Maintenance Guide: How to Make Your Appliances Last Longer
How Long Should Appliances Typically Last?
Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly when it’s time to replace your old appliances. Some people just keep using their old stuff until it breaks or stops working effectively. While there is nothing wrong with this approach, there are many of our customers who would rather take a proactive approach and replace their appliances before they break. This way, instead of rushing to Home Depot and grabbing whatever is on sale at the time, they can take their time and make an informed decision on finding a new appliance that will fit their needs perfectly.
The chart below shows the average lifespan of each main household appliance. If your appliances are getting close to the end of their average lifetime, it may be time to consider shopping for a replacement. Omega Force can help you make an informed decision and we are happy to perform any new appliance installation. Call today for more information!
| Appliance | Average Lifetime |
| Microwave | 8 years |
| Dishwasher | 10 years |
| Clothes Dryer | 11 years |
| Washing Machine | 12 years |
| Refrigerator | 14 years |
| Oven | 15 years |
| Range | 16 years |
What Can I Do To Prevent An Untimely Death For My Appliance?
While it’s always a good idea to schedule annual appliance maintenance appointments with a professional appliance repair company such as Omega Force Appliance Repair, there are many things you can do to help them live longer than their average expected lifetime (mileage may vary). Check out our appliance maintenance tips that you can start doing right now!
Microwave
Microwave Safe Containers
Make sure you are careful about what containers you put inside your microwave. It’s best to stick to plastic containers that are specifically marked as microwave-safe. Be sure to avoid anything made of wood, and especially metal!
Use Built-In Programming
Most people do not take advantage of the pre-programmed buttons like “popcorn” or “pizza.” These modes have been specifically designed to be energy efficient and can help your microwave last longer
Correct Placement
Make sure you follow your microwaves instructions for its placement in your kitchen. Placing your microwave too close to a wall or covering an air vent can drastically reduce its lifespan!
Clean Regularly
By keeping grime from building up, you can prevent unnecessary repairs.
Dishwasher
Don’t Overload
Make sure when loading that each dish has enough space to get hit by the water coming from the spray arms. Avoid stacking bowls and plates on top of one another.
Scrape Off Your Plates
Make sure to scrape as much food as possible into the trash before placing your dishes in the dishwasher.
Clean the Filter
If your dishes have a funky smell after being washed, it’s usually because your filter is dirty and needs to be cleared out.
Dishes Only
Even though you may have seen a “Life hack” telling you to wash your shoes in the dishwasher, this is a bad idea with regards to your dishwashers lifespan. Stick to dishes only!
Dryer
Clean the Lint Trap
If you want your dryer to last a long time — not to mention, a full lint trap can be a fire hazard! — it’s important to clean the lint trap after every single load.
Check Your Dryer Hose
Ensure your dryer’s exhaust is free and clear by making sure that the exhaust hose is not kinked or clogged.
Check Your Exhaust Vent
Check the vent on the outside of your house to make sure there is not a build-up of lint blocking airflow.
Washing Machine
Keep it Level
Grab a level and ensure your washing machine is as close to level as possible. Even a slight tilt can cause your machine to get off balance wearing down the spinning mechanism over time.
Use the Right Amount of Detergent
If you are doing a small load, you don’t need a full scoop of detergent. By using too much detergent you can gum up different parts of the machine.
Clean the Detergent Drawer
Over time, the detergent drawer will often have a build-up of layers and layers of detergent. Make sure to take the time to clean this out from time to time.
Refrigerator
Clean the Coils
Once a month, it’s a good idea to pull your fridge out and vacuum all the dust and hair off of the coils in the back. This is especially true if you have pets in the house!
Keep it Full (But not too full)
You don’t ever want your fridge to be empty, but you also don’t want it to be jam packed. Try to keep your fridge around 70% capacity and give each item enough space for air to flow around it.
Set the Right Temperature
Make sure your fridge is not set too cool. If your fridge is packed properly, you should be able to set it to 38 – 40 degrees Fahrenheit and still have everything be perfectly cold.
Oven
Clean Your Oven
It’s important to your oven’s health that you clean it, and keep it clean. By cleaning regularly, you can avoid the heavy build-up of grease and food chunks that make cleaning so difficult.
Avoid Self-Clean
One of the easiest ways to take years off of your oven’s lifetime is by running self-clean. For more info, click here to read our blog post about why you should avoid your oven’s self clean feature.
Cover Your Dishes
Whenever your recipe allows for it, place a cover or a piece of tin foil over the dish you are cooking as to avoid pieces of food splattering on the oven walls when things start to heat up.
Range
Clean Spills Right Away
The sooner you can clean up spills the better. Of course, wait until the surface has cooled to a safe temperature, but do not wait too long for the food and grease to solidify. This is especially true for glass stove tops as certain sugary foods can even cause the glass to pit causing the heat to disperse unevenly.
Don’t Spray the Knobs
The knobs on the front or side of your range are connected to important electrical components and often are not waterproof. By spraying water based cleaners directly at your range controls, you could possibly cause a short in those electrical components. It’s better to spray a paper towel or washcloth and then wipe the knob with it.
Keep Up With your Appliance Maintenance
We hope that this guide has been helpful to all our customers who would like to be more proactive with their appliance maintenance. By following these tips and being more intentional with your appliance usage, it is possible to add years on to your appliances’ lifetimes. If you ever do need help with an appliance repair, scheduled appliance maintenance, or new appliance installation, contact Omega Force Appliance Repair today! Our service heroes are standing by to help Twin Cities residents with any and all of their appliance needs.