Your oven and stove are probably the most used appliances in your home, so proper maintenance is essential to keep cleaning them to a minimum. Here are some quick and easy tips to a clean oven and stove.
Step 1: Drip tip
One of the easiest things you can do to keep your oven clean is to use a drip pan. If you are baking something that is likely to bubble over, using a drip pan will eliminate the need to clean the oven after you’re done. You can also place the pan on a cookie sheet so spills will drop right onto the sheet, which is much easier to clean than the oven!
Step 2: Cover up
If you are making something that might splatter during cooking in the oven, use a lid or make a foil “tent” over the food to help contain any mess.
Step 3: Foil fix
If you are using your stove top to deep fry food or make sauces that inevitably splash out of the pot, you’re in for a splattery mess. You can try a splatter screen, but you’ll probably still have to clean the stove when you’re done with dinner. With this tip, you can avoid having to clean the stove: remove the grates and wipe down the stove top with a damp cloth; next, cover the whole area with aluminum foil, cut a hole around the burner(s) you’ll be using, flatten the foil around the burners, and then replace the grates. You’re ready to cook! Wait until the stove top is entirely cooled before removing the foil and tossing it.
Step 4: Foil faux pas
While you may have heard that lining the bottom of the oven is a good way to catch food particles during cooking, it is actually a very dangerous trick! The foil could actually get too close to the cooking element and catch fire—avoid lining your oven with foil in an attempt to keep your oven clean.
Step 5: Clean as you go
Simply cleaning spills as they happen is an easy way to maintain a clean oven and a clean stove. Wait until the area cools before attempting to clean it, however.
Step 6: Loosen up
To loosen baked on food particles from your oven, put a bowl of boiling water into the oven for 15 to 20 minutes with the door closed, which allows the steam to loosen up dried messes, making for much easier clean up.
If you follow these easy tips, you can have a clean oven and a clean stove without wasting too much time actually cleaning!
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