Summer is tough on appliances: how to prevent an expensive breakdown

Hot weather, summer sports, and grilling out are all signs of the summer season.

Unfortunately, they are also things that put more stress on our appliances.

Luckily, there are some simple things you can do to keep your appliances from breaking down during the hottest days of the year

Reese Dorsey manages an appliance shop, The Appliance Loft.

He is always reminding customers that appliances need maintenance.

From the filter in your dishwasher, to the rubber seals on a front loading washing machine, he says regular cleaning can make it last years longer.

"If you leave a washing machine door shut," he cautioned, "it's going to stay wet."

He recommends owners regularly wipe down the seal on front loader washers, and occasionally run an empty cleaning load with special washing machine cleaner.

With your dishwasher, he says, check the manual to see if it has a food filter at the bottom, and remove and rinse it every few months.

Washing machines take a beating in summer

Repair expert Michael Cornell with Asurion says the pool and summer sports give your washing machine a lot more work to do.

"If kids play baseball and softball," he said, "the clay on the field actually can just destroy your unit."

So he suggests you:

He also has a good reminder about refrigerators or deep freezers you keep in the garage."It's just gonna be hotter in the summer, plain and simple," he said.

He says make sure you don't have boxes stacked against the fridge.

"Some of them will have either vents on the side, or a vent in the front, and we want to keep that free and clear.," he said.

Lastly, he says, don't over-pack dishwashers after a summer barbecue.

And avoid putting large trays on the dishwasher's bottom rack.

"It might lay over and now you're not washing in anything, and then you're gonna have to wash it again," he said.

Finally, Reece Dorsey says with families drinking lots of water during the summer, don't forget about changing the filter inside your refrigerator.

With any appliance, Dorsey says you should check the manual to see what should be cleaned a few times a year.

"The problem is that it is all moving parts," he said. "And eventually one of them is going to fail if you don't properly maintain it."

A little maintenance should get you through these hot summer months, so you don't waste your money.

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