Ever wondered about how to clean home appliances without damaging it and increase its longevity? Do you want to learn the right techniques and ways to clean general home appliances like oven, mixer grinder, refrigerator etc? This post is for you.
We use a wide variety of home appliances in our day to day living. These home appliances (both electrical and non electrical) needs regular cleaning and maintenance to keep them up and running. But you know what cleaning home appliances is one such task that we don’t feel like doing. But honestly, this is not something that we should ignore.
Home appliances, especially the kitchen appliances like oven, mixer, refrigerator, microwave oven, stove etc needs additional maintenance apart from regular cleaning with a damp cloth or sponge, to avoid grim buildups. Unless you clean home appliances regularly, apart from damaging it, you are also ignoring the hygiene which may turn out to be costlier in long run.
But it is difficult, only till the time you don’t know the right techniques of cleaning these kitchen appliances. But let me tell you one thing, when you know how to clean home appliances the right way, you can clean it like a pro without sweating or getting tired or irritated. I am sharing some useful house cleaning tips in this post to help you get started with cleaning of home and kitchen appliances.
So are you ready? Let’s get started.
Stove top and oven cleaning
The best way to clean stove and ovens is to apply vinegar or soapy water to wipe the surface. It is better if you make a habit of wiping the spills quickly after every time you cook something heavy, thereby preventing the spills to form buildups and make the surface greasy. You can also use baking soda or some commercial oven cleaner for this purpose.
For stubborn food spills and dried sauce. Apply a solution consisting of vinegar and baking soda in equal proportions and scrub the marks away from the coils.
Microwave cleaning
Baked food often sticks to the walls of your microwave. The best way to remove them is to use a microwave friendly bowl, fill water in it and boil it until the vapor gets emitted and the steam sticks to the wall of the microwave and loosens the gunk. Then wipe it gently.
For hard cleaning activities like removing rigid marks by spilled foods and grease, you can use ammonia. Although many of us tends to avoid its use due to its pungent smell, but this powerful smell can overcome the smoke and other dirty smells present in it.
How to apply it?
We should take precaution while using it as it is a strong acid. Place a glass dish with 1/2 cup of full-strength ammonia. Close the oven and let it be their overnight. The next day the grime on the oven walls should be loosened sufficiently to be easily wiped away with a damp sponge.
Mixer and grinder cleaning
Make sure whether the mixer’s beaters are made of stainless steel or brushed aluminum as the detergent can react with it and discolor it. The beater might appear as plastic which might actually be made of aluminum with a nonstick coating. It should not be washed with the dish water either.
Refrigerator cleaning
The back of the refrigerator is the scariest part to clean; first of all you will find few wall lizards behind it then a whole lot cobwebs and even fat spiders (yuck). To start with cleaning it, pull out the refrigerator and mop its rear side carefully make sure to switch the power off. Then, vacuum refrigerator coils behind or beneath your fridge, It will reduce the stress on your fridge’s motor and prolong its life.
To start with wet cleaning, apply a solution of white vinegar and water in equal proportions and dip a cloth to the solution and gently clean both the interior and exterior of the fridge. Repeat this process whenever you find a fresh spot or marks in the surface of the fridge.
Cleaning the Freezer
Cleaning the freezer is often a exasperating task especially if defrost is not working properly. And the foul smell of the fish and mutton make it even worse. A probable solution to this is to find the drain hole from where the ice get defrosted and apply a solution of one teaspoon baking soda in two cups hot water, by putting it in a baster, and squirt it into the hole.
Let’s discuss about various methods of cleaning these appliances as different materials are used for the manufacturing of these appliances. So we should properly read the manuals before applying any chemical on an attempt to clean them.
Before starting with the cleaning tips I will recommend you to get a kitchen chimney. If it is beyond your budget, then go for an exhaust fan that can effectively protect your kitchen appliances and wall from the smoke and sticky oil dirt that is emitted during cooking. It will reduce your cleaning work significantly.
Never try to forcefully pry off the ice with a knife or other sharp tool; it might severely damage your refrigerator. Instead, turn off the fridge, and melt the ice with a fan or a hair dryer set on low.
Over to you
Like all the other things in the world you can save yourself from the burden of heavy cleaning if you regularly maintain and clean your appliances. Don’t procrastinate your cleaning activity, rather maintain regularity.
It can take some time and planning, but cleaning appliances regularly will leave your kitchen looking great, smelling fresh and hygienic for preparing food and avoid attracting pests like ants or flies.
