Keep Your Kitchen Beautiful With These 5 Ways To Ensure Your Appliances Last

Designers know the meticulous planning a kitchen takes.  It's one of the most technically-driven chapters of a residential design process.  With all the factors you have achieved by building your dream kitchen: the perfect floor tiles, the multi-tasking counter tops, the hands-free hardware, the farmhouse kitchen sink, the bin pull drawer hardware and the appliances: the ideal cooktop—with the range hood to go with it, the combi oven to meet your baking needs, the coffee maker to satisfy your daily caffeine requirement, and the perfectly-fitted refrigerator to keep your ingredients and culinary creations fresh- your kitchen deserves to look as good as it can for years to come! But even durable and reliable kitchen partners can deteriorate prematurely if not given proper care. How do you keep everything functioning as they should for as long as they could?

Here are 5 ways to promote your kitchen appliances' longevity:

1. Clean, clean, clean.

From the smallest kitchen appliance to the bigger, more complex ones, regular cleaning is imperative. While it’s a given that you should clean your blender and coffee maker on a per-use basis, did you know that ideally, you should be doing the same for your oven and cooktop?   A daily wipe down of appliances will do them a world of good.  Postponing cleaning your oven or cooktop until after multiple use will only make the task harder because whatever food or sauce you spill will accumulate, leaving hardened residue over time.    In a similar vein, it’s good practice to regularly wipe down your refrigerator, while scheduling a deep cleaning every 3 to 4 months.

2. Check under the hood.

Your exhaust system is typically overworked but underappreciated. Familiarize yourself with how your range hood sounds and how well it clears out smoke and smells when it’s functioning properly so it’s easier for you to tell if something is amiss.    Make it a habit to check the filter—the part that sits directly above your stove and prevents grease and food particles from being sucked up by the fan inside your range hood—to see if it needs scrubbing or if it’s time to have a professional inspect your range hood.  

3. Say no to foil.

Whether you're cooking or reheating food in your microwave or a gas oven—skip the foil. Aluminum foil tends to reflect heat and can mess up your cooking times. It can also melt and damage your gas oven so avoid using it to line your oven’s bottom rack. For a microwave oven, aluminum foil is an absolute no-no as sparks and even flames are bound burst within a few seconds in there.  

4. Mind the gap.

Details such as the seal of your refrigerator door or the amount of ice buildup in your freezer are things you should look out for. Gaps when you close your refrigerator door affect its ability to maintain the internal temperature setting and in turn, makes an impact on its energy efficiency. When your refrigerator has to work extra hard to keep your food cold, the longevity of your appliance diminishes.  

5. Have your service center on speed dial.

Now, you’ve done your best to be responsible with the upkeep of your kitchen appliance, but if the worst happens, you’ll need to have it checked by a professional. It’s good to have an easy and direct line of contact with your service center.