7 Dos and Don’ts of Winter Appliance Maintenance and Care

Depending on where you live, winter might mean a lot of prep, or just a little. In between salting the driveway and installing new weatherstripping, don’t forget to do a bit of maintenance on your appliances! Not sure where to start? No worries! We’ve got 7 tips for proper appliance care and use during the winter months.

Reduce stress later by making note of these things now. Ready? Let’s get started!

Do make sure everything’s in working order early

We’re in the midst of the holiday season, and the last thing you want is a vital kitchen appliance going on the fritz the day before a family feast. At least a couple of weeks before you plan on hosting a big dinner or having guests over, be sure to do the following:

• Make sure your oven is properly calibrated – that is, that it reaches and maintains an accurate temperature based on the temperature you set at the control panel. Don’t know how? Don’t worry! Learn how to calibrate your oven with our in depth guide!

• If you’re getting some seriously wonky temperatures in your oven, test the temperature sensor. It may need to be replaced.

• Test your refrigerator’s internal temperature, too! You want the fresh food compartment to be below 40° F (4° C), and your freezer at or below 0° F (-18° C). If either compartment is too warm or too cold, it could be a pretty easy fix. Check out our troubleshooting guide for more info.

• Check your refrigerator’s door gasket and give it a wipe-down. If it seems completely flat, or if you notice any cracks or crumbling, you may want to replace that fridge gasket before you start loading it up with holiday groceries. A damaged gasket means a weakened seal on your refrigerator, which can make your food spoil faster.

• Make sure your dishwasher is draining and filling properly. The filtration area can get clogged with food debris, leading to a pool of water in the basin of your dishwasher and dirty dishes at the end of the cycle.

• Is your kitchen sink kind of smelly? Your garbage disposal may need a thorough cleaning.

• Check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Make sure they’re in good working order with fresh batteries.

• Check your furnace’s filter and replace it if necessary.

The great thing about spotting issues early is that you can handle them yourself without stress. Most appliance issues can be fixed with a few basic tools and a genuine OEM replacement part. Luckily, you’ve got AppliancePartsPros.com on your side. Order your new components through us, and they’ll be delivered to your door in as little as two days!

Don’t use your oven to heat your home

Whether your stove is gas or electric, you should never use your oven to heat your home. While a gas oven is more actively dangerous to use in this fashion, heating your home with your electric oven can be similarly risky.

Want to know exactly why?

• With the door ajar, a gas oven will release carbon monoxide into your home. If that gas isn’t properly vented to the outside, it will build up and can be fatal to everyone in your home.

• An electric range left open on high heat settings can heat metal and melt plastic components around the stove and nearby counters. You’re not just dealing with some damaged possessions – it poses a serious burn risk!

• The oven door interior gets very hot, and no matter the oven’s style, if the door is left slightly ajar while running, you risk curious hands and paws getting seriously burnt.

If you’re feeling the chill, take steps to ensure your home is well insulated – sealing cracks in walls, covering gaps in doors, updating weather stripping, and covering windows with shrink wrap. Even space heaters, with internal thermostats and automatic shut offs, are safer (and probably easier on your electrical bill) than using your oven to heat your home.

Do check and clean your dryer’s lint filter and vents

When hooked up correctly, your dryer should pipe its hot air exhaust through a tube that exits your home and vents outside. Even if you’re diligent about keeping your dryer’s lint filter clear between laundry loads, some fluff will eventually slip through, where it can get stuck on the walls of the vent, eventually clogging it up. A stopped-up exhaust vent is a serious safety hazard – the top cause of dryer fires annually, particularly in autumn and winter.

Dryer lint build-up is the number one cause of dryer fires, especially in the winter months. So make sure it’s clear before it gets too cold! You can get your vents mostly clear with an affordable HVAC vent brush like this one, but don’t hesitate to call in the professionals if things are looking really jammed. Once the vent is clear, don’t forget to clear out your dryer’s lint filter after every use to help cut back on the amount of lint that escapes into the exhaust.

Don’t allow any uninvited guests!

You and your family aren’t the only ones who want to cozy up indoors this winter. Do a tour of your home, inside and out, to make sure no pests have set up shop where they shouldn’t be. Be sure to check the following spots:

• Thoroughly check any outdoor vent covers, flaps, and caps that you can reach and make sure they’re both clear of debris and secure. While you’re at it, look for damage, like cracks, chips, or missing screws. If they can get in, birds and rodents like to make nests in these spaces, blocking the exhaust and creating a fire hazard, which is why making sure they’re intact is important.

• Have a peek inside your washer and dryer. We don’t just mean open up the lid, either. Use one of the many washer and dryer tutorials on our blog to find out how to open the top of your appliance model and look inside. If a rodent or other critter has taken up residence inside, it’ll be pretty obvious. You might find nesting materials or chew marks. If you do, deal with it quickly! Rodents can wreak havoc on appliances, chewing through important components or causing overheating with their nests.

• Double-check that your home is well insulated, and any gaps in doors and windows or cracks in the walls are sealed. Reduce the number of entry points pests have to cut down on the risk that they get inside at all.

Do account for any indoor appliances kept in cold places

Do you have a refrigerator in the garage, a washing machine in the basement, or even a dishwasher that shares a wall with the outside? These appliances aren’t meant to work in freezing temperatures, so you should take steps to ensure they’re protected from the weather.

• Insulation around the water pipes can help, but depending on how cold it gets where you live, this may not be enough.

• Shut off the water to these appliances when things start to get too cold. For your washer specifically, it won’t hurt to completely detach the water lines and hook them up again once you’re ready to do some laundry.

• In general, refrigerators are not designed to be used in extremely cold temperatures. To protect your garage fridge in winter, the quickest and best practice is to simply unplug it.

Don’t forget to clean your refrigerator’s condenser coils

Here’s a money saving tip for you: cleaning your refrigerator’s condenser coils twice a year can reduce your energy use by about 10% – possibly more, if your refrigerator’s coils are really dirty.

Done twice annually per manufacturer instructions, that’s an extra $100 or more back in your pocket for about fifteen minutes worth of work. So if you aren’t cleaning your refrigerator coils already, why not start now? With all the other heating and electrical costs that come in the cold, dark winter months, now is a great time to give it a try.

Cleaning your refrigerator’s condenser coils requires a long, narrow cleaning brush and a vacuum. You can see exactly how to clean your refrigerator’s condenser coils in our video tutorial on our blog. Be sure to unplug your refrigerator before you start working, and while you’re there with the vacuum, don’t forget to clean beneath your fridge, as well.

Do make a plan for dealing with power outages

If you live in an area that gets a lot of snow, you’re probably familiar with the occasional winter power outage. In addition to stockpiling blankets, batteries, and flashlights, you’ll want to make sure your appliances are protected, too.

Turning off and unplugging any appliances that may pull power when the electricity comes back on is an important first step – it’ll protect your stuff and lower the chances that your power goes right back out again. There’s more to consider, though. Take a look at our full guide to protecting your appliances from a power outage.

Wrapping Up

Whether or not you live in cold climes, we hope this guide has left you a little better prepared for winter. Looking for more tips and tutorials? Check out our blog. We’ve got tons of how-tos and guides that’ll help you to keep your appliances in top shape.