3 Simple Ways to Track Appliance Maintenance

Last Updated on October 11, 2023

What’s worse than a malfunctioning air conditioner on a hot summer day? Not being able to remember the last time you had it serviced. Oh, and now paying a LOT of $$$ for emergency repair. It’s hard to keep up with home maintenance – life gets the in the way. But it ASDF go smoother if you use an effective organization system to keep you on track. Here’s 3 simple ways to track appliance maintenance that make our lives smoother (and cooler). 

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Why Bother Tracking Appliance Maintenance?

I’m an average homeowner.  I’m not an overachiever who gets a thrill from finding serial numbers on my appliances or calculating their remaining lifespan.  But I know it’s important, and here’s 4 benefits to track appliance maintenance. 

1. Minimize Unexpected Cost

You perform regular preventative maintenance on your car, right?  Oil changes, new air filters, new tires, etc…  You don’t ignore a weird noise from the engine until it finally breaks down at the side of road, costing you a lot more money than it would have if you had it looked at earlier. 

So why would you do that to your house?

Let’s avoid the drama.  If you track appliance maintenance like HVAC and plumbing, you can help extend the life of appliances and prevent breakdowns or costly repairs.

2. Natural Disasters

In 2021, about 1 in every 10 houses in the United States were impacted by some degree from natural disasters, totaling almost $60 BILLION in property damage.  That’s not chicken feed.

If your home gets burned down, or damaged from a storm, or even broken into, you will want to file an insurance claim, right? 

Do you know the faster and easiest way to get through claims? (as a previous insurance underwriter I do….)  Having the right information handy, which means for major appliances knowing the make, model, serial number, and year. 

3. Quicker Tech Support

When your appliance breaks, there’s nothing worse than sitting and waiting on an appliance 1-800- manufacturer’s call or chat line.  Except when they need additional information (like a model number) to sufficiently help you, and you need call them back because now you have to head down the basement and pull out the washing machine out to find the model number….

Make those dreaded tech calls more efficient by having necessary appliance information right at your fingertips.

4. Increase House Selling Price

If you spend time on the front-end tracking appliance maintenance, it will benefit you in the end when it comes time to sell.  Over the years, you will accumulate a comprehensive file that show potential buyers how well you cared and maintained the house. 

And that good impression might lead to a more impressed buyer willing to shell out top dollar for your home.      

Which Appliances Should You Track?

In general, only your major home appliances (also referred to as “white goods”) need to be tracked.  Think of the appliances that cost a few hundred dollars or more in your home, such as:   

• HVAC systems (furnace, air conditioning units, etc.)
• Water heaters (including traditional tank-style and tankless models
• Refrigerators
• Freezers
• Dishwashers
• Ovens
• Stoves
• Washers
• Dryers

You are welcome to keep track of smaller appliances, but in my humble opinion, it’s not worth your time. Let’s face it.  If your typical toaster on the kitchen counter breaks, chances are you will just buy a new one.

What Information Should You Track?

For your major appliances, there’s just a few things you need document and track.

1. Make, Model and Serial Number

Take about an hour and go around your house.  Write down the manufacturer, model number and serial number for all your major appliances.

Finding the label with model and serial numbers can be tricky on major appliances. I feel like manufacturers hide them in the most obscure locations. 

2. Purchase or Installation Date

Major appliances have a set lifespan.  It’s important the age of your appliances so that you understand how long they should last and budget ahead for its replacement.  Proofs of purchase in case the appliance kicks the bucket before its warranty runs out.  Hold onto all purchase receipts as well invoices for maintenance or service.

If you no longer have receipts, don’t fret. Refer to these 4 ways to determine the age of your major appliances.

3. User Manuals

If you are anything like me, you probably have user manuals all over the house – the junk drawer, a random folder in a file cabinet, even in the item’s original box.

But when your dryer gives you an obscure error message, wouldn’t it be great if you knew where its manual was?  Gather up and organize user guides in one place (tips here).   

Admittedly, many manuals are available online if you don’t save paper copies. Download the instruction manual (NOT just the url – you can’t guarantee it will always be there) and save in a folder on your computer or drive for easy access. 

Related Post: 7+ Easy Ways to Organize User Manuals

4. Warranty Plan

Do you have a home warranty?  Are you warranties still valid on your major appliances?  If so, make sure you make note of important information, such as warranty provider, contact information and expiration date.  No need to pay for repairs or replacements out of your own pocket when someone else should do it for you…

5. Maintenance Services

Quick, top of your head – when was the last time you had your HVAC system serviced?  I bet you can’t answer that…  

Log dates and contractor information (company, contact info, even individual) of all maintenance calls, tune-ups and repairs.

3 Ways to Track Appliance Maintenance

Now that you have a handle on why and what to track , here’s 3 simple ways to track appliance maintenance: pen and paper, digital home maintenance binders, and home maintenance apps.

1. Pen and Paper

Sometimes the simplest way to keep track of life and home is the old-fashioned way: paper and pen.  It’s perfect for those who prefer to keep things simple, low-tech, and low-cost.

Perhaps you already have a home maintenance journal or file cabinet dedicated to tracking home maintenance.  (If not, read this).

As part of that journal you can create a table or chart that includes the information above (i.e. make/model/ serial number, purchase date, date of its last service, etc.) 

Or for a few dollars you can buy a downloadable and printable appliance tracker like this one on Etsy.

Note of caution: If you go this route of paper and pen, but sure the information is stored in a safe place offsite. Perhaps store it in a fire-proof safe or filing cabinet or make a second copy to store off-site.

2. Digital Home Maintenance Binder

While some folks swear by paper, some are more into technology.  It’s all good.  I don’t judge. 

You can DIY a digitized home appliance maintenance tracking system by scanning documents and creating spreadsheets in Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel.    

Or, for a fee you can purchase use a pre-made digital home maintenance binder.  These digital home maintenance binders usually tackle all types of home chores, such as emergency preparedness and seasonal maintenance checklists as well as appliance maintenance.

Personally, I’ve tried this Home Maintenance Binder by Smart Money Mamas.  It’s a simple, editable PDF file that incredibly easy to use and update, just like its counterpart, the Family Emergency Binder. 

It is designed to organize all you home details, service contracts, tasks, etc. makes sure one of your largest assets is always well protected. This 80+ page digital binder is organized into 5 main sections:

1. Property Information
2. Maintenance Information
3. Appliances & Equipment (that’s us!!)
4. Space Information
5. Household Notes.

You can store the PDF either on your computer, in the cloud, or even print a physical copy.

3. Home Maintenance App

Ah… apps.  There are SO many apps out there, apps that do this, apps that do that.  So of course, there are apps to help the tech-savvy homeowner who loves a good app to keep on top of home maintenance.

Home maintenance apps rank in capabilities and features, but the more comprehensive apps have several advantages, such as:

• Set automatic reminders for upcoming maintenance tasks (no more excuses!).
• Can track expenses and create budgets for home maintenance (no more budget busters!).
• Provides helpful tips and advice on home maintenance tasks.

There is a huge array of apps out there for home management and maintenance.  Personally, my experience is specific to HomeZada.  I got hooked on HomeZada when I tried out their award-winning home inventory feature (which I highly recommend). 

Wrapping It Up

Whether you’re old school and prefer pen and paper, tech-savy to a tee, or somewhere in between, there’s a solution for every DIYer.

No matter which method you choose to track appliance maintenance, the important thing is that you keep track and ensure your home stays well-maintained!

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