It’s already that time of year again! You’ve probably been running yourself dry with cleaning the house, getting the right decorations up, and stocking up on your Thanksgiving groceries. As the big day quickly approaches, you need to make sure that everything is running smoothly. Specifically, it’s a great time of year for us here in the CSRA to perform some seasonal maintenance and check-ins for all of your appliances. You wouldn’t want your family to show up just as you’re pulling the turkey out of the oven only to realize that it’s halfway done! Take it from your favorite appliance repair company here in Augusta, Georgia; here are the top things we look for in our home appliances as the holiday season approaches.

First Things First: The Oven

You don’t want all of the food you’re stocking up on for the Holidays to go to waste! You also don’t want any weird odors lingering in your kitchen and dining area. It’s time for your first Holiday preparation task: clean that old, crusty, burnt food out of the bottom of your oven! Giving everything a good wipe down and removing extra grease and crumbs is good practice throughout the year, anyways.

As we have mentioned in our appliance care guide, this is also the perfect time of year to check the accuracy of your oven’s temperature. You can do this by using an in-oven thermometer, setting your oven to a specific temperature, and checking that the thermometer matches the oven’s temperature when it says it has reached what you set it to. If the thermometer does not match, you may need to calibrate your oven’s thermostat. Or, there could be other underlying issues that our team can help you out with!

Don’t Forget Your Other Cooking Appliances

Have you been putting off electric stove burner issues all year? There is still time to for maintenance and repair! If your stove top seems to be working fine, it doesn’t hurt to always run a few tests. Make sure that you aren’t having any uneven heating issues (like food one on side of the pan heating faster than the other side). Also consider how long it takes for your burner to heat up. Does it heat too quickly or too slowly? Remember, if you aren’t sure, it never hurts to get a professional opinion!

It isn’t just your oven and stove top, either… If you have family staying in your home, make sure that your microwave and other small kitchen appliances work too! If you keep your countertop appliances in the pantry all year, now is a good time to take them out, dust them off, and make sure everything still works.

Cleaning Out Your Refrigerator

While this may seem obvious, cleaning out your refrigerator is for more reasons than just to make room to store your Thanksgiving leftovers! Go through and throw away any hidden, expired food to prevent any additional odd smells throughout the kitchen.

Then, you can make sure that your refrigerator is running consistently at the same temperature. Check that nothing is keeping the fridge from closing properly, no crumbs are stuck in the seal, and there is no frost buildup anywhere. Go the extra mile here by moving your refrigerator out from the wall and cleaning away any dust or pet hair on or near the coils! After this, we just recommend giving the inside a quick wipe down with some white vinegar to deodorize all the surfaces and kill any lingering bacteria.

Prepping Your Dishwasher

After the big feast, unless you’re using paper plates, all those dishes and cookware have to get clean somehow! The last thing to look at in our seasonal maintenance checklist for your appliances is your dishwasher. Besides using dishwasher cleaning tablets, you can give your dishwasher a quick wipe down with some white vinegar as well. Check and clean your filter, if needed, too.

If you use a garbage disposal, you may want to hold off on running your dishwasher immediately after everyone is done eating. Your garbage disposal uses the same drain as your dishwasher. Any food that is run through the disposal can potentially mix in with your dishwashing cycle if you are using both appliances at the same time. We understand the rush, but sometimes taking it slow is best!

Don’t Stress the Holidays, Give Premier Appliance a Call

Hopefully this seasonal maintenance checklist for your appliances helps your Holidays flow by like a breeze. By taking just a few minutes to clean and check the performance of your oven, stovetop, refrigerator, and dishwasher, you are only setting yourself up for success! If you run into any issues or just don’t trust your gut, never hesitate to call in the pros. As we near the end of the year, it’s better to be safe than sorry! Give Premier Appliance a call at (706) 941-2090 for appliance repair service near the Augusta, Martinez, Evans, Ga, and surrounding CSRA.