Appliances: Expert Guides and Resources

Your freezer holds the stuff that has to stay cold. And because freezing foods keeps them good for much longer than room-temperature or refrigerated foods, you can put a lot of food in your freezer without worrying about it going bad: Store food you buy in bulk (as well as leftovers) in your freezer. Your freezer can be a great storage space for bulk items such as meat, frozen vegetables, and bread, as well as leftovers such as soup, chili, casseroles, and baked goods.

Drying your clothes in a clothes dryer saves time, but it takes more than just shoving your clothes in and turning the machine on. You need to read the care labels on the clothing and know what kind of heat the fabric can take. Otherwise, you'll end up with shrunken clothes or damaged fibers. Your clothes won't last as long, and you'll end up spending money to replace damaged items.

Knowing how to wash clothes —without ruining them — is a basic life skill. Before you load up the washing machine, you have to do some prep work such as separating items by color and texture, choosing the right washing cycle, and knowing how much detergent to add. All this calls for just a little practice, but you'll get the hang of it in no time.

An important part of keeping your kitchen appliances in working order involves keeping them clean. Not everyone likes housework, but a little routine maintenance will keep you from having to replace your dishwasher and microwave — unless you just love spending money. Maintaining your microwave Following a few simple maintenance procedures can extend the life of your microwave and ensure that it operates safely and efficiently.

The refrigerator is the easiest of all appliances to install. Fridges today often come with popular extras that require more from you in the way of installation. The most popular of these extras is the in-the-door icemaker/water dispenser unit. For this feature, you need to run a water supply line to the back of the fridge.

Assuming you purchased a range (a cooktop and oven combination unit) that uses the same fuel source as your old range, installing the new appliance should be as easy as sliding in or dropping in the unit. (You can also choose a freestanding range, but it’s the same as a slide-in model — only not surrounded by cabinets.