8 Home Appliances You Should Inspect Annually

It doesn’t get advertised a lot, but a big part of home ownership is ongoing home maintenance. In fact, it’s such a big part of home ownership that there are entire home maintenance checklists out there to help keep you on track. Yet, even these lists often overlook the importance of annual inspections for home appliances. If you own your home, keep reading for eight home appliances that should get an inspection every year.

1. Dishwasher

Dishwashers are one of those appliances that just fade into the mental background for most people. They typically get ignored unless something goes wrong. An annual inspection helps ensure that the dishwasher drains properly, the detergent flap works, and the drying element kicks on properly.

2. Oven

Depending on your home, your oven may be part of your range or may operate as a separate unit. Either way, it should get looked at annually. Minimally, an inspection should check that the oven heats to within 25 degrees of the set temperature within 15 minutes. Inspections may also check for rust, damage, and the connections for propane or natural gas, if applicable.

3. Stove

If you have a range separate from your oven, an annual inspection should happen for that each year as well. The inspection should test that the coils heat up evenly or that the burners light evenly. The inspection may also check electrical or propane/natural gas connections.

4. Air Conditioner

Air conditioners typically get a lot of sustained use in the summer months. Depending on the year or location, users can start in the spring and last into the autumn. An inspection of your AC unit will look at all of the key components in the system, such as the compressor, evaporator coils, and condenser coil. These inspections let you know if you need home air conditioner repair before the unit faces a severe breakdown.

5. Furnace

Your average furnace only sees use for a comparatively small part of the year. Yet, much like your AC unit, it sees a lot of use during the cold weather months. The last thing you want is for that furnace to break down during a brutal cold snap. Much like an AC inspection, a furnace inspection will look at major components, such as the ignition module, burners, fans, electrical connections, and propane or natural gas connections.

6. Washing Machine

While basic washing machines remain relatively simple mechanically, many modern washing machines are complex pieces of technology. That complexity makes them more useful, in many ways, but it also creates more pathways for problems. An annual inspection can help you stay ahead of those problems by making sure the machine draws in and drains water properly, as well as keeping an eye on the electronics.

7. Clothes Dryer

Your clothes dryer is another machine that can range in complexity from fairly basic to fairly complex, depending on the model. As something with a heating element in it, however, you want to make sure that it’s operating correctly. A good inspection should test the heating element, any relevant electronics, and potentially the dryer vent as well.

8. Refrigerator

As a general rule, a catastrophic fridge failure isn’t a threat to your home, but it can prove painfully expensive between the fridge itself and all of the food inside of it. An inspection will typically check the seals on the fridge and freezer component, assuming you have a standard fridge-freezer combo. The inspection will likely also look at the coils as well. Pro tip: make sure that you clean the coils periodically to improve the overall efficiency of the refrigerator.

Appliance Inspections and You

Adults lead busy lives under the best of circumstances, which makes it easy to overlook things like appliance inspections. With everything going sideways over the last few years between the pandemic and the recent spike in inflation, it wouldn’t be a surprise if appliance inspections dropped off your to-do list. Even so, those inspections are important. They help to ensure that you catch problems early, which almost always means easier and less expensive repairs. They can also help prevent potentially dangerous situations, like your furnace dying during a cold snap or an oven catching fire because there was something wrong with it.