As the old saying goes, “prevention is better than cure”, which so happens to apply perfectly when it comes to your cooker. By taking the necessary steps needed to avoid potential problems with your oven, you can save yourself a bunch of hassle, time and money trying to fix it up. So, what are the things that you need to be doing to ensure your cooker continues to run as efficiently as possible and avoids any unwelcome issues? Below we take a look at 10 essential oven maintenance tips.
- Check your oven door seal – Did you know that over 20% of an oven’s heat can escape if the doors are not sealed properly? This can and will result in incredible losses in efficiency, meaning your food is going to take a lot longer to cook – nightmare! To ensure your oven door seal is intact, simply open the door and feel the rubber gasket around the perimeter of the oven’s hatch to check for any broken, torn or worn sections. If you happen to find more than one broken area, then it is time to get your seal replaced! You can browse our range of replacement door seals & gaskets below.
- Clean your broiler pan – One thing is for sure; broiler pans can be a real pain to clean. Nobody wants to spend hours scrubbing off old, burned food do they? An easy solution to clean your broiler pan is to heat the pan up and then sprinkle some detergent on the affected areas. Cover the laundry detergent with wet paper towels and after around 15 minutes, remove the towels and scrub the food off easily.
- Salt a grease spill – Spillovers can be an annoying part of cooking, especially if you're making an effort to keep grease off of your cooking tray or dish. To make light work of cleaning up spills, simply sprinkle table salt over a spill before using your oven. Now, close the door and proceed to cook your food. When it’s finished, you might be surprised to see a tricky grease spill has turned into a cleanable pile of ash that can be easily swiped away.
- Oil your oven rack – If you want your oven racks to glide smoothly when taking them out and putting them back into your oven, then it’s important to not ignore them. Start by cleaning the oven wall ridges that the racks slide in and out on using soap-filled steel wool pads. Once the ridges have dried, wipe them over with some vegetable oil. Your oven racks should now glide on the ridges effortlessly.
- Cleaning dirty oven racks – An old but effective method of cleaning your dirty oven racks. Simply get a large, heavy-duty plastic bag and fill it with vinegar, dishwashing liquid and hot water. Then, place your oven racks inside, seal the bag and place it in a tub of warm water for an hour or so. Once this has been done, remove the racks from the plastic bag, scrub, rinse and dry. Your racks should now be just fine to use again. If you can’t get hold of a heavy-duty plastic bad, then you can use your bathtub instead. Simply fill the bath with soapy water to loosen the grime on your racks. The longer you leave them to soak, the easier it will be to get the grime off.
- Cleaning the inside of your oven – If your oven racks and clean(ish), but the rest of the inside of your oven isn’t, then you’ll be glad to know that there is an easy solution. Simply fill a microwave-safe bowl with water and turn your oven on a high temperature for two minutes. Now, turn your oven off and leave it for a further two minutes. You can now open your oven door and using a sift rag, begin to wipe the muck on your oven walls off.
- Removing embedded food – Removing food from your oven that has been caught in between the racks can be a real pain, but it really doesn’t have to be. To get the food out, all you need is an ordinary plastic nail file and a damp cloth or newspaper bail. Attache the cloth or newspaper to the nail file and place in between your oven racks. The trapped food should attach and be easily lifted out.
- Regular stain removal – You may be surprised to learn that newspapers actually work a lot better to clean your oven than a sponge. Try making a ball from a few sheets of newspaper, soak it in soapy water and rub your oven down with it. The burnt food and stains should easily wipe with minimal fuss and effort. A good tip to remember when cleaning the inside of your oven is to not wait for your oven to cool down. The longer you leave cleaning your oven once it has been turned off, the harder it will be to remove dirt and stains. Burnt food is a lot easier to remove while the walls are still warm.
By following these essential cooker and oven maintenance tips, you will go a long way to ensure that not only does your cooker continue to work at its optimum level, but the chances of damage and fault are dramatically reduced. If things are already looking bleak for your cooker and you require quality replacement parts to get it back and running, then Cooker Spare Parts are here to help!
We offer an extensive range of replacement parts for a wide variety of cooker models, so no matter what you need, we are confident that you’ll find it here. Click below to browse our spare parts. For more information on any of our parts or on our oven maintenance tips, then please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team today.
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