There is no denying it; white good can be incredibly expensive when it comes to buying them. While there are lots of budget brands out there, buying a new dishwasher, washing machine, oven or fridge can quite often set you back by a couple of hundred pounds at the least.
While there is no getting around this fact, you can ensure you don’t have to pay out again just a few months down the line by looking after your appliances and safeguarding them. There are many ways to do this, from running maintenance on them to investing in insurance. No matter what you choose to do though, you should be able to keep them looking and running like brand new for a long while.
If you have recently purchased a new major appliance and you would like to protect it, consider doing some of the following tips:
1) Regularly check your appliances over
One of the best ways to avoid a costly fault in the future is to regularly check out appliances over. As they say, the best defence is a good offence, and the same goes for your white goods. You can quickly spot an error in the way your machine is running if you know what you are looking for, so you should keep your eyes peeled to ensure you catch things early on before they cause the whole machine to break down.
For instance, one way that you can do this is simply to listen to the way it runs. Fridges, for example, may hum alarmingly loud when there is something wrong with them, as there may be something blocking one of the many pipes they have. Dishwashers may make a grating sound if there is something stuck in the drainage pipe. Washing machines may stick on a drain cycle and make a continuous suction noise. Basically, if you notice anything out of the ordinary you should investigate it.
2) Keep appliances in shipshape
You can look after your white goods by regularly cleaning them to ensure they are always working at maximum efficiency.
So, you should turn off your freezer and remove any ice that has built up on a regular basis, and clean out fridges to prevent mould from developing. Always empty your vacuum to ensure it is capable of full suction, and run cleaning cycles on your dishwasher to dislodge any debris.
There are many other jobs that you could run on other appliances as well. Read the instruction booklet that came with them to see what kind of jobs you should do.
3) Take out white goods insurance
If you really want to protect your appliances, you may want to consider taking out white goods insurance. This is a specialist insurance type that specifically protects the appliances in your home. You can specify which appliances you would like to take out cover on, so that should they break down you will be able to make a claim for a repair job or a replacement.
4) Don’t ignore faults
Many people may notice that something has changing with the way that their appliances work, but they choose to ignore it until it is too late. This is definitely not advisable, as it could be a simply case of replacing a part to get the appliance back in working order. By leaving it though, the entire machine may need to be replaced, which could cost a significant amount of money. Repairing your appliances is often always cheaper, so stay on the lookout for any changes in the running of your white goods.
Can you think of any other things you can do to protect your white goods?
Guest post contributed by Simon Belfield, a boiler repairman by day and home tips blogger by night. Simon regularly writes about household white goods and how to fix them, such as fridge repairs & washing machine repairs.
