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30+ Ways We Can Break Home Appliances and Not Even Suspect It
According to statistics, you spend 5-10 hours a week cleaning, washing, and doing other terribly boring household chores. This fact makes home appliances that can wash clothes, cook a dish and heat up food for you even more valuable. Can you imagine your life without a washing machine? We can’t. And it is so terrible when these necessary and pricey appliances break. And it turns out that, oftentimes, it’s all our fault.
We at Bright Side did a little investigation of our own, studied the forums of repairmen, and found out how most people break their home appliances with their own hands and what we can do about it.
Microwave oven
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A microwave has to be cleaned of fat and grease in the proper amount of time, otherwise, the appliance will stop to evenly heat food and will start to spark when there are too many leftovers collected in it. There is a waveguide cover inside the microwave on the side: it covers the microwave generator (magnetron). If you fail to clean it in time or if you scratch it, the microwave will stop working correctly.
“My microwave oven started to behave strangely when heating food. It heated a part of my food till it turned into hot lava, while the rest stayed as cold as the heart of my ex. One day it went completely crazy — there was a blizzard of sparks, as if there was a pound of foil lying inside. It is a known fact for many, but it was a real discovery for me — all I needed to do was to change the waveguide cover. If only you knew how many microwave ovens have been ditched because of it!”
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According to the rules, you can’t turn on an empty microwave and heat food that is lighter than 50 g. If you need to heat up something that is super light, place a glass with water together with this thing inside the microwave.
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Microwaves cannot be installed near electronic control devices. The radio waves emitted by these devices can cause a malfunction in the microwave.
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Cleaning products with baking soda and other powders with small particles can easily corrode the coating from the inside. That’s why you should only wash the appliance with a sponge that has been dampened in soapy water.
Washing machine
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Anti-limescale can break your washing machine. Even citric acid is actually an aggressive chemical. And if you use it too often, the insides of your washing machine might break really fast.
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If you are not going to use the machine, take the plug out of the socket. Automatic washing machines are sensitive to power fluctuations and they could burn in the event that you have one.
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Everyone knows that the drain filter that stores a lot of dirt, wool, and hair should be cleaned. However, the washing machine also has an inlet filter, which is located directly behind the inlet hose. In order to get to it, you need to take off the hose that supplies the machine with water. This filter must be washed with warm soapy water and, if necessary, treated with anti-limescale detergent.
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Don’t use the machine for several cycles in a row. It should have a rest for 2 hours between the washing cycles, otherwise the motor and the drive belt will quickly become unusable.
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A washing machine can be installed in the bathroom only if it has a good system of ventilation. Otherwise, the insides of the appliance might end up getting corroded, not to mention moldy.
Fridge
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There should be some free space left around the fridge — at least 2-2.5 inches to keep it from overheating. If the fridge stands too close to the wall, its motor might burn.
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You shouldn’t store microwaves, TV sets, and other things on top of the fridge.
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A fully-packed fridge makes everyone happy indeed, but if you keep packing it like this constantly, you won’t be able to avoid issues. There should be some space left inside the fridge for free air circulation. Not only will a fully-packed refrigerator work at 100% of its capacity, but products will also go bad due to insufficient cooling.
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The black lattice behind the refrigerator is called a condenser and it requires careful treatment. The condenser requires regular vacuuming (the right position of the fridge with some distance between it and the wall will help you with this) or wipe with a dry rag.
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Don’t forget about the products in the freezer, which require stocktaking once a month. Products can be stored in the freezer for a long time, but not endlessly — you should get rid of them on time in order to not overload the appliance.
Dishwasher
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A dishwasher cannot wash boiled protein. This is why you will have to remove the rim of the broth left on the pot or the leftovers of fried eggs manually.
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The remains of food and crumbs must also be removed by hand, so that the drain doesn’t get clogged. Modern dishwashers have a pre-rinse mode, so you don’t even need to rinse the dishes. Just brush off the pieces of food and crumbs into the garbage bin.
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It’s good to test the hardness of your water with the help of test-strips, before installing the dishwasher. It will help you to use the washing modes more effectively and regulate the consumption of the washing detergent.
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Scale formation occurs when the salts of carbonic acid decompose into carbon dioxide and insoluble precipitates. This process proceeds actively if the water is hard and if you regularly use the intensive washing mode at 140°F. However, modern washing detergents are effective at 100°F-120°F and this can help you save electricity and protect the dishwasher from soap scum.
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If there is undiluted sediment that regularly remains in the detergent tray, try putting only half a washing tablet.
Toaster
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After making toast, the device should be unplugged from the outlet, because it is a fire hazard.
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Bread slices should be of the same thickness, otherwise the regime of the toaster’s working process might get broken.
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Due to the accumulation of crumbs in the toaster, you might notice a burning smell every time you switch it on. You will have to regularly remove the crumb tray and clean it.
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It’s strictly recommended that you not make toast from bread that is covered with glaze or butter.
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Do not try to remove jammed bread slices from a switched-on toaster with a fork: the heating element of this device is one large but thin wire, and it is easy to bend. Moreover, these experiments could lead to electrical trauma.
Vacuum cleaner
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НЕРА-filters in vacuum cleaners are not everlasting. It should be replaced as often as once every 6 months. If you like to clean your home a lot, you should replace the filter even more often. Otherwise, the sucking strength of the appliance decreases and the dust it has collected will get back to the air that you breathe.
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It’s necessary to check after each cleaning whether the hose and telescopic tubes have gotten clogged. If the vacuum cleaner can easily suck up a coin, it means the hoses are clear. If it can’t, they need to be cleaned to avoid overloading the motor.
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The hard brushes on the vacuum cleaner also need special care — housekeeping experts advise combing them with a stiff comb to improve their cleaning quality.
Oven
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According to statistics, stoves and ovens are the most unreliable household appliances. They break during the first 2 years and, most often, the reason is due to improper use.
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An oven can’t be used for heating an apartment. First of all, it’s a fire hazard and second, it leads to the wearing out of the rubber bands and internal machinery of your oven
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Not only does a dirty oven look bad, but it’s also dangerous. Grease fills the heating elements, hardens on them, and reduces the efficiency of the unit.
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The flame in the oven should be blue, not red or orange. A change in the color of the flame indicates serious issues such as a lack of oxygen, sedimentation of soot, and so on.
Slow cooker
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The cover of the slow cooker bowl may peel off due to acids. Don’t add vinegar when cooking food and don’t clean the pot with the help of detergents that contain acids.
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Stick to the proportions of the ingredients that are described in the instructions. If you break the recipe, food can burn and spoil the bowl.
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The steam valve should be washed after every usage, otherwise the food will have an unpleasant musty smell.
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The heating element of a slow cooker shouldn’t be washed very often — a couple of times per month will suffice. The main thing to remember is to make sure it is absolutely dry before switching it on.
Are there home appliances that you have been using for a long time in your home? Like a fridge that you inherited from your granny. Or are you the one who prefers to buy modern and functional home appliances?
Preview photo credit reorytova / Pikabu
