Appliance Maintenance: What to Do, How Often, and What It Costs

Major appliances fail in predictable ways, and a surprising share of repair calls come down to a few neglected basics: dusty refrigerator coils, a dishwasher filter no one knew existed, a dryer vent packed with lint. The maintenance that prevents those calls takes minutes, costs little or nothing, and adds years to the machines.

This guide covers the appliance tasks that actually matter, how often to do them, what common repairs cost to do yourself versus calling a technician, and how to decide when an appliance is worth fixing. It also links to answers for the problems people search for most, like a fridge that will not cool, a dryer that will not heat, and how long appliances last.

A few minutes of free troubleshooting before calling a technician often saves the diagnostic fee, which commonly runs $75-$200 before any repair.

Refrigerators

A refrigerator runs around the clock for over a decade, so small inefficiencies add up. The condenser coils, usually behind the kick plate at the bottom or on the back, shed heat from inside the fridge. When they are coated in dust and pet hair, the fridge runs longer and hotter. Vacuuming them once or twice a year is the most useful refrigerator maintenance there is.

Keep the fridge at or below 40 degrees and the freezer at 0, check that the door gaskets seal, and do not pack food against the vents inside. If yours has an ice maker or water dispenser, the water line is the part most likely to cause damage, because a slow leak behind the fridge can go unseen for months.

• Why a refrigerator is not cooling, including the fridge warm, freezer cold pattern.
• Why a fridge water line is leaking or not working.

Dishwashers

Most modern dishwashers have a filter under the bottom rack that needs cleaning by hand. Many people never know it is there, and it is behind most dishwasher odors, gritty dishes, and draining problems. Twist it out every month or two and rinse it. While you are there, check the spray arms for clogged holes.

• Why a dishwasher is not draining, including the new disposal knockout plug.
• Why a dishwasher smells, and how drain hose setup causes sewer odors.

Washers and dryers

The washer's biggest risk is water. Rubber supply hoses can burst, so replace them with braided stainless hoses about every five years. If you have a front loader, wipe the door gasket and leave the door open after each load to prevent mildew. Do not overload either machine, which strains belts, bearings, and motors.

The dryer's biggest risk is lint. Clean the screen every load, and brush out the vent from the dryer to the outside once a year. A clogged vent makes loads take longer, overheats the dryer until a safety fuse blows, and is a fire hazard. Use rigid or semi-rigid metal duct, not plastic or foil accordion duct.

• Why a washer will not spin, and why it is not draining.
• Why a dryer is not heating, starting with the breaker and the vent.

Ranges, ovens, and disposals

Ranges are some of the longest-lived appliances in the house. Wipe spills before they bake on, clean the range hood filter every few months, and test the oven with a thermometer once a year. Be cautious with the self-clean cycle on older ovens, since its very high heat is a common point of failure for fuses and control boards.

If you have a garbage disposal, keep grease, fibrous vegetables, potato peels, bones, and coffee grounds out of it, and run cold water before, during, and after using it. Most disposal problems are jams that you can clear yourself.

• Why an oven heats unevenly, and how to test its temperature.
• How to reset a garbage disposal, and what to check when it is silent.

Lifespans and repair or replace

Most major appliances last somewhere around 8 to 15 years. Knowing the age of each one, which is usually encoded in the serial number, turns a breakdown from an emergency into a decision. A common rule of thumb is to replace an appliance when a repair would cost more than about half the price of a new one and the appliance is past the middle of its typical life.

• How long appliances last, with typical ranges and how to find each appliance's age.
• Whether to repair or replace an appliance, with worked examples.

When to do it yourself and when to call a technician

• Do it yourself. Cleaning coils, filters, gaskets, and lint screens, brushing out dryer vents, replacing washer hoses and fridge water lines, resetting a disposal, and testing an oven with a thermometer.

• Maybe, if you are comfortable. Dryer thermal fuses and heating elements, oven bake elements, washer lid switches and belts, and dishwasher drain pumps, with the appliance unplugged and the model number in hand.

• Always hire it. Refrigerant and sealed system work, anything involving a gas line or a gas smell, control boards you cannot confirm are the problem, and any appliance that sparks, smokes, or smells like burning.

Before paying for any repair, check whether the appliance is still covered by a manufacturer warranty, an extended warranty, a home warranty, or the credit card you bought it with. For the yearly schedule alongside the rest of the house, see the fall home maintenance checklist.