Appliances are expensive, so making the ones you have last longer is a great way to save money. Even if you have to spend some money to make them last longer, it will be less expensive than buying new ones. Your major appliances likely include your air conditioner, refrigerator, dishwasher, washer, and dryer. Other important appliances you may have are your thermostat, freezer, and microwave. However, the freezer and microwave are not essential, and the thermostat is part of the HVAC system and the air conditioner.
Here are a few suggestions to make your five major home appliances last longer.
Preventative Maintenance
If you live in scorching areas like Florida, you want to enjoy the full benefits of your Bradenton, FL air conditioner, and the best way to make that happen is with preventative maintenance. Have a professional HVAC technician come to your house at least once a year before the summer season to inspect your air conditioner, replace the air filter, and look for potential problems. You don’t want to discover issues once summer has started because you may have to wait days for a service call or pay more for an emergency service call.
People often put off preventative maintenance because they see it as an unneeded expense. Why put money into something that is still working? However, preventative maintenance is one of the best ways to prolong the life of your major appliances and get the most use out of them. Plus, preventive care is often not as expensive as people assume. You can easily call professional technicians in your area to get estimates before inviting them into your home.
Proper Use
Using them the way they are intended and following the manufacturer’s recommendations will work more efficiently and last longer. For example, if your washing machine recommends using high-efficiency laundry detergent, you need to be mindful to do that because other laundry detergents can cause problems. Likewise, if your dishwasher recommends specific types of detergent, it is best to follow those recommendations. For your refrigerator, stuffing it full of food with no space for airflow will make it run less efficiently. Likewise, your air conditioner will not run efficiently if you aren’t regularly replacing the air filter.
Using your appliances properly and following recommendations will go a long way in making them last longer and run at their highest efficiency, which will save you money on your monthly utility bills. When things run inefficiently, they use up more energy to function at a normal level. That will increase your monthly energy bills and decrease the life span of the machine. Conversely, improper use causes unnecessary wear and tear.
Repairs
When one of your major appliances breaks, see if you can get it fixed before buying a new one. There are several great companies like Oregan Appliance Repair that offer kitchen appliance repair. People often assume that appliance repair will be expensive and it is more cost-effective to buy new. However, assuming your appliances are not over 20 years old, that is likely not the case. Additionally, when machines stop running correctly, it is often something minor and easily fixable, causing the problem.
If you are unsure, you can estimate the repair costs and then decide if you should get it repaired or buy a new appliance. You can make that decision based on your personal needs. You may not have the money to buy new right now, or you may want something new even if yours is fixable. You can always sell it and put the money towards your new purchase if it is still running.