The holidays are a time for family, relaxation, and giving thanks, and most holiday gatherings include delicious home-cooked meals, memorable toasts, and lots of cleaning. If you’re hosting a holiday party this year, you’ll want to make sure things go off without a hitch.
Since your home appliances will most likely take a beating this holiday season, you’ll need to prepare and ensure everything is in working condition. So, before the horde of aunts, uncles, friends, and cousins descends upon your humble abode, take a few minutes to make sure your appliances are ready for the madness.
Keep Your Appliances Running in Tip-Top Shape This Holiday Season with tips from this appliance tune-up guide for the holidays.
Oven and Stove
Whether you’re cooking a turkey or baking a pie, your oven will be used quite a bit this holiday season. The last thing you need is a significant appliance to fail on the big day, so make sure to test it for proper function to ensure it heats up and the burners light.
We also recommend thoroughly cleaning inside your oven and around the burners. Although you may be tempted, avoid using the self-cleaning cycle at all costs. Not only is it hard on your oven, but many major component failures also happen after a self-clean. If you insist on using the self-clean feature don’t run the cycle right before you need the appliance.
We see every year customers wanting a clean oven for Thanksgiving or Christmas and having a failure from self-clean and not having enough time to have the unit repaired prior to the event.
Refrigerator
Before you stock the fridge with holiday goods, clean out old food to avoid tainting your fresh food. It’s also a good idea to clean the condenser coils. These coils need to be cleaned regularly to remove hair, dust, food, and other debris that can become lodged in it. Excess debris can place strain on the compressor and even cause the appliance to overheat. Use a vacuum to remove the waste that is clogging the airflow underneath and behind the fridge.
Microwave
Your microwave won’t see the bulk of the cooking, but it may be used to soften butter or warm up a plate for family members who are running late. Keep the appliance running efficiently by cleaning off food buildup. Grease buildup with weaken the plastic and cause issues with the microwave cavity enamel.
Dishwasher
After a long day (or days) of prepping and cooking, the last thing you want to do is clean your dishes by hand. And since your dishwasher will take on numerous loads over the holiday season, make sure the appliance is ready for cleaning and operation by testing and troubleshooting. If your dishwasher is having issues, See our dishwasher blog for tips on how to improve dishwashing results.
One of our appliance tune-up guide tips is to turn on your kitchen faucet and run the hot water until it is hot before you turn on the dishwasher, the target temperature at the kitchen faucet is 130 degrees. By turning on the hot water first, the dishwasher can pull hot water versus starting with cold. Use high-quality detergent and rinse aid. Plus, check the filter/drain area at the bottom of the washtub. Remove food debris and wipe off the detergent residue.
Washer and Dryer
Between aprons, towels, table cloths, and serviettes, you’re going to have one or two loads of laundry. Plus, you’ll need your favorite outfit to be in tip-top shape. To ensure your washer and dryer are operating at peak performance during your holiday events, take the time to perform simple maintenance, including cleaning out the filter, cleaning the vent lines, and clearing the drain pump of foreign objects.
On top of these easy maintenance tips, practice proper loading techniques. Make sure towels are with towels, jeans with jeans, and delicates with delicates. Also, avoid using too much detergent. Also, check the pockets of your clothing for foreign objects.
Wine Cooler
The holidays are the perfect time to raise your glasses and toast to family, friends, and this year’s blessings. But a spoiled wine can ruin a beautiful toast, so you’ll want to make sure your wine cooler is up to par. To ensure your cooler is at the right temperature for your wine (White wines should be stored in the temperature range of 46°F to 56°F, while red wines will be stored between 58°F to 68°F), place a thermometer in the appliance for at least 30 minutes. Your wine cooler should also maintain a humidity of roughly 70%.
Warming Drawer
One of the predicaments during the holidays is how to serve all of your food hot when the turkey, holiday ham, or prime rib take up most of the oven space. If your home doesn’t have a second oven, consider installing a warming drawer. This flexible and convenient appliance is designed to maintain a warm temperature to keep food warm up to three hours without dehydrating leftovers. The temperature inside the warming drawer is warm enough to prevent bacteria from growing but not hot enough to cook the meat.
Check the power source for your warming drawer to ensure that energy is on-route to your appliance. If it has power but isn’t warming up, there could be an electrical, technical, or mechanical failure, which requires a repair technician.
Trash Compactor
Cooking and hosting a big holiday parting will lead to a large amount of trash. It’s unavoidable. That’s why investing in a trash compactor may be the way to go. This appliance helps homeowners cut down on the space waste takes up. The trash you place inside the trash compactor is crushed with a metal ram into small and manageable pieces. There are also trash compactors that include an air freshener system or charcoal filter to cut down on odors.
Our last appliance tune-up guide tips are in addition to keeping your trash compactor working correctly, you should always keep your trash compactor clean. Plus, always use a proper bag. If a traditional trash bag is used in a compactor, it will most likely puncture or tear due to the extreme force of a full compacted load of trash or get stuck in the ram mechanism.
Contact iFiX for Your Holiday Appliance Repairs
If you want to have a stress-free holiday season, you can’t neglect your appliances by utilizing some of these appliance tune-up guide tips. Regular appliance maintenance will go a long way. Quite often, it’s the small things with appliances that can make a difference. For additional holiday appliance tips, give iFiX, LLC a call today! We hope you and your family have an enjoyable holiday season.
