Dishwasher

Cleaning Dishwashers

The dishwasher’s job is to clean your dishes , but it can get pretty dirty in the process. Here’s how to keep your dishwasher sanitary and fresh:

  • Baking soda comes in handy when the dishwasher needs a clean-up. Dip a cloth into the baking soda, and use it to clean smudges from the exterior. The same technique will also eliminate stains from the liner. Use an artificial scouring pad to clean stubborn soil.
  • Clean out hard water stains, freshen, and glisten the inside of the dishwasher by running a normal load using any type of powdered lemonade mix. The ascorbic acid in the powder helps to clean the dishwasher.
  • If the inside of your dishwasher has odors, drop 3 tablespoons of baking soda in the base of the machine and let it sit overnight. By the next morning, the odors will be eliminated. Use a sponge to wipe away the excess baking soda.

Cleaning Ovens

There are many tough cleaning products intended to clean standard ovens. Nevertheless, many oven cleaners are hazardous when they come in contact with your skin or eyes. Wear rubber gloves, and protect your hands while cleaning. Don’t inhale the spray mist or the vapors. Avoid dripping the cleaner on any surfaces other than those it is intended to clean. Cautiously read and follow the manufacturer’s directions when you use a commercial grade oven cleaner.

When you clean a conventional oven, protect the heating elements, oven wiring, and thermostat from commercial grade oven cleaners with aluminum foil.

Many ovens/stoves are outfitted with self-cleaning system. A self-cleaning oven uses a pyrolytic, or high heat, system to burn up oven filth, creating a chalky ash. A continuous-cleaning, or catalytic, system eliminates small spatters through the porcelain-enamel finish on the oven liner, which absorbs and spreads dirt to promote cleaning at normal temperature settings. Hefty spills must be wiped up; they will burn and may stain the oven surface. Dust continuous-cleaning ovens weekly and self-cleaning ovens after the cleaning cycle, the best way to clean this up is using the dusting attachment of your vacuum to take out dried food particles or ash.

Follow the manufacturer’s directions when using the cleaning cycle of a self-cleaning oven, and follow the manufacturer’s recommendations to care for a continuous-cleaning oven. Neither kind of oven should be cleaned with commercial grade oven cleaners. Continuous-cleaning ovens should never be cleaned with abrasives or powdered cleansers; these products will harm the surface.

Oven racks that have baked-on blackened areas can be cleaned by “scorching” off the soot with ammonia vapors. Just lay the racks on old towels in your bathtub. Fill the tub with warm water and 1/2 cup ammonia, and let it sit 1/2 hour. Be sure the bathroom is well ventilated. Make sure to rinse off thoroughly.

Oven
Fridge

The final item on the list is the refrigerator. Below are a few tips to help you clean he refrigerator easeier and quickly:

  • A frost-free refrigerator should be cleaned about every four to six months. Clean a manual-defrost refrigerator when you defrost the freezer compartment.
  • Wipe down the drip pan whenever you defrost or clean your refrigerator.
  • Defrost the freezer section of your refrigerator when the frost gets to be a 1/2-inch thick. Turn off the freezer, and take out all food. Take out shelves, bins, racks, and trays, and clean them in a gentle soap solution. Dry thoroughly.
  • Do not put food back into the freezer until you have wiped off any frost that develops and the freezer has been running for at least a 1/2 hour. Wipe the interior of the refrigerator to avoid puddles from remaining in the bottom when you replace the bins.
  • Vacuum the dust behind the bottom grille of your refrigerator at least once every six months.
  • Control refrigerator odors with a box of baking soda placed at the back of a shelf.
  • Commercial grade kitchen cleaners will take out smudges and dirt and leave a protective wax coating on the exterior of the refrigerator, but baking soda will also clean and shine your refrigerator. Rub the exterior with a cloth dipped in baking soda , rinse well, and dry with a soft cloth.

Cleaning Microwaves

Is your microwave looking rough? We have some ways to freshen it up:

  • Use a gentle dish soap, detergent, baking soda , or glass cleaner to clean the inside of the microwave, and wipe down the glass tray in the sink or in dish soap when if it is mucky.
  • Never ever use a commercial grade oven cleaner in a microwave oven.
  • If your microwave is splashed with greasy buildup and old food particles, place a glass measuring cup with 1 cup water and 1/4 cup vinegar inside microwave. Microwave on high for 3 minutes, and then take out the measuring cup and wipe the inside of the oven with a damp sponge.
  • Freshen the smell of your microwave by keeping a dish of vinegar inside of it overnight. If there is still an order, change vinegar and repeat the process nightly until the odor is gone.

Cleaning Range Hoods

Many ranges have built-in range hoods above their cooking surfaces or detached range hoods. Range hoods are usually vented to the exterior of the home and take out grease, steam, and cooking odors from the kitchen. Some hoods do not have outside vents and rely on disposable charcoal filters to remove smoke and bad odors from the air. Both vented and non-vented hoods have fans to draw air and smoke from the cooking area, and both need to be cleaned to keep them free from grease buildup and working efficiently.

  • Wipe down the exterior and interior of the range hood regularly. When you need to give it a thorough scrub, use a solution of ammonia to cut the grease, hot water, dish soap and detergent; wear rubber gloves.
  • This solution will make the odors disappear and sanitize the hood.
  • Take out the filter cover, and wipe it down with foamy hot water. Allow it to dry entirely before replacing. Wipe the blades of the fan with the ammonia solution as mentioned above.
  • Clean metal mesh filters when they are filthy, and replace the filters on non-vented range hoods every six to nine months or as often as the manufacturer suggests.
Microwave

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