Tips for cleaning and maintaining your oven
Tips for a cleaner, safer oven
With Christmas time coming up, one of the worst things that can go wrong at this time is that your oven could break… leaving a hungry family and a half-cooked turkey!
Over time breakdowns become unavoidable, and at one point you will have to replace or repair your oven. At this stage, you may decide to visit the Repair Giant website for more guidance.
However, there are, of course, some specific ways you can prolong the life of your oven including cleaning and general maintenance tips.
Some tips and tricks to ensure the longevity of your oven:
- Regular cleaning: your oven will last a lot longer if you care for it with regular deep cleaning. Cleaning your oven after each time you use it is important to avoid build-up of food, rusting etc.
- Take advantage of any self-cleaning features: Some ovens come fitted with a self-cleaning tool. You can follow the manufacturer’s guidelines to find out the safest way to do this correctly, but a general rule is to let the oven cool down for a few hours before wiping it down post-cleaning.
- Replace the gas: If you get a new oven, you should replace the gas line. This is usually available from the company who is installing your oven, and if they don’t provide this then they may be able to offer you a recommendation of an electrician, although most electrical contractors provide and installation service should you choose to find your own.
- Unplug oven when cleaning with water: If you are cleaning the inside of the oven by hand, the safest option is to turn off the oven completely and unplug it at the wall to avoid the risk of electrocution!
- Inspect your oven’s burner: Keep a lookout for anything that appears unusual with your oven, this means you will be able to detect and replace damaged parts of the oven quickly. If there is a small spot on the coil that appears redder than the rest when cooking – it usually means the coil is about to burn out. Replacing this burner quickly will avoid further damage to the whole oven.
How to clean your oven most effectively
Cleaning your oven to avoid repair is simple and easy if you know the right steps.
- Don’t clean straight after cooking! Ensure the oven has fully cooled down and remove any excess dirt before beginning the cleaning process.
- The magic solution: create a solution of half baking soda half water to form a paste. Spread this paste across the bottom of the oven to get rid of any stubborn stains.
- Put the oven racks into a bath filled with washing powder and hot water, and leave them there overnight to soak. This means the grime will be easy to remove the next day.
- Cleaning the stovetop: Give the stovetop a quick wipe over too – you can do this using a solution made from salt, baking soda and water. Simply scrub the stove then wipe it clean.
- Finally, you can pour vinegar into a spray bottle and spray it over the areas that still have baking soda on them. You can also use the vinegar to go over the oven racks.
If you do have issues with your appliances there are many services to take advantage of that help you, whether that is repairs, maintenance or installation.
If you think your oven is faulty, you should contact an electrician as soon as possible. However, if you are not sure where to find them, then you can start by searching for some reputed electrical service providers on the Internet. And while you are at the job, do consider looking for somebody who is a level 2 electrician. Why, you ask? Because a level 2 electrician is generally considered to be more skilled and efficient than a regular electrician. Not only can they handle repair works, but can also carry out overhead and underground electrical services between your home or business, and an electrical supply network. So, if your oven is in desperate need of a repair then a level 2 electrician can both inspect and repair it and at the same time do an in-depth analysis of the problem (like whether the fault was due to some internal issues in the oven or due to a fault in the electrical supply underground).
Anyway, by now, you might be aware of most of the things that you can do to maintain your oven. In case you want any further information regarding this, it would be a good idea to search for relevant articles on the Internet. And remember, prevention is always better than cure!
8 Clear Signs Your Oven is in Need of Repair – Appliance Express