--- title: "After the install — Appliance Guides" description: "Habits for a new appliance's first weeks, a short check a month after the install, and the records worth keeping: the model and serial, the installation…" url: "https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/maintenance-and-prevention/" --- The first month of a new appliance # After the install guides. Habits for a new appliance's first weeks, a short check a month after the install, and the records worth keeping: the model and serial, the installation instructions, the receipt and a note of what was connected. ## After the install, guide by guide. This section is about the weeks after an appliance goes in. Installation ends when the installer drives away, but a new appliance keeps revealing how it was set up for some time afterwards: through its first bake, its first bin of ice, its first hundred spin cycles and the first time someone slides it out to clean behind it. [All 18 guides](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/) 6-minute read ### [Break-in habits for a new appliance: the first bake, the first ice, the first load](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/break-in-habits-for-a-new-appliance/) What a newly installed appliance does only in its first days, and the one-time jobs that go with it: a pull-down before groceries, a flushed filter, an empty bake and an empty wash. 6-minute read ### [Keeping the install records and manuals: the paperwork a new appliance leaves behind](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/keeping-the-install-records-and-manuals/) The installation booklet, the rating plate numbers, the registration, the date on the hose and the note about a gas conversion: what to keep from installation day, and where. 5-minute read ### [A one-month check on a new install, once the floor and the fittings have settled](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/a-one-month-check-on-a-new-install/) Four weeks in, a new appliance has shown its habits. A short round with a thermometer, a dry towel and a flashlight catches what the first day could not. ## The first month of a new appliance. The guides follow that order. The first covers break-in: what a new unit does only in its first days, from factory oil burning off to a filter full of carbon dust, and the one-time jobs that go with it. The second covers the paperwork installation day produces, including where to find the model and serial number before a unit is built in. The third is a short round at the one-month mark, when settling and repeated use have had time to show a loose joint or a bracket that has slipped. Every figure comes from the makers' own installation instructions and help pages, from Whirlpool, GE, LG, True and others, together with FDA guidance on cold storage temperatures and FTC guidance on warranties. Each guide places its sources beside the sections they support. Nothing here asks an owner to open a gas fitting, a refrigerant line or a live electrical box. The checks use a thermometer, a flashlight, a tape measure and a dry paper towel, and each guide says plainly when what you find is a reason to book a visit instead of adjusting something yourself. [Not sure where to start?](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/#start-here) ### The short answer Break-in habits for a new appliance: the first bake, the first ice, the first load A new appliance break-in covers the first few days after installation: letting cold storage reach 37°F and 0°F before a full load, flushing a new water filter and discarding the first ice, running one empty bake to clear factory oil, warming the kitchen tap before a dish care cycle, and starting laundry with an empty quick cycle. ### The short answer Keeping the install records and manuals: the paperwork a new appliance leaves behind Appliance installation records are the installation instructions the installer leaves behind, the model and serial numbers copied from the rating plate before the unit is built in, the receipt and warranty terms, any registration deadline, the date written on new supply hoses, and a note of any gas conversion, altitude adjustment or wiring choice made at the install. ### The short answer A one-month check on a new install, once the floor and the fittings have settled A one-month check on a new install takes about half an hour: confirm cold storage holds 40°F or colder and the freezer 0°F with a thermometer, lay a dry towel under every water and drain joint overnight, measure the dish care drain loop, test that a freestanding cooking appliance is still engaged in its anti-tip bracket, re-check laundry level and look at the exhaust hood outside. ## When reading is not enough. If the checks in these guides did not settle it, the visit picks up from there, stop by stop. [What installations cost](https://applianceinstallation.center/cost/) 1. 01 The opening and the hookups, checked first 2. 02 Connected the way the instructions say 3. 03 Set in, leveled and secured 4. 