When was the last time you gave your oven a thorough cleanup? With all the cooking activities going on, for sure it is full of crumbs, burnt sugar, and other food residues that can cause your oven to deteriorate earlier than it should, if not cleaned regularly. Cleaning the oven can really be tiresome and time consuming, especially if you have little knowledge on how to clean it properly. In order to avoid that kind of messy situation, here are a few practical tips and tricks that can keep your oven clean and spotless.
- Newspaper
If you are fortunate and have a self-cleaning oven there will be a flaky residue left when the cleaning is done.
Do not waste paper towels to clean the flaky residue from your oven. Instead, find some old newspapers and use them. Crumple and moisten the newspaper then wipe the residue away.
- Vinegar
After you finish frying food, clean up oil splatters from your range hood, stovetop, countertop and walls by washing them using a sponge soaked with white vinegar. Rinse by using another sponge soaked in cold water and wipe until dry with a soft, clean cloth. In getting rid of that cooked-on, darkened grease from your broiler pan, soften it up by mixing 1 cup apple cider vinegar with 2 tbsp. of sugar. Put on the concoction while the broiler pan is still hot, then let it rest. After an hour or so, lightly scrub the grease from the pan and you will see that it easily slides off.
- Salt
Try not to let food bubble over into your oven but if it does, do not let it cool. Put salt over the foodstuff while it is still liquid. After the oven cools, wipe the spillage using a soft cloth. Do this technique for spills on your stovetop as well. Interestingly salt is able to remove the smell from your oven. If you want to create a pleasant aroma, you may combine salt with cinnamon.
- Aluminum Foil
When baking lasagna or macaroni, be sure to place a sheet or two of aluminum foil around the rack underneath to keep the mess from dripping off at the bottom of your oven. Beware though; refrain from placing the foil at the bottom of the oven for it can cause fire.
- Ammonia
Another practical way of cleaning your electric oven is by using ammonia. Turn on your oven and preheat to 150°F. After reaching the desired heat, turn off the oven. Prepare a large pan with boiling water and place on the bottom shelf. Then, in a small bowl, put ½ cup of ammonia and place it on the upper shelf. Then close the oven. Let the solution sit overnight. In the morning, take out the pan and the bowl and just leave the oven opened for a few minutes to let the smell out. After a while, clean it by wiping with ammonia and a small amount of dishwashing liquid in warm water. You will be amazed that even deep-seated grease can easily slide off. However, this technique does not apply to a gas oven unless the main gas line is shut off and the pilot lights are turned off.
If you do not have time to try these ideas, then hire professional house cleaning services. They are more knowledgeable and skilled in this kind of cleaning task.
