7.07.2013

How to Clean (and KEEP Clean) a Toaster Oven

Update 4/7/14: Hello and welcome! Since this is one of my most popular posts I wanted to give you a special welcome and also suggest that if you like what you read here then Check out some of my other posts and subscribe so don't miss any new ones! It's on the left (sorry it's not available in the mobile version) and I promise you won't receive any spam or advertisements. I hope to see you more often around here. ;)

Cleaning.... it's never-ending... literally. But there are ways to make it quick and easy so that you don't have to spend your entire day cleaning and missing out on fun! So here's a quick tip for those counter top toaster ovens. I don't know about everyone else but we use ours a lot.... instead of heating pizza in the microwave I throw it in the toaster oven (it's crispier rather than soggy) or toast or anything really that needs heating or crispiness. So over time it gets pretty grimy! I figured it need to be a part of my regular cleaning routine here's what I recommend for you guys to make it much easier!

For this first deep clean I:

  1. Removed the rack and the bottom pan 
  2. Soaked and scrubbed both with baking soda and vinegar (and my favorite, handy-dandy cleaning tool, a toothbrush). While these were soaking I made a vinegar, baking soda, lemon paste and used the toothbrush to scrub the rest of the oven. NOTE: Please unplug before you do any of this! Don't burn yourselves.... that will halt your cleaning for sure! 
  3. Scrubbed the door (both sides), the heating strips, the sides, bottom, outside buttons, etc.  
  4. Took a damp cloth over the entire oven and then followed up with a dry, clean cloth. 
  5. Once all pieces were clean I got out my aluminum foil.... pay attention... this is where you have an ah-ha moment and your future cleanings become so much easier! I wrapped foil around the pan that goes in the bottom of the oven. Yeeeeeah, that was anti-climatic but I swear this will make it easier. 
Along with the foiled pan if you wipe it down after each use then a deep clean is only needed once a month (or maybe a little longer depending on how much you use yours) and all you will have to do is a quick wipe down and replacement of the foil.

This literally takes less than 5 minutes! Hooray for quick and easy cleaning! :)


Keep an eye out for my next cleaning post... I am going to explain my methods and secrets to a clean home without spending hours each day cleaning! In fact I guarantee a clean home in 30 minutes or less each day.

What cleaning secrets do you have? Please share! I always look for new, improved ways!

<-Kassy->

 

14 comments:

  1. Great info - I'm not a massive fan of those toxic chemicals you can buy - using baking soda seems to be a pretty popular choice these days! I admittedly did resort to professional oven cleaner kent or oven cleaner birmingham based companies to do mine when it got bad until I read posts like this, so thank you! But I actually have a tip that I found really helped: EVERY time you use the cooker, just give it a quick wipe over, inside and out. I found a sponge (just water, nothing else) as the oven was cooling down to remove the spillages and grease from that cook really helped stop the build up and I don't reach that horrible black, baked on stage any more! Thanks for the advice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great tip! It is taking the extra 30 seconds to do things like that (wiping it down after each use) that makes cleaning easier and faster! :)

      Delete
  2. Can you tell me the amount if each ingredient to make the paste? I would like to try it on the inside of a toaster oven that looks really bad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Try starting with 1/4 to 1/3 cup vinegar, a few quits of lemon juice or juice from a quarter of a lemon. Next add baking soda slowly until it becomes a creamy paste. I like mine a little thinner than toothpaste!

      I hope this helps!

      Come back and visit again soon. :)

      Kassy

      Delete
  3. Most toaster oven manufacturers specifically say NOT to wrap the crumb tray in foil. The foil can cause the toaster oven to overheat and catch fire! Instead, it's safer to wrap the food in foil - the food will heat faster and the foil with still block spills, keeping your oven cleaner.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the article it was very informative. I clean my toaster oven on a regular basis and I've found that using compressed air duster really helps with cleaning out all the crumbs that get stuck in those hard to reach places.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Awesome. Glad to see a natural paste & this sounds super do able. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Now that is the thing that I call an enormous blog. Flawlessly composed.Emily

    ReplyDelete
  8. If you want your best toasters to work properly for years, you will need to take good care of it. And who says care, says a good regular cleaning.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Really the blogging is spreading its wings rapidly. Your write up is a fine example of it. Cleaners London

    ReplyDelete
  10. I was giving the toaster oven that uses a crumb tray. My last one didn't and so we started using it almost right out of the box. Now it's a mess at the bottom and there's no way to open it up to clean it. HELP!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Pondering, "How frequently would it be a good idea for me to clean oven?"? All things considered, that relies upon how regularly your broiler is utilized. In the event that your stove is utilized consistently, you should make it a piece of your month to month cleaning normal, as well as cleaning it down week by week. Obviously, the best activity when you have spills in the stove is to wipe them up quickly, before the spills become heated on. Prepared on food and oil can make the stove smoke and smell unpleasant, accordingly influencing the taste and smell of the food.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is really my most un-main thing from cleaning the stove. I filled a bowl with some dish cleanser, wet a microfiber material, and ran it along every one of the rungs on the rack. I likewise stirred up a little glue of cream of tartar and hydrogen peroxide to use on the extra consumed on, soiled regions. It didn't actually appear to do any preferred a task over the preparing soft drink glue that I had utilized previously however perhaps I simply needed more persistence with cleaning. And the best oven cleaners are all you need.

    ReplyDelete