Prepare Your Kitchen Appliances Now for the Holidays

Your kitchen will be a main hub of activity during the holidays. Preparing your kitchen appliances for the holidays is essential to ensure a smooth and stress-free season.

Follow this advice to prepare your kitchen appliances for the upcoming season.

Clean the Microwave

Your microwave has become a litmus test of kitchen cleanliness for many guests. Like it or not, visitors typically see inside your microwave at some point during their stay. If they catch a glimpse of a messy microwave cavity, your reputation for cleanliness will often take a major hit.

It’s hard to keep the inside of a microwave clean. Foods splatter everywhere during microwave cooking and reheating. Clean the microwave often – daily if need be – during the holidays to maintain your dignity among family and friends.

Prepare Your Fridge

First, replace the water filter if you haven’t already done that in the last 6 months. A fresh water filter ensures that you, your family and holiday guests get clean and safe water and ice from your refrigerator’s dispenser.

Next, clean and maintain your fridge by following the tips below. ### Clean the Inside of the Refrigerator

Clean and deodorize your fridge by following these steps.

1. Clean the inside of the refrigerator thoroughly with a cleaning cloth moistened with soapy water. Wipe the inside of the fridge down with plain water and dry with a towel.
2. Wipe spills and deposits off the door gasket. Spread a light coat of petroleum jelly over the sealing surface of the door gasket to preserve the gasket and help is seal properly.
3. Empty the ice bin and allow the ice maker to refill the ice container with fresh ice. Old ice cubes absorb odors in the fridge and can lead to bad smells.
4. Replace the air filter in the refrigerator or place a new box of baking soda at the back of a refrigerator shelf to absorb odors.

Clean the Condenser Coils

Dirty condenser coils can cause cooling problems in your fridge. You won’t want that happening during the holidays. Clean the condenser coils so that your refrigerator cools properly during the holiday season.

The condenser coils are located under the front of refrigerator in many models. You can typically access the condenser coil by removing the grill from the front of the refrigerator. Use a coil brush to clean the condenser coils as shown in this video:

Not all condenser coils are in the same location as the coils shown in the video. Check the owner’s manual for your fridge for instructions on cleaning the condenser coils for your model if they aren’t under the front of the refrigerator.

If you need to have a service technician clean the condenser coils in your fridge, schedule Clean & Maintain service. A Sears Technician will visit your home and clean the condenser coils and professionally check and maintain your entire refrigerator.

Clean the Range

Your stove can expect to get a rigorous workout over the holidays. Now is the time to get it in shape so that Thanksgiving and Christmas cooking goes smoothly. Getting your range ready now will help you enjoy festive holiday baking.

Start by Cleaning the Cooktop

Your cooktop is one of the first things that guests see when they enter your kitchen. Leave a good first impression by following these stove top cleaning tips.

Follow the steps in this video to clean a gas stove top:

For an electric cooktop with a ceramic glass top, follow the steps described in our How to clean a glass cooktop video.

Clean the Oven

Meats have splattered grease, casseroles have dripped foods and pies have spilled over into your oven during normal use throughout the year. It’s time to clear residue and spill out of the oven as the first step in holiday preparations.

When your oven has a self-cleaning option, it’s fairly simple to thoroughly clean the inside of your oven. Self-cleaning ovens work by heating up to a super-hot temperature and burning off all spills, drips and splatters into bits into fine ash that you can simply wipe out of the oven after the cycle finishes and the oven cools. Follow the directions in your owner’s manual to use the Self Clean cycle to clean your oven.

If you don’t have a self-cleaning oven, you can get the job done the old fashioned way – with oven cleaner and elbow grease. Although not as easy and effective as a self-clean mode, this procedure will get the job done.

• Remove the oven racks and place them in a large sink or bathtub, fill with water and allow them to soak. Use a scratch resistant scouring pad to scrape away residue and burnt food bits. Rinse the oven racks and dry with a towel.

• Ventilate your home and use an oven cleaner to get rid of spills, residue and deposits from the inside of your oven. You can also use baking soda to clean the oven cavity by following this procedure:

  • Make a cleaning paste by mixing a little water into a bowl of baking soda. Spread the paste over inside of the oven cavity.
  • Allow the baking soda paste to sit overnight.
  • The next day, fill a bucket of water and use a sponge to wipe away the baking soda paste.
  • If any dried baking soda paste remains, use a cleaning cloth soaked with vinegar to wipe it away.
  • Wipe down the oven cavity with a cloth moistened with plain water. Dry the inside of the oven with a towel.

Wipe down the outside of your range to remove deposits and grease residue. Use a stainless steel cleaner if you have a stainless range.

Get the Dishwasher Holiday Ready

You don’t want holiday guests cringing away from toxic smells emanating from your dishwasher. Take these steps now to get your dishwasher ready for the holidays.

• Clean the dishwasher filters. Most dishwashers have filters in the sump at the bottom of the dishwasher tub. Failing to routinely clean these filters can cause awful smells in your kitchen. Remove the bottom dishrack to access the filters. Pull the filters out and clean them according to the directions in your owner’s manual. For most filters, you’ll need to wash them under running water in your sink and scrub them with a soft-bristled brush if needed.
• Clear deposits from spray arm holes. Remove the spray arms from the dishwasher and use a bamboo skewer to clear hard water deposits and debris from spray arm holes. Rinse the spray arms in the kitchen sink by holding them under warm, running water. Reinstall the spray arms in the dishwasher.
• Clean the control panel and dishwasher door. Wipe off deposits and debris using a cloth moistened with water and dish detergent. Next, wipe the surfaces with plain water and dry with a towel.
• Use a dishwasher cleaner to clean and deodorize the interior. Use a dishwasher cleaner such as Affresh to thoroughly clean and deodorize the dishwasher interior. Simply drop a tablet in the bottom of your empty dishwasher and run a normal cycle. This cleaner removes limescale and mineral buildup in the dishwasher and prevents new deposits from forming. The dishwasher cleaner also deodorizes the dishwasher. Continue using the dishwasher cleaner monthly to keep your dishwasher clean and smelling fresh.

Have Sears Professionally Maintain Your Kitchen Appliances

To get your kitchen appliances completely ready for the holidays, schedule professional cleaning and maintenance by Sears Home Services. Keep your kitchen humming with cleaning and maintenance for your refrigerator, dishwasher and range. We’ll check all three for proper functioning, wear and tear, water and gas leaks and clean internal components.

Our technicians know all the top appliance brands. We can maintain your appliances no matter where you bought them. If a technician uncovers problems during appliance maintenance, you can trust our appliance experts for repairs on top appliance brands like Whirlpool, Frigidaire, GE, Samsung, Maytag, Bosch, LG and Kenmore.

Regular kitchen appliance maintenance can help prevent costly breakdowns, reduce energy costs and extend the life of your appliances. Schedule professional cleaning and maintenance by Sears every fall to keep your appliances in top shape for the holidays.