San Diego has a lot of people arriving at once: Navy and Marine families on PCS orders, students heading to UC San Diego, and everyone else signing a lease in a tight rental market. In most of those moves the appliances come with the unit, and they were last used by someone you'll never meet. The first day in a new place is the best chance to find out what works, while the walkthrough paperwork is still open and nothing you own is blocking the washer.
Plan on about an hour. Do it before the moving truck unloads if you can, and photograph everything as you go.
Hour one: the walk-through tests
Kitchen
- Refrigerator. Note the model number from the label inside the fresh-food section. Put a thermometer in a glass of water and check it the next morning: 40°F or below in the fridge, 0°F in the freezer. Open the doors and sniff; a sour smell often means a previous spill under the crisper drawers or a drain pan that hasn't been cleaned.
- Ice maker and dispenser. Confirm the water line is connected and the valve is on. Throw away the first few batches of ice.
- Range or cooktop. Light every burner. Gas flames should be mostly blue with steady tips. Heat the oven to 350°F and confirm it gets there. Look behind the storage drawer or at the back foot for an anti-tip bracket.
- Dishwasher. Run a short cycle empty. Check that it fills, drains completely, and that no water appears on the floor.
- Microwave. Heat a cup of water for one minute. The door should close firmly and the unit should stop the moment the door opens.
Laundry
- Washer. Run a rinse-and-spin cycle. Watch the hoses and the floor, and check that the drum stops spinning when the lid or door is opened as designed.
- Dryer. Pull the lint screen; a packed screen says something about how the last tenant used it. Run it on high for ten minutes, then go outside and confirm air is coming out of the vent hood.
- Gas dryer. Find the gas shutoff valve behind it so you know where it is.
Safety items
- Test every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm. California requires CO alarms in homes with a gas appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage, so if the unit has any of those and no CO alarm, raise it with the landlord immediately.
- Look up each appliance's model on the CPSC recall search. Our recall lookup guide explains how to find the label and read the results.
Day two: write it down
Most leases come with a move-in condition form. Fill in the appliance section with specifics instead of "OK": "Freezer reads 8°F after 24 hours," "Front-right burner won't light," "Dishwasher leaves an inch of water in the tub." Attach photos with dates. If you're in military housing or using a housing office, they usually have their own form; use it, and keep a copy for yourself.
Specific notes protect you twice. They get problems fixed now, and they keep you from being charged at move-out for damage you didn't cause, which matters when your next set of orders could come with short notice.
Who fixes what
In most rentals, appliances supplied with the unit are the landlord's to repair, and tenants are expected to report problems promptly and not attempt repairs themselves. Read your lease, since some leases treat certain appliances differently. A few practical points:
- Report problems in writing, by email or through the property's portal, so there is a date on record.
- Don't book your own repair on a landlord-owned appliance without written approval, or you may end up paying for it.
- If you brought your own washer and dryer, those are yours to maintain, but the hookups, outlet and venting usually belong to the building.
- Gas smell, sparking or water actively leaking are urgent. For a gas smell, leave the unit and call SDG&E or 911 from outside, then tell the landlord.
Neighborhood notes
Older rentals near the bases in National City and western Chula Vista often have appliances a decade or two old, so pay particular attention to dryer venting and range burners. In student housing around University City, dishwashers and disposals get heavy use and the filter is frequently neglected. Beach-area apartments tend to show salt corrosion on fridge hinges and coils, which is worth noting on the form so it isn't charged to you later.
If you're a landlord or property manager
Running this same list between tenants catches problems before the new tenant finds them. When something needs more than a filter or a hose, we can work with property managers directly, give a written estimate before starting, and coordinate access with the tenant. See our dishwasher service and other appliance pages for what we work on.
Last step: save the photos and the completed form in the same folder as your lease. You'll want all three on move-out day.