How Often Should You Actually Service Each Appliance?

24.08.2026

Quick answer

Most appliances need far less maintenance than people assume, but the few tasks that do matter make a genuine difference to lifespan and performance. A short list of specific, correctly timed tasks beats a vague sense that “maintenance” is something you should get around to eventually.

On this page

Kitchen appliances
Laundry appliances
Heating, cooling and water
Small appliances
The general rule when you are not sure

Kitchen appliances

Appliance	Task	Frequency
Refrigerator	Clean condenser coils	Twice a year
Refrigerator	Check and replace water filter	Every 6 months, or per manufacturer guidance
Dishwasher	Clean filter and spray arms	Monthly
Dishwasher	Hot maintenance wash	Monthly
Oven	Deep clean interior	Every 2–3 months, more with heavy use
Microwave	Clean cavity and wave guide cover check	Monthly

Laundry appliances

Appliance	Task	Frequency
Washing machine	Hot maintenance wash	Monthly
Washing machine	Clean door seal	Weekly
Washing machine	Clean pump filter	Every 2–3 months
Dryer	Clean lint trap	Every load
Dryer	Clean full vent duct	Annually, or every 6 months with heavy use

Heating, cooling and water

Appliance	Task	Frequency
Water heater	Flush tank	Annually
Water heater	Test pressure relief valve	Annually
Air conditioner	Replace or clean filter	Monthly during heavy use
Air conditioner	Clean outdoor unit and clear surrounding debris	Twice a year
Furnace / heating system	Replace filter	Every 1–3 months during heating season
Furnace / heating system	Professional inspection	Annually, before the season starts

Small appliances

Appliance	Task	Frequency
Coffee machine	Descale	Every 4–8 weeks depending on water hardness
Kettle	Descale	Every 4–8 weeks depending on water hardness
Vacuum cleaner	Empty bin/bag, check filters	Every few uses, before it looks full
Vacuum cleaner	Clean brush roll of hair and thread	Monthly

The general rule when you are not sure

If an appliance heats water, check it more often in hard water areas than the intervals above suggest — see our hard water appliance guide for the reasoning. If an appliance moves air (a dryer, an air conditioner, a range hood), its filter or vent is almost always the highest-value thing to check regularly. And if you are ever unsure whether something needs attention, a five-minute inspection costs far less than a fault that has been building unnoticed for months.

Set this once as recurring reminders

The tasks that actually matter are few enough to set as a handful of recurring calendar reminders in one sitting, rather than trying to remember them all from memory. Once set up, this becomes essentially free to maintain going forward.