At the heart of any great home is a kitchen that hosts family and friends and is home to great food and even greater memories. Well, at the heart of that very kitchen is the oven. The oven is where all your favourite foods come alive right before your very eyes and sometimes where you wait patiently to make sure your cookies and cakes turned out alright. While your oven certainly does a lot for you and your family, it’s important to show it some extra care from time to time to keep working at its best. Cleaning your oven is essential to the cleanliness and well-being of those in your home. While it may not be the task you look forward to the most, but it needs to be done regularly. Read on to discover the different ways in which you can clean your oven and have it looking spotless every single time.
DIY Oven Cleaning
First, to get started cleaning your oven, you’ll need an old toothbrush, scourer, oven cleaner, sponges, and rubber gloves. To avoid damaging or dangerous chemicals in your cleaners, try to go with caustic-free products when cleaning your kitchen and your oven. Before you begin, make sure your oven is off and cool. Cover all gas burner jets and wear your rubber gloves; then, start to remove any food, crumbs, and leftovers that you see inside the oven.
Next, remove all the shelving in your oven and soak them in water with soap. You can leave them to soak overnight if you have time. While the shelves are soaking, use your oven cleaner and sponge to spray and clean the oven’s corners. Leave the solution for a few minutes to soften tough stains and grease. Use your scourer on the oven racks to ensure they are nice and clean before rinsing and drying them.
Ensure that you get into the corners of the oven where most people miss spots and leftover stains. You can use an old toothbrush to scrub hard-to-reach areas if necessary. Remember not to get anything that is electrical wet! You can also use this time to clean your baking trays by soaking and scrubbing them in a sink of hot water and liquid soap.
The last step will be cleaning the glass door of your oven. Again, you can use a scourer for food and grease that is difficult to remove. Wipe down thoroughly and ensure that you don’t leave any cleaning product residue behind.
Using the Self-Cleaning Function
While cleaning your oven with your hands and getting into corners will give a thorough clean, some people opt to use their oven’s self-cleaning feature for convenience and ease. This method uses the oven’s high heat to incinerate leftover food particles and grease. Keep in mind that although your oven may be labelled as self-cleaning, we generally recommend removing and wiping down as much grease and food as possible before starting the self-cleaning option. You will also need to wipe down any ashes left over after the cleaning. While this is a great option and convenient for many, some people worry about the fumes that it may generate and any damage that can potentially occur with such high heat. Generally, you don’t want to leave your house while your self-cleaning oven is on. It’s also important to keep an eye on it and be mindful of small children and pets around while the oven is heating up.
Using Alternative Natural Cleaners
Unlike chemical cleaners (which use lye and caustic ingredients), homemade or alternative cleaners are much safer to use in your oven and around your kitchen and home. It would be best if you stayed away from using chemical off-the-shelf cleaners as much as possible because they let off fumes that are dangerous and hazardous to our lungs and health. Instead, use natural cleaning products that work just as well, such as baking soda, lemon juice, vinegar, and natural soaps.
Keeping it Clean
To make cleaning your oven much easier, try to clean up a little after every use and be mindful of letting messes linger for too long. You can use baking soda overnight on tough stains when they appear. Wipe down your oven’s glass screen after you do a lot of cooking and line your bottom oven shelf with foil beforehand to catch any food that falls. Also, consider using cooking bags to roast meat so that less fat and grease accumulate daily in your oven.
While it may be easy to neglect cleaning your oven, hopefully, this serves as a reminder to take a peek inside yours if you haven’t done so in a while. Regardless of which cleaner you use, remember to keep your windows open while cleaning so that the area is properly ventilated. If you use the self-cleaning function, make sure there are no pets around. If you are unsure of which method to use or would rather let someone else do the task, consider getting your oven professionally cleaned.
Not only does it save you time, but it also ensures a thorough cleaning safely and efficiently. For more cleaning tips and information on the house and office cleaning, please contact Sunrise-Cleaning at 905-567-1199 or contact us here.