasher maintenance tips

While the dishwasher can gobble up and dispose of large bits of food, it doesn’t mean you should feed it a lot of it. When you allow a lot of food in the appliance, the appliance is bound to clog up or start functioning inefficiently.

To protect the appliance from working too hard, make a habit of rinsing off any unwanted foods from the dishes. Direct the large food chunks to the garbage disposal as it’s more capable of handling the waste.

You also should regularly inspect the dish rack tines. If they have rusted, they will ruin the dishes and silverware. To solve the issue, buy a tine repair kit then use a sealant to adhere the replacement tips over the chipped or rusty tines.

You don’t need to hire a dishwasher repair Alexandria professional to help you with this as you can easily do it by yourself.