When it comes to cleaning your kitchen, what matters most is your method of cleaning, how effective it is, and how perfectly you execute it.
You could be cleaning your space every single day, yet if you are not cleaning it as well as needed, dirt and grime will build up quicker than you can clear it.
Cookers are notoriously difficult to clean – after all, debris and residue that have been cooked at extremely high temperatures and cooled down to stick are your main enemies.
The smell is another problem. It may be pleasant at first, but it would eventually aggregate into a characteristic aroma that would be infused into anything you use the oven to do. Think of all the raw meat, fish, and the occasional recipe disaster. Do you really want that to hang around?
How To Clean Your Cooker Effectively
We consider ourselves to be kitchen appliance experts, and we’d like nothing more than to share our tips for effective cooker cleaning tips with you. You do not need to take any peculiar routes, and you do not have to buy any of the expensive cleaning products being touted on the market as the next holy grail of domestic maintenance. All you need are;
- Rubber gloves
- Baking soda
- Cleaning cloths and rags
- Plastic, metal, or silicone spatulas
- Foils
- Spray bottles
- White vinegar
This cleaning method is really dependent on baking soda and white vinegar. These constitute the actual holy grail of domestic cleaning.
What To Do:
The procedure for a worthwhile oven cleaning routine goes thus:
Step 1: Prep The Oven For Cleaning
You don’t just barge into the process without first preparing the oven to be clean. It would fast make the process an ineffective one. A few people love to clean their cookers right after use; this makes sense, but you should wait until it’s cool before doing so. Get the oven empty by removing the shelves and racks, so you have ample space to do as you please, and dust off and remove any debris you can from the onset. This would ensure that your work isn’t compounded and the process is less messy.
Step 2: Mix Your Baking Soda
It is now time to introduce your grime buster, which is your simple baking soda. Baking soda is an effective home cleaning strategy that has been employed for decades and has never actually failed to do as is expected. It acts as a non-harsh abrasive for your oven, so you don’t have to worry about terrible chemical smells or corrosion on your cooker insides.
You have to mix it with water to form a paste for effectiveness, though; the water added softens particles that have cooled down and hardened for the baking soda to work on. Proportions to be mixed depending on how big your oven is; all you should aim for is that the mixture is made into a paste, about the consistency of toothpaste.
Step 3: Apply The Paste To Your Oven
Be as care-free about this as possible and apply the paste in very liberal quantities. Do it such that the interior is totally covered, but avoid delicate parts of the oven like the light and heating agents.
Use your gloves for this – you need to eliminate any mental limitations you might feel when applying. As you apply the paste, the colour will change. You might also notice that it would accumulate in some places and smoothen in others. Ignore all of this, but take care to focus on any areas you feel might be dirtier, grimier, or greasier than the rest.
To the glass door, apply the paste and leave for a little less than 30 minutes. Rinse off after this. You can also use a dishwater tablet and warm water to wipe the glass if you’d prefer.
Step 4: Let The Paste Site In For A While
The breakdown process is not immediate; you would need to let the paste sit in your oven for quite a while. Depending on how long it has been since you last cleaned it, anywhere from two to twelve hours is perfect for it to be completed. This means the best time to clean the oven is in the evening on the weekend; you can easily sleep over it while its work is being done.
Step 5: Focus On Your Racks And Shelves
Now that the oven is being worked on, it is time to clean your kitchen racks.
Dishwater detergents work well here, but you could also employ the use of bicarbonate (baking soda).
Allow the racks to sit in a tub of hot water mixed with washing powder. Coat the bottom of the tub with towels or foil so that the dirt isn’t transferred. You could also use highly specialised abrasive cleaners with discretion. After letting the racks sit in for one to four hours, clean them off with a brush or sponge. The dirt would easily come off after that. You can then rinse and dry the racks and keep them in a separate area before finishing the oven interior.
Step 6: Clean Off Your Oven
Clean off your oven the next morning or after a few hours with a damp washcloth and a spatula. The spatula should be used for scraping stubborn bits of residue and baking soda paste off, but the likeliness of you needing it at all is quite low. Scraping should be done gently so that you do not damage the oven coating; you aren’t actually aiming for the oven to be totally clean after this step.
Step 7: Bring Out The Vinegar For The Last Batch Of Cleaning
The second constituent of our holy grail, is vinegar! Put your vinegar in a spray bottle to make the process a lot easier.
The next step is to spray the vinegar all over the oven. When the vinegar comes in contact with the baking soda, it foams and melts.
After it has been sprayed, continue cleaning the oven with a fresh cloth while employing your discretion to add more vinegar or water as you see fit. Do this until the oven is eventually as good as new. You can then place the oven racks back in.
Step 8: Stovetop Time
Cleaning your stovetop takes less time and is easier than cleaning the oven. Mix up a bit of salt, baking soda and water. Apply the same vinegar treatment and wipe down. You could use warm water, detergent and a sponge to scrub off the dirt.
Do not spray the buttons and knobs on the cooker with any cleaning agents! This may risk electrical difficulties later down the line. Simply clean these with a microfibre cloth.
Our Last Tips To Prevent Dirt From Returning
The following would reduce your workload whenever you’re next cleaning. These are preventive measures that would stop the accumulation of residue in your cooker or on your stovetop;
- Do a bit of quick cleaning immediately after cooking or baking
- Line your ovens with non-stick oven liners
- Cover your foods with tin foil when baking or cooking, except in cases where whatever you’re cooking needs to breathe.
- Try the self-cleaning function on your cooker. Only go for manual cleaning when you want to deep-clean.
- If you must, use only verified oven cleaners in lieu of baking soda and vinegar.
Cleaning your oven doesn’t have to be a chore. With these simple methods, you can effectively clean your oven and keep it striking and functional for as long as possible. Should you find yourself in the market for a new cooker, make sure to browse the range of Clearance Cookers from The Appliance Depot, today.