Treat 'em right

Your appliances work for you every day. Now it's time to do a little work for them.

If you ever sell your home, it's all but guaranteed something will go wrong three days before the closing. That was the case a few years ago, when our double oven quit working just as we turned it on to self-clean.

I basically grew up in the family Texaco station, so I have a pretty good knack for machinery. (Want to see me pull the engine from a '71 Cougar XR7?) Too bad I didn't grow up as the son of the Maytag Repairman, because I realized I knew nothing about appliances. Confronted with my dead oven, I flipped the circuit breaker hoping to reset it. No luck.

When a technician from the repair service I called arrived, he pulled the unit out of the cabinet about 6 inches, hit the overload button and slid everything back into place. He was done in about three minutes, which is about as much time as it took him to write me a bill for $142.50.

That's when I decided to study up on how to maintain and fix a few of these appliances myself. What follows is a crash course on some of the things I've found that will help you avoid most visits from the repair guy:

Oven/stove. If it's a gas unit, make sure you have stainless steel or coated brass supply fittings feeding the unit; older steel tubes have been known to leak gas. Pull apart the stove burners from time to time, and clean them with a brush. This opens the ports, allowing a more even flow of heat. If your oven is self-cleaning, run the cycle at least once every couple of months to avoid tripping the overload button.

Dishwasher. Newer dishwashers use less detergent than older ones. Adding too much can harm the pump by creating too many suds. Most dishwashers have internal food grinders for those of us who are bad about rinsing off our dishes. But some have a screen that must be emptied. Be diligent about this, or the performance of the unit will suffer. Once a month, run a complete cycle with a cup of a calcium-lime-and-rust cleaner, like CLR or Lime-A-Way, to dissolve any scale or sediment buildup, prolong the life of the unit and help control odors.

Refrigerator. This is the hardest-working appliance in your home; the motor runs almost constantly. Cleaning the dust and grime off the coils (usually on the back or bottom of the unit) should be done twice a year. This helps the fridge operate more efficiently, prolonging its service life. To keep things clean and germ-free inside, remove all the contents every other month, and wipe down the interior with a 50/50 solution of bleach and water.

Washer/dryer. The washing machine is one of the most durable appliances around, requiring almost no maintenance. The dryer, however, needs a bit more tending. In addition to cleaning the lint out of the filter before every use, you should vacuum out the filter slot every few months. The vent tube that leads outside should be cleaned twice a year, because lint buildup can reduce the dryer's efficiency and create a fire hazard. To clean the tube, disconnect it from the dryer and gently work the vacuum in as far as it will go. It's also a good idea to clean the outside dryer vent cap, which can become clogged with lint and make a perfect nesting place for bees and wasps.