Most of the trouble a clothes washer causes starts in the hoses and the drain, not in the drum. The walk-through below takes about as long as a load of wash, and it works for any front-load or top-load machine on a standard hookup.
Walk the fill side first
Pull the machine forward far enough to see the hot and cold valves behind it. Look at each hose where it threads onto the valve and where it crimps onto the machine. Feel for stiffness, bulges, or a crust of mineral at the joint. Wet hoses at the valve are a sign to act on now, not later.
Check the age stamped or written on the hose, if there is one. If you cannot find a date, write down the day you do the walk-through and treat that as the start of the clock. Braided steel hoses and plain rubber ones age differently, so note which kind you have.
Walk the drain next
Look at the drain hose where it leaves the machine and where it enters the standpipe or sink trap. The hose should sit in the standpipe with a gap at the top so the line can breathe. Confirm the standpipe is not blocked with lint or soap buildup, and that the hose is not kinked behind the machine.
Run a short empty cycle and watch the drain. Water should leave cleanly and should not gurgle back at the drain point.
Set the interval and the name
Decide how often the household will do this walk-through. Most owners tie it to a routine they already keep, such as the seasonal check. Write the name of the person who does the walk-through next to the machine's entry in your records. If a hose is replaced, log the length, the material, and the day it went in.
Keep the planning window in view while you do this. The clothes washer page turns an install year into a planning window, and a hose replaced late in the machine's life is a different decision from one replaced early.
What not to do
Do not tighten a hose hard against a plastic valve body. Do not run the machine with a hose that feels brittle. Do not add a second clamp over a bad joint to avoid replacing the hose.