During the holidays and in your daily routine, the dishes you prepare for family and friends wreck your kitchen. You know your oven and range exhaust need a little TLC, but doing so requires a time commitment and some elbow grease to put down the stubborn stuck on food and grease. Check out these steps to help make cleaning your oven and exhaust range just a little easier.
Oven Cleaning Made Easy
1. To begin, preheat your oven to 150 degrees Fahrenheit while you put a large pot of water to boil.
2. Once the desired temperature is reached, turn off your oven and pour one cup of ammonia into an oven safe dish and place it on the top rack of the oven. Place the boiling pot of water on the bottom oven rack.
3. Close the oven door and let them sit overnight.
4. The following morning, remove both dishes of liquid, saving the ammonia for later use. Remove all of the oven racks and allow the oven to air out for about 15 minutes.
5. Add a tablespoon or two of liquid dish soap to the ammonia pot removed earlier and add some warm water to the mixture. Using a coarse, heavy-duty scrubbing pad, begin to wipe away the softened stuck on food and grease almost effortlessly with the solution. After this is done, your oven should be squeaky clean and ready for your next meal.
Range Exhaust Dirty? No Problem!
Have you ever stuck your head above your stove and looked up? Chances are you'll see a pretty disgusting range exhaust filter just clogged with grease. Many people overlook this area when cleaning their kitchens. However, this is an area that needs a lot of attention. Lucky for you, cleaning it isn't the hard part. You'll only need three ingredients: baking soda, boiling water, and a good degreasing soap.
1. First, you need to pull out the filter from the hood. Usually, they will detach or slide out of the hood easily. Then, fill your sink with boiling water.
2. Add a few squirts of dish soap and a quarter-cup of baking soda to the hot water. Then stick the filter into the soapy mixture. Ensure that the filter stays completely submerged.
3. Allow the filters to soak for 10 minutes then scrub them with a non-abrasive scrub brush to get off any tough grease.
4. Once the grease is removed, rinse the filter in hot water and dry thoroughly.
5. Repeat this cleaning method at least once a month to keep your range exhaust filters clean while cooking.
My biggest tip? Don't let these appliances get out of hand. A quick wipe down each night can save you hours of deep cleaning come spring.