5 Quick Hacks That Will Make Your Kitchen Appliances Last Longer

These lightning-fast shortcuts will keep all your kitchen appliances humming for years. Best part? No elbow grease required!

Revive a microwave in 3 minutes with a speed steam.

Simply wiping away splatters in your microwave will keep it working years longer, assures Jeff Campbell, founder of KitchenApplianceHQ.com. “Dirty spots get extra-hot when you turn on the microwave, which can weaken the appliance.”

The hassle-free way to remove specks: Fill a microwave-safe bowl with water and heat it up for 3 minutes-the steam loosens debris, so it wipes right off.

Cool a fridge in 4 seconds with a sponge.

If you’ve noticed your fridge or freezer isn’t quite as arctic as it used to be, the likely culprit is a thin layer of dirt on the door’s gasket-the rubber strip inside the door that keeps it airtight.

“When dust and food particles build up, the door doesn’t close tightly, allowing warm air to sneak in and precious cold air to escape,” explains Campbell. The good news is that cleaning a gasket is easy: “Just wipe it down with a damp, soapy sponge, and you’re done.”

Renew a coffee maker in 5 minutes with a lemon brew.

Whether you’re brewing with a traditional drip coffee maker or a Keurig, limescale deposits quickly build up on these kitchen appliances, clogging water flow.

The super-simple fix: “Once a week, add 2 Tbs. of citric acid powder (in the baking aisle) to the reservoir, fill the rest with water, then run a brew cycle without coffee grounds or pods,” advises Campbell. “Made from lemons, the natural powder breaks down limescale, so it flushes away.”

Fix range hoods in 10 minutes with a soak.

Breathing in cooking fumes from your stove? Blame a sluggish exhaust.

To power it up, remove its mesh filter, and soak it in a sink filled with warm water and 2 Tbs. of dish soap for 10 minutes; then put it in the dishwasher — this lifts grease, letting the vent work like new.

Power up a dishwasher in 15 minutes with a toothpick.

Here’s a simple way to get your dishwasher working like new: “Use a toothpick to remove gunk in the water nozzles on the spray arms,” says Campbell.

To do: Remove the bottom spray arm by pulling it up, and the top spray arm by turning a single screw. Insert a toothpick into the nozzle holes on these, then put the arms back. Clear nozzles ensure a strong stream of water that knocks food particles off for sparkling dishes again.

A version of this article originally appeared in our print magazine, Woman’s World.