Ovens: despite being used so often, they remain one of the least cleaned appliances in the average home, with many having months, if not years of baked-on food, grease and debris cooking merrily away inside them. In fact, surveys carried out in recent years have shown that more than half of American households clean their ovens once a year or less, with as little as 10% having never cleaned them at all. And while this might not be surprising, the consequences of a grubby oven might come as something of a shock to you.
Here are just 3 of the many potential consequences of not keeping your oven clean, and if they don’t kickstart you into cleaning your own grubby oven, you could at least hire a cleaning company to come and do it on your behalf:
1. Grubby ovens can cause housefires
Yes, you read it right: by not cleaning your oven, you could risk starting a fire in your home when food debris or grease spillages inside the appliance catch fire. With cooking equipment being the primary cause of home fires, if your oven hasn’t been cleaned in a while and its interior is looking less than savory, it’s definitely time to do something about it before a terrible accident takes place in your kitchen.
2. Unloved ovens could cost you extra on your energy bills
Ovens that are dirty typically use more energy to function than clean ones do, sometimes by up to 50%. To keep your energy bills down while also helping to prevent a housefire, have your oven professionally cleaned.
3. Neglected ovens could be harming your health
What’s even more worrying than an increase in energy bills, is the fact that a dirty oven when switched on, is capable of producing toxins and carcinogens that can be extremely harmful to your health, and the health of anyone else you share your home with.
Scary, right? Well if that’s got you thinking that it’s time you tackled your grubby oven, here are some simple steps to achieving it:
How to get your oven clean
Firstly, take a scraper and a damp cloth or sponge, and remove any bits of food and other debris inside the oven. Then, combine equal parts water and baking soda to make a paste that you can spread all over the interior of the oven. Dirtier ovens may require this to be left on overnight, but for a mildly grimy oven, an hour or two should suffice. Once the paste has done its work, you can use a damp cloth or sponge to wipe the solution off, along with any bits that have been loosened in the process. Then it’s time to tackle the rubber seal around the oven’s door and the window, and you can use a damp cloth or sponge, along with your favorite household cleaner or a solution of vinegar and water. Once this has been done, you can give your oven a quick wipe down and buff with a clean towel or cloth.
As with most kitchen appliances, regular cleaning is the key to keeping your oven hygienically clean, and safer to use, too. If you can’t face cleaning your oven yourself, simply hire a cleaning company to do it for you.
