--- title: "Routines and schedules — Appliance Guides" description: "A calendar for the home's appliances: coils twice a year, water cartridges on the maker's schedule, dish-care filters monthly, lint runs yearly, hood filters by…" url: "https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/maintenance-and-prevention/" --- What is due when, across the whole house # Routines and schedules guides. A calendar for the home's appliances: coils twice a year, water cartridges on the maker's schedule, dish-care filters monthly, lint runs yearly, hood filters by how often you fry, and scale by how hard your water is. ## Routines and schedules, guide by guide. This section is for households whose appliances all work and who want them to keep working for years at a lower running cost. The guides deal with the small, repeatable jobs the makers write into their manuals: clearing lint, rinsing filters, brushing condenser coils, swapping cartridges, washing grease filters and running descale programs on schedule. [All 18 guides](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/) 6-minute read ### [A yearly upkeep calendar for the whole home, job by job](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/a-yearly-upkeep-calendar-for-the-home/) Every load, every month, every six months, every year, every five: the makers' intervals laid out as four checkpoints a household can actually keep. 6-minute read ### [Filters and when each one is due, from the ice line to the hood](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/filters-and-when-each-one-is-due/) Seven filters hide in an ordinary home. Some are washed, some are thrown away, and each one gives its own sign before the date comes round. 5-minute read ### [Hard water scale and what it wears out, part by part](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/hard-water-scale-and-what-it-wears/) Calcium carbonate settles wherever water is heated or left to dry. Where it lands in each appliance, how to read your water's hardness, and which descaling jobs belong to the owner. ## What is due when, across the whole house. Nearly every one of those jobs is easy, and nearly every one is forgotten, because none of them announces itself. A coil gathers dust for a year before the kitchen notices a longer hum; a charcoal filter stops working long before it looks spent. So the guides start with timing: what is due every load, every month, every six months, every year and every five, and which signs bring a date forward. The intervals come from the makers' own care pages and manuals, from Whirlpool, GE, Samsung, Speed Queen, Viking, Wolf, Broan-NuTone and others, and from public agencies where they apply, such as USGS on water hardness. Every figure on these pages carries a link to where it was found. Where two makers disagree, the guide says so and points to the manual for the appliance in the home. Each guide also says where owner upkeep stops. Cleaning, rinsing and replacing a cartridge are owner work. Pulling a built-in from its opening, opening a panel over live wiring, touching a refrigerant line or a gas fitting, or freeing a part that scale has seized is work for a maintenance visit. [Not sure where to start?](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/#start-here) ### The short answer A yearly upkeep calendar for the whole home, job by job A home appliance maintenance schedule sorts the work by interval: lint screens every load, dish care filters and front-load drain filters monthly, condenser coils, refrigerator water filters and charcoal hood filters about every six months, the laundry exhaust run at least yearly, and washer fill hoses every five years. ### The short answer Filters and when each one is due, from the ice line to the hood When to change appliance filters depends on the filter: a refrigerator water cartridge about every six months, dish care filters rinsed monthly, a front-load drain pump filter monthly or every 40 washes, the lint screen every load, hood grease filters washed at least twice a year and charcoal filters replaced every six months. ### The short answer Hard water scale and what it wears out, part by part Hard water scale in appliances is calcium carbonate left behind when mineral-rich water is heated or evaporates. ## When reading is not enough. If the checks in these guides did not settle it, the visit picks up from there, stop by stop. [What services cost](https://appliancemaintenance.center/cost/) 1. 01 A walk around the house first 2. 02 Cleaned, checked and adjusted 3. 03 Wear parts before they fail 4. 04 A service record for the house ## The problems these answer. Each has a page of its own, with the causes in the order worth checking. [All 17 problems](https://appliancemaintenance.center/problems/) Problem ### Appliance Energy Use Creeping Up With Nothing Else Changed 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Laundry Taking Two Cycles to Dry: The Lint Path Is Usually Why 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Water or Ice Tasting Stale: Filter Age, Scale and Idle Lines 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Dishes Coming Out Gritty or Spotted: Filter, Spray Arms and Rinse Aid 6 causes, cheapest first For the heart of your home. ## Questions about routines and schedules. ### Which upkeep job prevents the most trouble? Keeping air moving: lint cleared from the laundry exhaust path and dust off the condenser coils of every cold storage unit. Both affect running cost, and the lint path also affects fire risk. ### Do maintenance intervals differ between makers? The broad pattern is shared, with water cartridges near six months and fill hoses at five years, but details differ, such as a drain filter set by the number of washes. The appliance's own manual sets the date for that machine. ### What does a maintenance visit add to owner upkeep? It reaches the parts owners cannot: coils behind a built-in grille, burners and gas connections, the full exhaust run, hinges, door gaskets under load, and water connections behind the machines. ### Is it worth maintaining an older appliance? Upkeep cannot reverse wear that has already happened, but clean coils, clear filters and a free exhaust path reduce the extra running hours that wear motors and heaters out sooner. ## The other sections. Split by what you are trying to find out rather than by which part of the appliance it concerns. [All guides](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/) What slow wear looks like before it becomes a breakdown ### [Signs an appliance is due](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/common-problems/) - [Signs an appliance is overdue for service: time, sound, water and the calendar](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/signs-an-appliance-is-overdue-for-service/) - [Why appliances lose efficiency with age, and how much of it upkeep wins back](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/why-appliances-lose-efficiency-with-age/) - [What skipped upkeep turns into: five small jobs and the repairs behind them](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/what-skipped-upkeep-turns-into/) Ten-minute tasks with the appliance unplugged ### [Checks between visits](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/troubleshooting/) - [Ten-minute checks between maintenance visits, one appliance group at a time](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/ten-minute-checks-between-visits/) - [Reminder lights and clean codes: when the display is asking for upkeep](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/reminder-lights-and-clean-codes/) - [Model and serial numbers: starting a service record for every appliance at home](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/model-and-serial-for-a-service-record/) Lint fires, gas at the burners, hoses and wiring ### [Fire, gas and water safety](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/safety-and-food/) - [Lint, exhaust runs and fire risk behind the laundry closet](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/lint-exhaust-runs-and-fire-risk/) - [Supply hoses and slow leaks: the lines that feed four appliances](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/supply-hoses-and-slow-leaks/) - [Gas burners and carbon monoxide: flame, air and the alarm](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/gas-burners-and-carbon-monoxide/) A yearly plan, a visit when due, or a new appliance ### [Plans, visits and replacement](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/choosing-and-comparing/) - [A service plan or one-off visits: matching upkeep to the appliances you own](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/a-service-plan-or-one-off-visits/) - [Keep maintaining or replace: when upkeep stops paying on an aging appliance](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/keep-maintaining-or-replace/) - [What a maintenance visit covers, part by part across the home](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/what-a-maintenance-visit-covers/) Clearances, shutoffs and leveling that make service easy ### [Set up for easy upkeep](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/installation-and-setup/) - [Clearances that leave room for service, and why tight fits cost later](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/clearances-that-leave-room-for-service/) - [Shutoff valves every appliance needs, and where each one hides](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/shutoff-valves-every-appliance-needs/) - [Leveling and airflow after a move: resetting each appliance](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/leveling-and-airflow-after-a-move/) Not sure which section? ### Start from your question The four questions most visits start with, each with the guide that answers it. 18 guides Where to start Where to start --- **[Read on the site: Routines and schedules — Appliance Guides](https://appliancemaintenance.center/guides/maintenance-and-prevention/)** **[Book a visit with ApplianceMaintenance.center](https://appliancemaintenance.center/schedule/)**