Your washing machine is an essential appliance all year around. This is never truer than during the fall season. With all of the extra school laundry, making sure that your washing machine is well cared for is the best way to avoid any kind of malfunction or breakdown.
As with all appliances, regular maintenance is important to keeping the system working efficiently and effectively. For your washing machine, regular maintenance is pretty simple and can be done with each load of laundry. Regular maintenance for your washing machine starts with being careful about what goes into the tub.
Here are some things that you can do to make sure that your washing machine works well when you need it:
- Sort the laundry into small piles before you plan a load. Make sure to check the pockets of all items before they are added to the machine. This is especially true if you have children. Items like wrappers, playground rocks, coins, and small toys are commonly left in kids’ pockets and will quickly clog your washing machine basin. After the basin fills with water and washes the clothes inside, it is drained out of the tub. If any items were left in the pockets of clothing, those items will clog the drain and the machine will breakdown. Having dirty water stuck in your washing machine tub can quickly turn into a health hazard due to bacteria growth in the water.
- After you wash a load of laundry, make sure to leave the lid open on your machine. The lid has a rubber seal around it that gets wet with each load. If the lid is left closed, the moisture trapped around that seal will begin to grow mildew and mold. This then gets into each load of laundry that you do, leaving your clothes washed with dirty water.
- Your washing machine connects to your plumbing system using a hose that goes from the back of the machine and into the wall. Those hose can break down over time and become cracked, brittle, and bent. Make sure to keep an eye on your washing machine hose and have it replaced when necessary.
Having a washing machine malfunction could be disastrous. Not only does it cost you time and money to get it fixed but, your home is without one of its most important appliances for a period of time. Follow these tips for keeping your washing machine in top working order year around.