04 A first run with you there ## The problems these answer. Each has a page of its own, with the causes in the order worth checking. [All 17 problems](https://applianceinstallation.center/problems/) Problem ### Cold Storage Slow to Cool on the First Day 6 causes, cheapest first Hazard after a hookup ### Burning Smell on the First Run: When It Is Normal and When to Stop 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Ice Maker Not Filling After the Install: Valve, Line and Patience 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Appliance Installation Code on a New Unit: Setup Modes and Hookup Messages 8 causes, cheapest first For the heart of your home. ## Questions about after the install. ### How soon after installation should a new appliance be looked at again? Watch it closely in the first days, then give it a proper check at about one month, once floors, fittings and door seals have settled under real use. ### Is anything in the first week normal that would be a worry later? Yes: a faint oil smell from a new oven, long compressor run times while cold storage pulls down, and air spitting from a fresh water line. A smell that grows, a tripped breaker or water on the floor is not normal at any age. ### What paperwork from installation day is worth keeping? The installation instructions, the receipt and warranty, any registration confirmation, a photo of each rating plate and a note of any gas conversion or wiring choice made at the install. ### Can an owner redo the leveling or the bracket after a month? Leveling feet on a freestanding laundry machine, yes, following the instructions. A cooking appliance that lifts off its bracket, a built-in that has shifted or anything on the gas line needs the installer. ## The other sections. Split by what you are trying to find out rather than by which part of the appliance it concerns. [All guides](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/) Why a brand-new appliance misbehaves in its first days ### [When a new install goes wrong](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/common-problems/) - [Why a new appliance acts up on its first run, and which quirks settle on their own](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/why-a-new-appliance-acts-up-on-its-first-run/) - [Install shortcuts behind early service calls: the steps a rushed hookup skips](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/install-shortcuts-behind-early-service-calls/) - [When a new built-in will not fit its opening: height, width, depth and the fixes](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/when-a-new-built-in-will-not-fit/) Measure first, then read the first week ### [First checks and setup codes](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/troubleshooting/) - [Measure before you order: the opening, the swing and the hookups](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/measure-before-you-order/) - [The first week after installation: what to check, and on which day](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/the-first-week-after-installation/) - [Setup codes and demo mode on a new appliance: when the display is the whole story](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/setup-codes-and-demo-mode-on-a-new-appliance/) Who installs it, which fuel, which front ### [Decisions before the install](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/choosing-and-comparing/) - [Store delivery install or an independent installer: matching the route to the job](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/store-delivery-install-or-an-independent-installer/) - [Gas or electric when the kitchen changes: what each fuel asks of the install](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/gas-or-electric-when-the-kitchen-changes/) - [Panel-ready or finished front: what each choice asks of the install](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/panel-ready-or-finished-front-for-an-install/) Connectors, leak tests, brackets and circuits ### [Gas, power and water at the install](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/safety-and-food/) - [Gas connectors, conversion kits and the leak test: what happens at a gas hookup](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/gas-connectors-conversion-kits-and-the-leak-test/) - [Anti-tip brackets and why they are required, from the cooking line to built-in columns](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/anti-tip-brackets-and-why-they-are-required/) - [The circuit and outlet a new appliance needs, group by group](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/the-circuit-and-outlet-a-new-appliance-needs/) The opening, the path in and the rough-ins ### [Get the space ready](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/installation-and-setup/) - [Cutout dimensions and the spec sheet: reading the numbers before cabinets are built](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/cutout-dimensions-and-the-spec-sheet/) - [The delivery path: doors, stairs and floors between the truck and the opening](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/the-delivery-path-doors-stairs-and-floors/) - [Water, drain and exhaust rough-ins: what must be in the wall before the appliance](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/water-drain-and-exhaust-rough-ins/) Not sure which section? ### Start from your question The four questions most visits start with, each with the guide that answers it. 18 guides Where to start Where to start --- **[Read on the site: After the install — Appliance Guides](https://applianceinstallation.center/guides/maintenance-and-prevention/)** **[Book a visit with ApplianceInstallation.center](https://applianceinstallation.center/schedule/)**