If you want your appliances to last longer, clean them. Here’s how.

Your major appliances work hard for you. So, in the spirit of spring cleaning, why not pay some attention to your washer, dryer, dishwasher, fridge and stove?

“Lots of people think that the function of the washing machine or the dishwasher is to clean, so it must just clean itself,” says Melissa Maker, who runs a cleaning service in Toronto and the Clean My Space blog. “This isn’t the case. Over time, if you don’t keep these machines clean, there are things that can lead to their demise.”