Most Homeowners Forget to Clean These 7 Common Appliances

While you might dread doing the laundry and washing the dishes, these chores are hard to forget. You can’t go long without needing clean clothes or a plate for your food, but if you’re like most homeowners, there are some key areas in the home that go largely unnoticed.

However, if you never clean these seven appliances, you might have a dirty problem brewing just beyond the surface. Read this list of appliances that might just be hiding some unpleasant surprises.

1. Stop Drinking Dirty Coffee.

If you have been using your coffee maker lately, you may be getting some additional flavors in your brew that you aren’t expecting. It’s not uncommon for hard water buildup to start to fill the lines of your Mr. Coffee or Keurig, giving your cup of joe a hint of minerals.

If you haven’t been using it much, you may have a different invader — mold.

Simply put, you need to clean your coffee maker once a month or every other month to keep your coffee as pure as possible.

Whatever you do, don’t use bleach cleaner in your machine. Instead, use a mixture of hot water and white vinegar. Run the system about halfway and let it sit.

After about 30 minutes, finish the vinegar-water mix and start running a few pots of fresh water until the vinegar smell has vanished.

2. Is Your Vacuum Making Everything Worse?

It does most of the heavy lifting when cleaning your home, but have you ever considered that it too might need to be cleaned? Cleaning your vacuum can ensure its cleaning power is maintained for many years to come.

Start off by replacing the bag and cleaning the filters. If you have a bagless, clean the canister out with a light detergent and let dry. If you can remove the hose, it may be a good idea to clean it out with a broom handle with dryer sheets taped to the end. Just be careful not to puncture the hose or damage it, so be patient.

Tackle the beater brush with a pair of scissors and some needle nose pliers to remove the entangled hairs and threads.

3. Clogged Dishwasher Drains Could Cause a Big Mess. 

Silently chugging away in your kitchen, your dishwasher does the thankless job of several hands all on its own. Taking a little time to ensure its cleanliness will keep your plates spotless and your glassware is sparkling.

Your dishwasher should have a disposal drain and screen. If you don’t clean off your dishes before starting the washer, this screen can get clogged quickly and will need to be cleared more often than not. If you see any debris in there, remove it and clean it thoroughly.

About once a month, fill a dishwasher-safe mug about two thirds full of the ever-helpful white vinegar and run the dishwasher on the hottest settings.  This should clear out soap scum, hard water stains, and break up any leftover grease that has accumulated in the system. 

4. Is the Washing Machine Sleeping on the Job?

If your washing machine hasn’t gotten any tender loving care recently, your favorite outfits probably haven’t been getting the attention they deserve.

Tackling the gasket with white vinegar and warm water is a great first step. Take some towels and soak them in a 50-50 mixture of vinegar and warm water and let them rest on the seals for about half an hour, then wipe away the residue.

Now you can run the washing machine on the hottest setting, but instead of clothes and laundry soap, you use a healthy dose of white vinegar once again. This time add about ½ cup of baking soda to the mix tackle the stuck-on grime in the tub. Once the cycle has finished, run the washing machine again with just hot water to get it rinsed out.

5. Are Your Clothes Still Damp?

Of all of your appliances, your clothes dryer is probably the most important to clean out. A lint-clogged dryer can be a safety hazard, and cleaning it is usually pretty simple.

Start off by cleaning the outside of the machine of any lint and dust, then tackle the inside. You should be cleaning the lint trap and the inside of the drum from any leftovers after every cycle to keep it running smoothly.

The next part is a little more intensive. You need to pull the machine away from the wall and clean out the hose that comes off the back. It may be a little more time effective to replace it, as a new one is about $10. Cleaning or replacing should be a once a year chore.

Cleaning the vent itself may be a more intensive task and will require a dryer vent brush and a vacuum.  Once the duct work is clear, and the hose is clean, you can put everything back until next year when you should be doing it all over again.

6. Does Your Refrigerator Smell?

After a rush of guests or after a long period of inactivity, a refrigerator can use a little love. At the very least you should be replacing the odor-eliminating baking soda to keep the smells at bay.

Taking a serious look at the cleaning process, it’s time to take out all of the food and store it in a cooler or in a cool area. This also lets you go through the various items and sort out what needs to be tossed and what can stick around for a little longer.

Now take out all of the drawers and shelves and head to the sink where you can scrub them down with warm water and detergent.

If you have a few more difficult stains on the walls of the fridge, take some baking soda and water and make a paste that you can gently scrub and let sit while it works out the mess.  Wipe away with a clean cloth and put everything back. 

7. Don’t have a Microwave with Baked-On Mess.

When was the last time you took a serious look at the inside of your microwave?  Do you really want to think about it? Of all the chores you should do, this one is probably one of the easiest.

Start off by cleaning out any crumbs and debris out of the microwave. Gently scrub down the walls and the door with your all-purpose citrus cleaner. Now, things may look pretty clean now, but you can take your microwave cleaning to the next level.

Fill a microwave-safe bowl with a cup of water, some chopped lemon, and three or four tablespoons of white vinegar and microwave for several minutes.  Carefully remove the bowl and wipe the walls down with a sponge.

All these extra chores can feel like … extra work, and who has time for that? We’d love to help you manage the workload in your house. Hiring a cleaning service isn’t as cumbersome or as expensive as you might think. Call us today at 918.376.4114 to receive your free quote.