How Appliance Cleaning Can Help Extend Their Lifespan

A 2022 survey found that 95% of U.S. homeowners had a major appliance breakdown. Of that percentage, almost half (40%) said their problem occurred in the past 12 months. Those who had their machines fixed or replaced spent an average of $713.

That’s a lot of money down the drain that, in many cases, is unnecessary spending. After all, many appliance breakdowns result from a lack of maintenance.

By contrast, proper and regular appliance cleaning can help extend their lifespan. It can even help prevent dangers, such as fires and pest infestations.

To that end, we’ve created this guide on how keeping your appliances clean can help make them last longer. So keep reading, as what you learn here may prompt you to get them deep-cleaned ASAP.

Cleaning Helps Reduce Pest-Related Damage

According to a 2021 federal report, 14.8 million U.S. households saw rodents in their homes. Approximately 14 million also reported encountering roaches in their abodes. Such pests damage property and also bring a myriad of diseases.

Dirty appliances coated with food debris can attract roaches, mice, and rats. From there, they can gnaw or nibble on electrical cords. That results in exposed wiring, an electrical and fire hazard. 

Roaches and rodents also leave their feces all over surfaces. Sometimes, their excrement can even clog burners.

You don’t want such critters to overtake your abode, so prevent them from entering in the first place. Start by reducing what attracts them by cleaning your appliances and home. 

Cleaning Helps Maintain Appliance Efficiency

Dirt, debris, and grime can make appliances inefficient as they can act as insulation.

Let’s use refrigerator coils as an example, the job of which is to circulate refrigerant. They also release heat while the refrigerant keeps the refrigerator’s interiors cool.

If refrigerator coils get coated with thick layers of filth, they’ll be unable to release heat. That triggers the fridge’s motor to work harder to try and make the coils do their job.

Unfortunately, that extra workload strains your refrigerator’s components. All that added pressure hastens wear and tear, ultimately shortening their lifespan.

Filth also insulates stovetop burners and oven baking coils. That causes these parts to produce less heat yet consume more energy. It also causes uneven or extended cooking and unnecessary strain on the components.

A house fire is an even more insidious consequence of filthy or faulty stovetops and ovens. According to reports, as many as 172,900 house fires per year were due to cooking activities from 2014 to 2018. Nearly two-thirds of those incidents involved cooktops and ranges.

Leaving food cooking unattended is one of the primary causes of such events. However, so can operating dirty stovetops and ovens, as the heat can make the caked-on dirt catch fire. That can damage not only the appliances themselves but also cause a fire to spread in your house.

All that should prompt you to regularly clean your stove, oven, and refrigerator. But if you’re unsure how or don’t have time, consider professional cleaning services.

Cleaning Helps Reduce Risks of Overheating

Remember what we said about filth making appliances inefficient and consuming more energy? Unfortunately, that can also cause their motors to overheat. Motorized devices include refrigerators, microwave ovens, clothes washers, and dryers, to name some.

Prolonged and frequent overheating can cause early wear and tear in your appliances. It may also trigger a safety mechanism to prevent damage, causing the machine to stop running. If that happens to your fridge, its contents are at risk of spoilage.

Remember: Food left for over two hours at room temperature can spoil. A non-working fridge, in turn, can reach that point sooner the more often you open it. And if you eat spoiled food, you risk developing mild to violent foodborne illnesses.

Not all motorized appliances have safety mechanisms, though. And in some that do, they don’t always trip.

In either case, that can cause the machines to produce so much heat they catch or start a fire. The risk is exceptionally high in malfunctioning clothes dryers.

At the very least, repeated overheating can lead to the complete failure of motors. The thing is, these components are among the most expensive to repair and replace.

Thus, it pays to clean your appliances regularly to help prevent them from failing early. Besides, that keeps them efficient, so they don’t use more energy and cause your bills to rise. And if you need outside help, you can always rely on professional house cleaners.

Cleaning Helps Prevent Damage-Causing Blockages

Dishwashers, clothes washers, and dryers have filters that help catch particles.

In dishwashers, filters prevent debris from depositing on baskets, spray arms, and racks. Thus, they also help keep food debris from redepositing on clean dishes. In clothes washers and dryers, filters catch particles, so they don’t get lodged in the tub.

Without filters, debris can get stuck in those components, causing them to seize up. If that happens, the movable parts of your appliances will stop spinning.

Dirty filters can cause the same problems, as they can no longer catch particles. Instead, debris can circulate and settle on the essential components of your appliances. Over time, all that build-up can cause them to get stuck and, ultimately, break down.

Filthy filters can also cause blockages in the drains, leading to water backups. That can fill the appliances, make them overflow, and damage them or the surrounding area. Even one inch of water flooding your home can already lead to damages worth $25,000.

To prevent such problems, check your appliance filters once a month. That way, you can monitor them and clean them as needed. While at it, inspect their interiors to ensure they don’t have visible debris.

Schedule Professional Appliance Cleaning Services Today

Appliances can last for many years, even more than a decade, so long as you care for them properly. By contrast, ill-maintained ones can break down in a year or two. Their failure can also trigger fires, water damage, or electrical hazards.

That should be enough reason to give your appliances the TLC they deserve.

If you’re too busy to perform appliance cleaning, the Scrub ‘N Bubbles team is ready to help! So, call us now, and we’ll be more than happy to deep clean and make them sparkle and shine.