Guidebook page for appliances

When to use

This is the guidebook page for machines, one line each, so it stays on one sheet. {coffee} might be “scoop from the tin, paper filter, four cups of water. The stove kettle is for tea.” {cooktop} should include the non-obvious hazard: “the front-left burner runs hot, and the fan switch is the small dial, not the light.” {climate} names the thermostat and the setting you want when they leave, which should match the checkout sign. {washer} says where it is and the restriction that matters: “upstairs closet. Detergent pod only. Do not use the sanitize cycle.” {do_not} is the single prohibition that prevents a fire or a flood: “do not run the oven’s self-clean” or “do not pour grease down the drain.”

Strike the washer line if there is no washer. Do not leave a checkbox that implies an amenity the listing does not have. {property_name} keeps the cabin page, which has a wood stove, from being read in the apartment, which has a panel.

A guest should be able to make coffee without messaging you. That is the test for {coffee}. If your machine needs a paragraph, the machine is too fussy or the sentence is too shy. Number the steps inside the blank if you must, and cut adjectives.

Timing tip

Re-test the page when you replace an appliance, the same day. A new dishwasher with the old page’s buttons is how a guest runs a cycle that leaks. Take a photo of the new panel for yourself, then write {do_not} from the manual’s actual warning, in your words, not a paste of the manual.

Seasonal gear belongs here only if it is present. A space heater that you store in June should not be on the summer page. {climate} in July is the window unit. {climate} in January is the furnace. Reprint with the season if those are different devices. One page that lists both with “if you see it” is acceptable if the home is small and both might be out.

Turnover is a good time to see whether the page is stained or missing. Replacements are cheap. A missing coffee line generates a message every Friday.

Common mistakes

Listing every knob is the first one. You are not writing the manufacturer’s book. {cooktop} is how to turn it on, how to turn it off, and the one quirk. If they cannot harm the home with the other knobs, leave them out. The page fails when it becomes two pages and they skip it.

The second is a rule that is really a preference. “Please enjoy the pour-over ritual” is not an instruction. {coffee} that requires a scale will be ignored, and they will use the kettle wrong. Give them the path that works half-asleep.

The third is asking them to maintain your equipment. Cleaning a dryer vent, descale procedures that take an afternoon, and filter changes are your turnover list or your cleaner’s. {washer} can ask them not to overload. It should not ask them to service the machine. The last line of the template says they do not have to repair it. That sentence prevents a handy guest from taking your oven apart.

When something fails

The maintenance acknowledgment is the reply if they write. This page’s job is to route them to the thread and to the off switch. {do_not} should include “do not keep using it if it sparks or leaks” when that fits the machine you fear. Say which machine. A generic “be careful” does not tell them whether the cooktop is the worry or the heater is.

If a machine is out of service when they arrive, tape a note on it and send a message. Do not rely on this page to announce a broken oven. A guidebook that contradicts the kitchen is worse than no page.