Like any other appliances at home, your oven also needs a TLC. But no matter how careful you are in cleaning and cooking, with all the dust, dirt, drops of oils, and other kinds of cooking residues, it can still get dirtier with time.  

There are tons of information about proper oven cleaning you can find online. But with the influx of information, such as the best practices, tips and tricks, and more, there are mistakes that you can make. These mistakes don’t cause fire and other accidents, but it is still essential to be mindful of these things to avoid future problems. 

Inadequate Cleaning 

One of the most common problems in oven cleaning is not doing it as frequently as you should. Grimes and dirt will have more time to build up. As a result, the lifespan of your oven will shorten. In worse cases, this may result in a risk of oven fires.  

Cleaning your oven regularly has many advantages. The more time you spend with cleaning, the easier it gets and less effort it needs. Giving it a quick wipe–up every after cooking and deep cleaning once a week can make cleaning effortless.   

Your meals can also benefit from regular cleaning. You can be sure that the meals you feed your family are safe. If you are cooking with an uncleaned oven, the dust and grimes left from previous cooking can alter your new dish’s aroma and taste.  

Using unsafe cleaning solutions 

Many popular commercial cleaning products are readily available in the market. But as much as possible, we recommend using natural cleaning products. Also, do it frequently so you will not resort to buying strong products that are harsh to your oven and harmful to your health and the environment. Using natural cleaning products such as baking soda and vinegar is much cheaper and safer than any other store-bought cleaning chemicals. 

Cleaning at the wrong time 

According to experts, the best time to clean your oven is when you will not use it for a long time, such as after dinner or Sunday afternoon. It is because some cleaning methods will require you to keep your oven turned on for a long time, so you will not be allowed to cook. It is also crucial to keep your children, pets, and other family members away from the kitchen while cleaning with the oven turned on. 

Doing ‘little’ mistakes frequently 

It’s pretty normal to make mistakes when working in the kitchen, such as neglecting the timer, leaving spills uncleaned, and not using cooking sheets. But minimizing these mistakes is a tremendous help in keeping your oven clean and working correctly for a long time.  

Disregarding your oven’s self-cleaning function 

Most modern ovens feature self-cleaning functions and can be a great help to lighten your cleaning load. Although it may not clean perfectly as your cleaning session, it can serve its purpose as long as you give it time to do its thing.  

For a modern oven to self-clean, it needs to heat up to extreme temperatures to burn all the leftovers and dirt. It is necessary to take extra precautions when using this feature. Keep your children and pets out, and open up the windows to promote better ventilation inside your kitchen. It is also helpful to check your oven’s specific instructions, especially if you haven’t used its self-cleaning feature before.