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How to Maintain Kitchen Appliances

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Learn how to keep your appliances spick and span so they last for many years to come.

Hooray – you have your dream kitchen in place! And to make the most of it you need to make sure it’s maintained properly to last a lifetime. The most utilised parts of your kitchen tend to be your appliances, they tend to get the backlash of cooking spillages and take a lot of wear and tear over the years.

It’s a given that high quality appliances will have a longer life-span if they’re cared for properly, they have clever functions such as the self-cleaning Neff Slide & Hide oven which has pyrolytic technology – it makes life so much easier! 

All that it takes is a little TLC and know-how to ensure that your kitchen appliances are working at their very best and maintained to perfection.

So, here’s our very best upkeep tips to help prevent costly breakdowns:

Squeaky Clean Oven

Cleaning an oven

We all know it’s not the most glamorous task, however cleaning your oven every couple of weeks actually improves the quality of your food! The grime and dirt can hinder the taste of your food which is never a good thing.

  • Firstly, it can be a dirty job so grab some newspaper to protect your floor and some rubber gloves to protect your hands. Remove everything from oven.
  • Make a DIY paste made of baking soda and water (mix a 1/2 cup of baking soda with 2-3 tablespoons of water)
  • Put the paste around the inside of your oven. Tip: If you have an electric oven, don’t put it on the heating elements. If you have a gas oven, don’t cover the area where the gas comes through.
  • Place the dirty racks in your kitchen sink and sprinkle baking soda on. Then pour vinegar on top to cause it to foam and when it stops, plug the sink and run hot water over them until fully submerged.
  • Leave everything overnight. In the morning take a damp cloth to wipe everything clean. If there’s some paste that’s tough to budge, just spritz with vinegar. For extra tough sticky bits, use a gentle scourer.
  • Dry them off and ta-dah you’ve got a super clean oven!

Top-tip: Don’t ever use cleaner on self-cleaning ovens it turns the grime into ash to simply just wipe away with a damp cloth!

Happy Hob

From gas to electric to induction hobs – some are easy to clean with just one quick wipe, but others aren’t as simple such as the popular gas hob.

  • Remove all the parts of the hob (if there are any) and pop then in the sink filled with soapy water.
  • Use a damp cloth to remove any loose food and grime.
  • Spray on some distilled vinegar and use a cloth to remove the grease. For more stubborn stains use a cream cleaner and a soft scourer.
  • Rinse off your gas burner rings in the sink and buff everything dry with a microfiber cloth.

Top-tip: Keep a cloth handy to wipe away any spillages on the go and use an old toothbrush to clean around the gas burner.

Odourless Fridge

Cleaning a fridge

It quickly becomes obvious that your fridge needs a clean, an odour hits you in the face as soon as you open the door, or you notice mould forming on one of your shelves.

To banish the smelly fridge blues, we’ve put together these simple ideas:

  • Before you fill the fridge with your weekly shop, clear everything out and wipe it down with cool soapy water and a cloth.
  • For a monthly deep clean, remove all the drawers and shelving and wipe down with a cool damp cloth and a small amount of sterilising fluid.
  • Wipe down the interior and pay attention to fiddly areas such as door seals – use an old toothbrush if needed.
  • If your shelves are glass, let them warm up to room temperature before cleaning with warm water in case they shatter.
  • Dry everything with an old tea towel.
  • To deodorise your fridge, leave open a box of baking soda for 24 hours to absorb the smell.
  • If your fridge has an ice maker make sure you clean it out at least once a month to avoid scented ice cubes!
  • Don’t forget to wipe down the exterior and buff up with a soft microfiber cloth.

Top-tip: A cotton bud can be used to clean the drip hole at he back to unclog any grime.

Immaculate Microwave

The dreaded microwave – it’s probably one of the grimiest appliances with splatters of food everywhere!  Here’s our super quick tip to ensure you microwave is smelling and looking spotless.

  • Fill a microwave safe bowl with 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar.
  • Cut open a fresh lemon and add it to the bowl or some drops of lemon juice to the water.
  • Put the microwave on high for around 4 minutes and remove with oven gloves.
  • Take the microwave plate out and wipe clean with warm water and wipe away any grime inside.
  • There you go – a fresh scented and super clean microwave!

Top-tip: If it’s a freestanding microwave, ensure that the vents aren’t covered so it doesn’t overheat. And always cover your food when heating it up so avoid mess.

Grime-free Dishwasher

The waft of a stagnant dishwasher is never a good thing and can sometimes be embarrassing especially if you’re entertaining guests. To avoid the awkwardness, follow this quick and easy guide:

  • To keep it healthy regularly rinse off food debris before loading the dishes.
  • Every couple of months rinse the filter at the bottom and run the machine with a cup of vinegar on the top rack to help fight odours, calcium build up and grease!
  • Alternatively sprinkle one cup of baking soda across the bottom of the dishwasher.

Top-tip: Take extra time cleaning the sprayer arm – food build-up can be the cause of your dishwasher not draining correctly.

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