Do Not Decorate Near Your Cooktop or Oven
You may want to put up some festive holiday decorations in your kitchen, but you need to be careful about where you place your items. It is imperative that you do not decorate too close to your cooktop or oven, as this can present a major fire hazard to your cooking space.
The heat created by your cooktop or oven can be enough to ignite the fabrics or tassels found in many common decorations. This hazard can be especially dangerous if you have a gas cooktop that uses an open flame as its source of heat for cooking. To prevent a kitchen fire, try not to decorate within a few feet of your cooktop or oven, and if you accidentally create a fire, be sure to call emergency services as fast as possible and have a fire extinguisher nearby.
Avoid Storing Items Inside the Oven
Your kitchen is bound to bustle with activity during the holidays, especially if you plan to host friends and family for special celebrations. Many homeowners choose to store extra pots, pans and cooking tools in their oven, but this practice should be avoided if you anticipate heavy usage of your unit for the holidays.
By keeping cookware in your oven, you present the risk of starting the appliance while your items are still inside. Preheating the oven while everyday cooking tools are inside of it can result in melted or charred conditions in your items and potentially damage the oven’s interior. Try to find space for your holiday dishes outside of the oven, and should you inadvertently damage your unit, be sure to enlist assistance from a professional oven repair specialist.
Be Careful With Microwave Cooking
Microwaves provide the fast heat you need to prepare a variety of delicious ingredients and dishes, and while some manufacturers will claim that their units can cook an entire meal, this is typically not the case. You need to be careful when preparing your holiday meals with the microwave, because overloading your appliance can cause serious damage to the appliance.
If you try to prepare raw entrees in your microwave, you’ll need to use high heats and long cooking times. This dramatically increases the likelihood that your food will pop while being microwaved, which can cause damage to the unit. Moreover, using high heat for an extended period of time can fry your appliance’s internal components, forcing you to invest in a replacement. Be sure to use a cooktop or oven for your heavy duty cooking, and contact a microwave repair specialist if you damage your appliance.
Double Check Clothes Before Laundry
The holiday season is a time for celebration, but it’s also one of the busiest times of the year, and there’s no doubt that someone in your family will forget to empty out their pockets before tossing their clothes into the laundry basket.
You should always double check pockets before loading clothes into your washer or dryer, but this is especially true during the holiday season. You don’t want shopping receipts, candy canes or tiny decorations clogging up your washer or melting against the surface of your dryer. Over time, these small items can compound to bring serious dysfunction to your appliances, and taking the extra time to double check your clothes before doing laundry will ensure no problems arise. Of course, if your washer or dryer does need maintenance, you can always get help from a factory-certified appliance repairman.
Check Home Appliance Exhaust Ports
Many homeowners like to decorate the exterior of their homes with festive lights and other cheerful items, but the specific placement of these decorations is important for many of your indoor appliances.
Units like range hoods, wall ovens and dryers may require exterior ducting for proper ventilation, and if your outdoor decorations are blocking the exhaust ports for theses items, you could present a serious safety risk to your home. These ducting systems are used to ensure the appliances do not overheat, and when they are blocked, the trapped air can cause your units to malfunction and potentially present a fire hazard to your home. Be sure to strategically place your outdoor decorations to ensure they do not block appliance exhaust ports.
On-Call Service For Holiday Appliance Repairs
Every homeowner wants the holiday season to be a happy and joyous occasion, and nothing will ruin the holidays like a major appliance repair issue. However, if you know how to prevent such problems from occurring, you can ensure that the holidays remain a peaceful and festive celebration for all.
Should you experience appliance repair problems this holiday season, the best way to resolve the situation fast is to contact a professional appliance repair service.
