It’s very important to maintain all your appliances; your appliance’s user’s manual should tell you exactly what you need to do to upkeep your appliance. Home insurance policies are very specific about regular maintenance.
For example, if your clothes washer overflows and floods the basement, the insurance company will usually cover the damage to the basement, but you might have to purchase replacement parts out of your own pocket if they weren’t properly maintained. The insurance company will want to know if you failed to maintain the washing machine or if there was some sudden, accidental damage that caused the flood.
Insurance policies vary on what they will or won’t cover, so it’s important to maintain your appliances. Some manufacturers recommend replacing your hoses annually as part of their use and care. That means if your hose breaks after 10 years of having the appliance and you’ve never replaced the hoses, they can argue that it’s your fault and not theirs.
