Hot, hot, hot. Heat stress affects you, your family, animals, plants and most of your household appliances. Remember when the monsoons hit, dust can get everywhere and the humidity that comes with it can increase mold, mildew and odors in your home. Here are some tips to keep your appliances in peak condition and the nasty affects of this weather at bay. What are some of these benefits? When the appliances are working at their best, you save money on utility bills. Learn other tips from the ToFixIt Phoenix, appliance experts to help you save money on costly appliance repairs, later down the road.

Your refrigerator, freezer and icemaker are working real hard. Help them out or they could be hardly working.

1. Vacuum the coils to increase airflow and keep internal heat down.
2. Change the freezer, icemakers and water filters to reduce bacteria growth and assure the purest, best tasting water and ice in your home.
3. Keep baking soda in the refrigerator to absorb odors.
4. Check the door seals/gaskets on your freezer and refrigerator doors. If the gaskets are ripped or damaged, they need to be replaced, according to the repair experts.
5. Your kitchen disposer can use the old baking soda from your refrigerator to flush out odors. Use ice to clear out any deposits in the disposal.

Your air conditioner/heat pump also needs the filters replaced every month but more often during the monsoons.

The A/C ToFixIt, Phoenix experts state," that'll keep some of that monsoon dust out of the house."

If you turn off your air conditioner unit, do not turn it back on right away. Wait at least 10 minutes to allow the air conditioner refrigerant gas pressure in the system to equalize. This extends your air conditioners compressor's lifespan. In the event of a power outage, you really should turn the air conditioner off to avoid this scenario.

Your washer and dryer can benefit from your attention, as well.

The appliance repair experts suggest that you can prevent strange odors in your clothes washer and dryer by running vinegar in your washer once a week. This is almost critical in the newer washer machines. The Phoenix, washer and dryer experts recommend that you stay on top of the lint in your dryer and the vent. Not only will the dryer perform more efficiently, but it may prevent potential fires caused by lint buildup in your home dryer.

Your kitchen dishwasher would also like some of that vinegar weekly.

The dishwasher and appliance repair expert recommend vinegar. It helps to clear out hard water deposits on the spray arms and it will smell better, too. Don't forget to clean your dishwasher filters. If your dishes are not getting clean enough, you have some options: If the kids are home, save on energy costs and give them something to do, make them hand wash the dishes.

Call (602) 863-4948 or visit the website to learn more tips or schedule an appointment.