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A Quick Guide To Maintaining Your Washer & Dryer

Docs Appliance • November 23, 2016

Regular maintenance is a must for your washer and dryer. At several hundreds of dollars apiece, it’s worth your while to maintain these appliances so that they run smoothly for years to come. Though routine maintenance only takes a few minutes, it can save you from expensive repairs, or even worse, house fires and flooding. You’d be surprised at the amount of people that forget to clean out their lint filter!

Here at Doc’s Appliance Services, we recommend you do the following at least once a month:

  • Check your washing machine hoses for tight fittings or anything that might leak. Unfortunately, hoses are prone to bulging and bursting, dry-rotting, cracking, and leaking. As you can imagine, this can end very poorly for the machine as well as your floors! If a machine hose breaks down in the middle of a load, it could easily spill hundreds of gallons of water on your floors before stopping the flow. If any fittings are loose, tighten them, and change faulty hoses immediately. As a general rule of thumb, change ALL hoses every five years– better safe than sorry!
  • Clean rubber gaskets and drums. Cleaning your washer will ensure your loads stay clean, and can avoid damaging mold. A mix of equal parts water and vinegar is great for this purpose. Some gentle scrubbing does the trick.
  • Check the dryer exhaust. Proper functioning of your dryer exhaust is essential, as a significant amount of air will be expelled with each load. Check the exhaust duct for any obstructions or fissures.
  • Be sure to clean the drain pump filter on front-loading washers. All front-loading washers have a drain pump filter. Consult your owner’s manual to find out where this is and clean it out every month. A clogged filter could damage your machine or result in flooding.

Lastly, you should make sure to wash your dryer lint filter and clean the entire exhaust duct line every few months. Washing the dryer lint filter will keep air flowing freely throughout the cycle, and unclogging ducts prevents disastrous house fires. You can keep your dryer running smoothly by cleaning both out every three months or so.

If you’re uncertain how to maintain your washer and dryer, call Doc’s Appliance Services today. Our appliance experts are standing by to help with any questions you may have. For top-notch maintenance and repair with excellent customer service, call Doc’s !

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