Mistakes to Avoid When Caring for Your Washer and Dryer

Washers and dryers are essential appliances in virtually every modern-day household. As anyone who’s ever lived without functional laundry machines can attest, the invaluable services these devices perform should not be taken for granted. Unfortunately, when it comes to properly maintaining washers and dryers, many families leave much to be desired. Without even realizing it, people make a variety of mistakes every time they toss in a load of laundry. While many of these blunders won’t have an immediate effect, they can cause major problems over time and significantly shorten the lives of your washer and dryer. In the interest of avoiding costly repair bills and premature washer/dryer replacements, take care to avoid the following mishaps.

Waiting Too Long to Address Problems

When it comes to washer/dryer maintenance, timely responses to potential problems are an absolute must. Even if a problem strikes you as small or inconsequential, it’s in your best interest to have anything out of the ordinary diagnosed in an expedient manner. So, the next time your washer or dryer presents you with an issue, don’t hesitate to reach out to seasoned repair services like Candu Home. Experienced professionals will be able to identify and repair a broad range of issues in a quick and cost-effective manner.

Wanting to save money on appliance repair is perfectly understandable. Depending on the appliance and scope of the problem, repair services can cost a pretty penny. That being the case, many people abstain from calling in the pros until problems become unmanageable. In order to preserve both your laundry machines and personal finances, make a point of having washer/dryer issues looked at posthaste. The longer a problem goes unaddressed, the more time it has to grow into a more serious issue, and it’s better to spend a small amount of money in the short term than shell out a small fortune in the long run.

Habitual Overloading

Many of us don’t think twice about overloading our washers and dryers, and it isn’t hard to see why. Since we don’t want to devote large portions of our time to doing laundry, we opt to wash and dry as many clothes as we can in as few cycles as possible. While this approach may seem efficient, overloading can prove very damaging to both washers and dryers. Excessive loads can place a tremendous strain on drum belts, pulleys, motors, and spindle bearings, thereby leading to costly repairs and broken machines. To avoid these issues, stick to the load sizes recommended by the devices’ manuals, and make everyone in your household aware of the dangers of overloading.

Overusing Detergent

Instead of carefully measuring the amount of detergent they use, people often eyeball it and go with their gut, resulting in detergent overuse. Not only is using too much detergent wasteful, but it’s also not good for your washer, either. More detergent means more suds, which can cause washers to overflow. You can nip this issue in the bud by adhering to the detergent measurements recommended by your washer’s manufacturer.

If you own a high-efficiency washer, you’re likely to need even less detergent to thoroughly clean clothes. In addition to sticking to the recommended levels, take care to use detergents that are marked as safe for high-efficiency models.

Not Cleaning Dryer Vents

Failure to clean your dryer vent stands to compromise the functionality of your dryer and the safety of your household. A dirty dryer vent is a huge fire hazard, and in order to stay on top of this issue, you’ll need to have your dryer vent professionally inspected and cleaned every six months. If you have a large family and your dryer receives a substantial amount of use, inspections and cleanings may need to be carried out more often. Furthermore, make sure to thoroughly clean your dryer’s lint trap after each use.

In many households, washers and dryers are among the hardest-working appliances. Since we’ve grown so accustomed to having these devices meticulously clean and dry our clothes, it’s easy to take them for granted. However, given how much use we get out of laundry machines, it behooves us to keep them in prime condition. Not only will avoiding the previously discussed mistakes prolong the lives of your washer and dryer, but it also stands to save you untold sums in repair costs.