Spring Appliance Care: What Homeowners Should Be Cleaning But Often Forget

By Scott Sinclair, General Manager – Appliances, Fallon Solutions

Your washing machine, dishwasher and dryer are some of the hardest-working appliances in your home. They wash your clothes, clean your dishes and keep the laundry moving week after week.

But a question I often ask homeowners is:

“When was the last time you actually cleaned the appliances that do the cleaning?”

Most people regularly wipe down benches, clean bathrooms and tackle the usual spring-cleaning jobs, but the appliances themselves are often forgotten.

The problem is that detergent residue, mineral deposits, lint and general build-up can accumulate inside appliances over time, often in places you can’t easily see.

Spring is a good time to give them some attention.

Let’s look at why appliance care matters and the three appliances I’d put at the top of the list.

Why does a washing machine need cleaning?

It sounds strange because a washing machine spends its life cleaning clothes, but that doesn’t mean the machine cleans itself.

Over time, a washing machine can accumulate things such as:

• Detergent residue
• Fabric softener build-up
• Mineral deposits
• Dirt and grime
• Moisture around seals and internal components

For homeowners, some of the first signs can be an unpleasant or musty smell, visible residue around the door seal or clothes that don’t seem quite as fresh after a wash.

A washing machine descale is designed to help remove the scale and residue that can build up inside the machine.

From an appliance perspective, this is preventative care. You’re dealing with the build-up before it becomes something you start noticing every time you open the washing machine door.

Does a dishwasher really need to be descaled?

Yes. Just like a washing machine, your dishwasher can accumulate detergent, food residue and mineral deposits over time.

A dishwasher is constantly dealing with dirty plates, grease, food particles, detergent and water.

While filters and visible surfaces can be cleaned at home, there are also internal areas of the appliance that aren’t as easy to reach.

Signs that your dishwasher may need some attention can include:

• Unpleasant smells
• Residue inside the appliance
• Cloudy glassware
• Dishes not coming out as clean as expected
• Visible scale or mineral build-up

A dishwasher descale helps clean away build-up inside the appliance and is a simple maintenance job that’s easy to overlook.

You don’t need to wait until the dishwasher stops performing properly before you look after it.

Why is dryer cleaning so important?

Of the three appliances, the dryer is the one I’d particularly encourage homeowners not to ignore.

Most people know they should clean the lint filter, but lint and dust can also accumulate around the filter area and affect airflow through the appliance.

Restricted airflow can mean the dryer needs to work harder and potentially take longer to dry your clothes.

A dryer filter and airflow clean helps remove accumulated lint and debris and allows us to check that air can move through the appliance as intended.

From an appliance-care perspective, keeping the dryer clean isn’t just about appearance. It’s about helping the appliance operate the way it was designed to.

How often should you clean your appliances?

There isn’t one maintenance schedule that suits every household.

How often your washing machine, dishwasher and dryer need attention can depend on:

• How frequently you use them
• Household size
• The types of detergents and products you use
• Water conditions
• How much lint your dryer collects
• How well the appliances are cleaned between services

A family running several loads of washing and dishes every day will obviously put more demand on their appliances than a household using them only a few times each week.

The important thing is not to wait until something smells, stops cleaning properly or develops a noticeable problem before thinking about maintenance.

Can regular cleaning help appliances last longer?

Regular cleaning and maintenance can help keep appliances operating as intended and may reduce unnecessary build-up and strain.

It won’t prevent every appliance fault and it doesn’t replace repairs when something has already gone wrong.

But keeping an appliance clean is one of the simplest things homeowners can do to look after equipment they rely on every day.

And when you consider the cost of replacing a washing machine, dishwasher or dryer, preventative care makes sense.

What should you include in an appliance spring clean?

When people think of spring cleaning, appliance maintenance usually isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.

But I’d put these three jobs on the list:

• Descale the washing machine
• Descale the dishwasher
• Clean the dryer filter and airflow

They’re all jobs focused on removing the build-up that accumulates through normal household use.

And the advantage of doing them together is that you can give the major appliances in your kitchen and laundry some attention at the same time.

Is the $198 Appliance Care Package worth it?

For households that regularly use all three appliances, it can be a simple way to get several maintenance jobs taken care of in one visit.

Fallon Solutions’ $198 Appliance Care Package includes:

• Washing machine descale
• Dishwasher descale
• Dryer filter and airflow clean

Rather than waiting until an appliance starts smelling, cleaning poorly or showing signs of build-up, the package is designed to give these everyday appliances some preventative attention.

For me, that’s the key point.

We rely on these appliances constantly, but because they’re usually working away in the background, they’re also very easy to forget.

Spring is the perfect reminder to give them some care too.

At Fallon Solutions, our appliance team can take care of the washing machine descale, dishwasher descale and dryer filter and airflow clean together with our $198 Appliance Care Package.

Because while you’re spring cleaning the rest of the house, don’t forget to clean the appliances that do so much of the cleaning for you.

Unfortunately, our Appliance service is not currently available on the Sunshine Coast.

Book your $198 Appliance Care Package today. 📞 Call us on 1300 712 028 to book!