Will Your Appliances Survive the Holidays?

The holiday season is a time for good food and fun with family and friends, but it can also take a toll on many of the appliances that you use to accomplish your daily tasks. From prepping and cooking a meal for a holiday party to cleaning the massive pile of dishes after everyone is done, many of your appliances will see much higher usage than normal during the last couple months of the year. If you want your appliances to still be functioning properly in the New Year, here are a few tips that might help.

Test Your Oven in Advance

About a month before you are due to cook your holiday feast, take an hour or two and give your oven a full inspection. Check all electrical connections and run the self-cleaning process. Better yet, contact an appliance repair service to do the inspection for you, especially if you are not familiar with the inner workings of an oven. The point is, you want to wait until the night before the holiday to find out that your oven is not working properly.

Clean Your Fridge

Your fridge will likely get a workout during the holidays with lots of leftovers to chill and the door opening and closing repeatedly as you prepare your next meal. Start things off right by giving your fridge a good cleaning to ensure it can run as efficiently as possible. Clean all rubber seals to ensure that chilled air stays where it should be. Clean your fridge's coils, which are what actually do the work of cooling your food.

Dishwasher Hacks

Does your house's water supply take a minute or two to get really hot when you turn the hot water knob? If so, turn on the hot water in your sink and let it get as hot as possible before you start the dishwasher. This will ensure the very first water that hits your dishes will be as hot as possible, leading to better cleaning.

When stacking dishes inside the dishwasher, make sure the side with the food is facing the inside of the washer or downward. This is to ensure the ideal angle for cleaning. Don't put dishes in the washer with large amounts of food still stuck to them. Dispose of this in a trash can, not your garbage disposal. Putting excess food in your dishwasher or your kitchen sink can cause a clog.

Contact an appliance repair specialist, such as A-1 Appliance Service, to get the holiday season started off right.