Cleaning maintenance checklist

Spills and old food breed bugs that grow in the cold.

Grilles fur up with gray dust and puff it back into the room.

Slats hoard dust until the room sneezes.

Scale chokes the screen, and lead can collect in it.

A clogged filter starves the motor and burns it out.

Grit clogs the weep holes and rot follows the water.

Worn sealer lets the grout drink water and grow mold.

Ground-in grit wears the fibers and voids the warranty.

Baked-on grease smokes, taints food, and catches fire.

Body oils and grit grind into the weave and wear it out early.

A frosted-up freezer runs harder and stores less.

Scale chokes the pump and kills the machine early.

Scale clogs the element and flecks every brew.

Scale blocks the holes and the spray dribbles.

Left put, the hip and shoulder zones sag early.

Hair and grease build up until a plumber's the only fix.

Cracked sealant lets water behind the tile to rot.

Worn sealer lets the stone drink wine and oil in.

Food residue draws flies that hatch maggots in a day.

Curtains are dust and allergen traps that quietly fill up.

The fill soaks up sweat and feeds dust mites.