There are very few people who love cleaning, and chances are that you are not one of them. And cleaning becomes a burden when you need to clean home appliances, especially if you haven’t been doing it for a while. For this reason, this article will help you deal with dirt and grease of home cooking appliances, namely oven, and microwave. Read simple cleaning tips below and clean like a pro!
Self-cleaning oven
If your oven has a self-cleaning function, then we can only congratulate you! All you need is find the manual and follow it step-by-step in order to make the oven clean. However, if don’t have a manual, here are cleaning tips that work for all self-cleaning ovens.
- Step 1 – If your oven doesn’t lock itself, then you need to do it manually before cleaning begins.
- Step 2 – Start the cleaning program in the oven by either pressing the button or moving the knob.
- Step 3 – Leave the oven be. Most frequently, the process will take from two to six hours to complete. Don’t open oven’s door by force! Once the program is finished, the door will open automatically.
- Step 4 – Let the oven cool for at least an hour before opening it in order to avoid scalding grease.
- Step 5 – After you open the door, you’ll see a pile of burned grease and leftovers. All you need to do is to clean that out by sweeping. And that’s it in terms of the oven insides. Sometimes, the racks might still have some dirt and food on them. If you face this issue, just soak them in the bathroom with soap and water solution and then wipe everything off.
Not self-cleaning oven
Older ovens generally don’t have the cleaning function, so you’ll need to look for advanced cleaning tips in this case. The easiest way to do so is buying special detergent or oven cleaner, the whole oven, wait for 15 minutes and wipe out the dirt. However, in very neglected cases, these cleaners might need additional help (it’s a common problem for people moving into rented apartments and homes). So here are several cleaning tips that will soften the dirt for you to clean everything effortlessly.
- Step 1 – Put a bowl with water into the oven, close the door and turn the appliance on. Set the temperature around 200F and let the water evaporate for about half an hour. This is the easiest way to “soak” the oven and to soften the dirt and grease.
- Step 2 – Before cleaning the inside of the oven, remove all the racks and soak them in a warm solution of soap and water for several hours.
- Step 3 – If you can use the cleaner, take it. If you are allergic to the chemicals, then mix 4 tablespoons and water in a spray bottle. Spray any cleaner you get on the walls of the oven.
- Step 4 – Let the detergent work (generally 15-20 minutes is enough). Wipe away everything that came off and spray everything again.
- Step 5 – After another 15 minutes wipe out the dirt. For complicated cases either repeat the procedure or just take a rough sponge and scrape the dirt away. But, don’t take metal sponges! They will only leave scratches on the surface and so cause only worse grease sticking.
- Step 6 – After everything looks clean and neat, experts advise washing all the walls and insides of the oven again with warm water to ensure that no detergent is left and so that it won’t get inside the dishes you will be cooking.
And don’t forget to put the racks back.
Oven doors
Some articles advise using window cleaners for glass oven doors. Unfortunately, such cleaning tips work only if there is no fat stuck to the doors and you just need to make the doors look new. If you’re cooking in the oven and there is some true dirt inside, go for baking soda with vinegar or special detergent. And don’t forget to rinse everything with warm water afterward.
Microwave
Cleaning tips for microwave are similar to the ones you’ve read above for the stove because the working principle is the same. Yet, in this case, the process will be significantly faster. You will need no more than 10-15 minutes in total.
- Step 1 – The method is based on steam cleaning of the microwave. You need to make a mixture of water and vinegar. In case your microwave has some unpleasant odor, you can add a drop of essential oil to get rid of it. In order not to let the water boil, put a toothpick into the bowl. NOTE: it’s highly advised to choose a bowl with some texture. Professional appliance cleaners explain that when the liquid gets heated and bubbles don’t form on the liquid and bowl surface, you risk getting a bowl explosion after you open the microwave doors or try to take the bowl out of the microwave. To avoid this, just add a toothpick so that bubbles start forming on the wood.
- Step 2 – Turn the microwave on for about 5 minutes.
- Step 3 – Once the timer goes off, let the microwave be for about 2-3 more minutes. The steam will continue to work.
- Step 4 – Carefully remove the bowl from the microwave (don’t forget that the bowl is very hot). After that remove the turntable tray and wash it in the sink (should it need soaking, go for it as well).
- Step 5 – Take a sponge and just wipe out all the insides. Generally, this will be the end of your cleaning. Yet, in case some parts of food and grease got stuck, follow the traditional cleaning tips by taking some detergent and sponge to scratch the dirt away.
