No matter how old or new your appliances are there are ways to ensure they are running efficiently. And efficiency = cost savings.
- Clean under and behind. Pull your refrigerator away from the wall as dust and dirt collect behind your refrigerator, especially if you have pets. Condenser coils in the back collect this debri so when you clean them off you are reducing resistance, making it run for a shorter amount of time.
- Maintain your plastic door seal. By placing a piece of paper next to a closed refrigerator door you will be able to determine if your seal is losing air. If it flutters you are losing energy. The good news is if you need a new rubber or plastic door seal, it is a low cost fix that will save you money while also increasing the lifetime of the refrigerator.
- Cover your food. Most stored foods contain moisture, especially leftovers. By covering your foods you are not letting the moisture into the air, which means your compressor in the refrigerator doesn’t have to work as hard.
- Let leftovers cool before putting them away. Even if your foods are covered, it is important to let them cool down before placing them in your refrigerator. Otherwise your refrigerator will have to work overtime to get them to the right temperature.
- Add liquid containers to help cool things down. You can use juice boxes and water bottles or any beverage to keep your fridge cold when you have empty space. It not only means you are stocked up in case of an emergency, you are also saving energy and money.
Extra tip regarding dishwashers:
Run them at night to lower energy costs. The peak times households run their dishwashers is after breakfast, lunch and dinner, which uses the most amount of energy. If you have a night owl in your home, have them set it at midnight. It may just be a few dollar savings but over the course of the month you will find you are saving money.
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