85% of American households feature a washer machine. We’re willing to bet that you’re among that massive percentage because let’s face it, washing clothes by hand stinks.
While owning and running a washer is easy enough in today’s day in age, maintaining one is another issue entirely.
Most people that own a washer don’t have a maintenance routine in place for it.
That’s bad news because an appliance that’s not being properly maintained is an appliance that’s likely to break down a lot sooner than it would have otherwise.
Simple Washer Machine Maintenance Tips
To save you a couple of thousand dollars on a new washer, below, our team steps you through washer machine maintenance tips that you’re going to want to commit to memory.
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Inspect Your Hoses
You may have forgotten this, but your washer pulls in and expels water through hoses that pop out of its backside. If those hoses are having problems, then you’ve got issues too.
Hoses for washers are very prone to cracking, crimping, and several other issues that may cause leaks or similar problems.
Make sure that your hoses are running on all cylinders by inspecting them regularly and replacing them if you notice problems.
Keep Your Machine a Few Inches from Your Wall
Nobody likes to see that gap between their washer and the wall. That gap is important to keep your hoses healthy, though.
To avoid undue washer machine maintenance, keep your machine at least 4-inches from your wall at all times.
Use Good Detergent
It can be tempting to skip buying costly laundry detergent and instead throw some dish soap in your wash. We think that it’s best to avoid doing that.
Quality matters when it comes to detergent. This applies both to the cleanliness of your clothes and to the health of your washer.
Cutting corners here could cause a bevy of internal issues in your appliance, so save yourself the hassle and buy detergent that’s made for laundry purposes.
Fight the Urge to Overload
Do you know what’s better than doing two loads of laundry? Doing one load of laundry.
True to that fact, people all over the world have taken it upon themselves to stuff their machines full to the brim when doing loads. This time-saving tactic not only results in a sub-par wash but can also put your machine at risk.
Large loads make it extra-hard for your washer’s drum to cycle and can ultimately break your drum altogether.
Use the Correct Amount of Load Additives
There are a lot of different things that you may add to your washer’s load. Some popular things include detergent, stain-busting balls, freshness pods, and whatever else they’re selling at the grocery store.
Read the back of the packages for those additives and only add things in correct moderation.
If you over add additives to your machine, build up of various chemicals could result which will gradually reduce your machine’s ability to wash.
Wash Your Washer
No, we’re not kidding. Even your washer needs a good wash now and again.
Whether it be chemical build up, mildew or anything in-between, wiping down your washer will keep it working its best and will save your clothes from being exposed to undesirable substances.
We recommend washing your washer on a bi-monthly basis by using a soap/water mixture and spraying its insides and then toweling everything off.
This clean shouldn’t take you longer than 15-minutes or so.
Don’t Let Finished Loads Sit
We’ve all forgotten about a laundry load in our lifetime. While forgetting to move a load of laundry from the washer to the drier might seem harmless, letting water sit in the dark, ventless place is a recipe for breeding mold and mildew.
If you’re like most people, you don’t like moldy clothes and guess what else? Your washer doesn’t either!
Mold build up in your washer is a big no-no if you want to keep it working its best to maintain your washer by being quick about transferring wet clothes.
Leave Your Washer’s Door Ajar
After you’re done cleaning your clothes, it’s natural to want to shut your washer’s door. Washer machine maintenance best-practices dictate that you don’t though.
Leaving your washer’s door open for 15-minutes after a wash can have a tremendous impact on fighting the build-up of mildew and mold. It can also allow your washer to keep smelling fresh between jobs.
Always Check Your Lint Filter
Depending on your washer model, your machine may feature a lint filter. Find out if your machine indeed has one and be sure to clean it out between loads.
If your lint filter becomes over-encumbered, your washer isn’t going to be able to do its job properly.
Pro tip: Almost every drier has a lint filter which you should also clean out between cycles.
Buy a Good Washer
The cheaper your washer is, the more maintenance that it’s going to require to keep working its best.
Do yourself a favor and don’t try to save money by buying a cut-rate machine today only to spend more money via dealing with all of its problems later on down the line.
Always buy the best washing machine that you can afford and you’ll enjoy a much better experience with it.
Put These Washer Machine Maintenance Tips to Use
Like any appliance, your washer requires regular attention to keep working its best. The best way to achieve that end is to practice proper washer machine maintenance.
We hope that our tips above will help you carry out maintenance more effectively and we invite you to read more of the content on our website today!
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Keep it up!