How to maintain your washer and dryer
Most modern apartments now come with washers and dryers or washer/dryer hookups. It’s a major advancement from older buildings, where residents must haul their laundry to a laundromat, or if they are lucky, down to shared machines in the basement. Whether your washer and dryer come with the apartment, or you need to buy your own, don’t take these timesavers for granted. Like all major appliances, your washer and dryer need a little TLC and routine maintenance to ensure peak performance and even more importantly, to properly clean and preserve your clothes.
Here are some easy tips for keeping your washer and dryer in pristine condition.
Keep the lid or door of the washer open when not in use
Whether your washer is top- or front-loading, leave the lid or door open when you’re not using it. This allows the washer to dry out and can prevent the growth of mold and musty odors.
Clean the washing machine
For normal use, you can clean your washing machine once a month. Fill the machine with hot water and 3-4 cups of white vinegar (or bleach if it’s been a while). Let the machine run for 2 minutes to mix the water and vinegar, then pause the activity for 30-60 minutes. Let the cycle resume after that to drain out all the water/vinegar mixture. The reason why you should regularly clean your washer is because minerals and other deposits from hard water can build up inside the washer. In addition, your washer picks up dirt, bacteria, and other foreign matter from your clothes. Yuck. Enough said!
Clean the lint trap in the dryer
Make a habit of cleaning the lint trap each time you use the dryer. Lint build-up can be flammable. You should also wipe down the drum as well to remove any stray lint.
Clean out the dryer duct
The duct discharges hot air from the dryer outdoors and lint, dust, and other debris can build up and cause a clog, which is also a fire hazard. To clean the duct, dislodge it and clean it with a rotary brush. How often you do this depends on how often you use your dryer or if you’ve just dried items made of fabric that pills or otherwise creates a lot of lint.
Maintaining your washer and dryer will extend their life and can reduce the frequency (and cost) of repair bills, not to mention, it will keep your clothes in pristine condition. Your property manager will also appreciate your efforts to take care of the appliances you are using in your apartment, which will go a long way to fostering a good relationship with your apartment community’s management and maintenance teams.
Explore a Vision Community Apartment
At Vision Communities, we try to make the apartment experience as easy as possible, including including washer/dryer hookups in our units. Our property management teams work hard to create living spaces that are headache-free and places you’ll want to come home to. We have floor plans that provide your personal space and spacious common areas for you to hang out with your roommate and friends. Our spacious, studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, and 3 bedroom apartment layouts provide cozy space. Check out our luxurious apartment floorplans in one of our communities and enjoy life at the VC.
Schedule a tour today and see why Vision Communities is a great place to live.