Appliance maintenance schedule

Intervals, appliance by appliance

The kitchen

• Range hood filters, monthly. Grease clogged filters push smoke back into the kitchen, and weak suction is the tell. Mesh filters usually go through the dishwasher; charcoal ones are replaced rather than washed, and your manual says which type you have.
• Dishwasher filter, monthly. Rinse it under the tap and run a cleaning cycle. Glasses coming out gritty, or a smell when you open the door, means it's overdue. Look at the spray arms in the same minute: the little jets around them block with seeds and grit, and a spray arm that can't spin freely leaves a whole rack dirty.
• Garbage disposal, monthly. The smell almost always lives under the rubber splash guard rather than down the drain, which is why running things through it rarely helps. Clean it the way the manual recommends, and never reach into the chamber, motor off or not.
• Refrigerator coils, yearly. Dust on the condenser makes the compressor work harder and run hot. A fridge that never seems to switch off is the sign. The manual says whether yours are at the back or underneath.
• Refrigerator door seals, whenever you think of it. Wipe the gasket, and check it still grips. Close the door on a dollar bill and pull: if it slides out with no resistance, that stretch of seal is letting cold air out and running the compressor for nothing. Torn or hardened gasket is a replaceable part, not a new fridge.
• Refrigerator water filter, every six months. Off tasting water or slow ice usually means it's spent. Filters are rated by volume as well as by time, so a big household reaches the limit sooner than the date suggests.

The laundry

The washing machine is the appliance most likely to cause damage to the room it's in rather than just to itself.

• Hoses, every three years. A hose that fails does so at mains pressure and doesn't stop, and bulges, cracks or rust at the fittings are the warning signs. Braided stainless is the usual upgrade, and the maker's guidance covers type and interval.
• The drum and the door seal. Front loaders hold water in the seal, and that's where the smell comes from. Wiping it and leaving the door ajar between loads costs nothing.
• The dryer duct, yearly. The highest consequence job in the laundry, and it has its own page.

Anything holding standing water

• Humidifiers, weekly while running. Standing water grows mold and bacteria within days, and a humidifier's entire job is to distribute what's in its tank. The maker's cleaning and descaling instructions are the ones to follow, because the surfaces vary.
• Dehumidifier trays, ice makers, and coffee machines with reservoirs, all on the same principle. Anything that holds water at room temperature for more than a couple of days needs a cleaning cadence.

What a struggling appliance sounds like

What is behind the panel

Filters, screens, seals and coils are all outside the machine's working parts, and they're the reason this list exists. Behind the panel is different: a modern appliance holds line voltage, and several of them hold a sealed refrigerant circuit that can't be opened and re-closed without the right equipment.

Mostly it comes down to knowing what your machines sound like when they're fine, so a new rattle registers as new.

Patina keeps each appliance on its own cycle rather than lumping them into one chore, so the monthly ones stay monthly and the three year one still turns up.