Appliance Maintenance Tips for a Stress-Free Holiday

The holiday season is here and with everything you have to to get ready, appliance maintenance probably isn’t a top priority but it should be. Your appliances get a real workout during the holiday season, especially your kitchen appliances. You want to make sure they are up to the task before one of them fails in the middle of a family gathering. Fortunately, there are some simple appliance maintenance tips that can you avoid a holiday disaster.

Beware of the Self-Cleaning Oven

This is probably one of the most important appliance maintenance tips to help your holidays go smoothly. The self-cleaning function has made it so much easier to keep your oven clean. Gone are the hours of scrubbing, scraping and chemical laden oven cleaners. However. if you want to start your holiday cooking with a clean oven, don’t wait until a few days before you host the family feast.

If you intend to self-clean your oven, do it at least two weeks ahead of the big day. Sometimes after the self-cleaning function has been used, the oven will fail to work. Appliance repair services are often inundated with calls about malfunctioning ovens right before the holiday. Cleaning the oven two weeks prior leaves time for repairs to be made without disrupting our holiday dinner.

If you’ve already waited too long, skip the self-cleaning function and just carefully remove any burnt food residue and wipe down the oven walls. Once the holiday has passed, then you can safely use the self-cleaning function.

Show Your Dishwasher a Little Love

The workhorse of kitchen clean-up, it is important to properly operate and maintain your dishwasher. Otherwise, you could find yourself washing all those pots, pans and dishes by hand. There are a few appliance maintenance tips that will help keep your dishwasher operating at peak performance throughout the holiday season and beyond.

While it may be tempting to fill it as much as possible, avoid overloading the dishwasher.  This could potentially block the rotating sprayers and cause damage. It’s better to run a second load through the dishwasher rather than risk damaging it. Also, large bulky items such as a roasting pan or oversized platter may not fit in the dishwasher. It’s best to wash these by hand.

Don’t leave excess food on your dishes when loading the dishwasher. Scraping your dishes first will allow them to get cleaner. It will also help prevent dishwasher traps from becoming clogged which could potentially cause the machine to malfunction or break down completely.

While it is important to scrape off excess food, don’t over-rinse the dishes before loading them into the dishwasher. The enzymes in today’s dishwasher detergents require some food residue to be present to activate.

You should clean your dishwasher regularly, about once a month. Run it empty with either the manufacturer’s recommended cleaning agent or a cup of white vinegar. There are also a couple of appliance maintenance tips to boost your dishwasher’s performance.

Run the hot water in the kitchen sink before starting the dishwasher. This will ensure that hot water enters the dishwasher promptly, allowing it to clean better. Make sure you choose the correct cycle for the type of load you are washing. Using the incorrect cycle or using the same one every time can minimize performance or cause unnecessary wear and tear to the unit.

Organize Your Refrigerator

This may not sound like your typical appliance maintenance tip, but it will help your refrigerator preserve your food better while minimizing wear and tear. Get rid of any expired or forgotten foods before the holidays. You’re going to need the space.

Use a variety of reusable containers to store leftovers. While loading your refrigerator, put foods that can tolerate freezing toward the back. The air ducts are located there, making the back of the refrigerator colder. Keep foods that can’t tolerate freezing toward the front, as the air will be a bit warmer there.

Avoid overloading the refrigerator. If the refrigerator is too full, it’s airflow will be limited. This could decrease its performance and make it work harder, potentially reducing its lifespan. It also increases the possibility of the refrigerator not closing completely which could lead to food spoilage as well as increased wear and tear. If you’re having trouble making it all fit, send some leftovers home with your guests.

Make Fresh Ice

You’re probably wondering why right? After all, ice doesn’t go bad. No, it doesn’t, but if the ice has been sitting in your freezer for a while it can take on the odors or tastes from the food you’ve stored there. That’s not exactly what you want to add to your guest’s drinks.

Completely empty out your ice compartment and let it refill with fresh ice. Put the freshly frozen into sealed plastic bags and store one the freezer shelf.  Repeat this process a couple of times This will not only protect the ice from picking up any odors or tastes from the freezer – it will also ensure that you won’t run out of ice.

Professional Appliance Maintenance

Jersey Coast Appliance can help you avoid these holiday disasters. We have the experience and customer service that you can rely on. If you need appliance maintenance or repair, we offer expert appliance repair services, including 24/7 emergency service and our night owl service is available anytime between 4 pm to  8 pm, Monday through Friday. We also stock a wide variety of replacement parts including Kenmore.

Should you need to replace an appliance, we carry a great selection of top quality appliances. Our professional staff can help you select the perfect new appliance to fit your lifestyle. If you’re in need of appliance repair or replacement, don’t hesitate, give us a call.