Select Home Warranty sees Labor Day spike in fridge and stove claims

Select Home Warranty says Labor Day weekend drives a sharp rise in appliance breakdown claims, led by refrigerators and stoves. The company says the pattern reflects the strain of holiday entertaining and summer heat on kitchen equipment.

Why it matters: - Holiday gatherings can turn routine kitchen use into a repair risk, especially when food storage and cooking demands surge at the same time. - Select Home Warranty says the trend matters because a broken refrigerator during a holiday can quickly create food loss and unexpected costs.

What happened: - Select Home Warranty analyzed internal claims data for Labor Day weekend against seasonal August and September norms. - The company found refrigerator claims rise 43% during Labor Day weekend, the largest jump among home appliances in the study. - Claims for stoves and ovens rise 39% during the same period. - Marc Shapiro of Select Home Warranty said Labor Day is among the busiest days of the year for kitchen appliances.

The details: - The company links the spike to common holiday behaviors, including frequent fridge use on hot days, overloaded shelves, and nonstop cooking for large gatherings. - Select Home Warranty said refrigerator claims reached 1.43x the baseline during Labor Day. - Stoves and ovens reached 1.39x the baseline. - The company recommends three prevention steps: clean refrigerator coils, keep airflow vents clear, and test ovens and stoves a day before preparing large meals. - The company said dust and debris make the compressor work harder, especially when refrigerator doors are opened often. - The company said blocked vents can reduce airflow when platters or ice chests are placed nearby. - The company said heating elements should be run before a major meal to check for problems. - More information is available in the company's announcement.

Between the lines: - The data points to a predictable seasonal pattern: holidays increase appliance stress before any single mechanical issue appears. - The strongest signal is in the kitchen, where entertaining concentrates both heat and demand on older equipment. - Shapiro said peak-demand holidays offer a way to examine how home systems get stressed, which frames the data as both a consumer warning and a business insight.

What's next: - Select Home Warranty is steering homeowners toward preventive checks before holiday weekends, especially for refrigeration and cooking appliances. - The company is likely to keep using seasonal claims patterns to highlight where home systems are most vulnerable. - Homeowners heading into holiday gatherings may need to treat appliance maintenance as part of event planning.