Dirty toasters pose a serious fire hazard. Photo: Flickr
The toaster is one of these appliances that we often neglect cleaning. Although we use it every morning for a quick breakfast, we don’t pay attention to it, until it clogged with bread crumbs and covered with dirt. So next time you clean your kitchen, spare 30 minutes and make your toaster shine.
Check also: How to Clean Your Oven Like a Pro
7 Easy Steps for Cleaning the Toaster
Cleaning a toaster is much like cleaning your kitchen oven – there are burnt food chunks and sometimes even old grease splashes on the outside. Fortunately, the toaster is a lot easier and faster to handle. You will need:
- Small brush
- Warm water
- Dishwashing liquid
- Sponge
- Vacuum Cleaner
- 2 clean cloths
- White distilled vinegar
Instructions:
1. Turn on your toaster and let it run empty. If there are some bigger bread crumbs inside, they will become crumbly and it will be easier to remove them. Turn off the toaster and let it cool completely before starting to clean it.
2. There will be a lot of crumbs, so bring your toaster over the sink, or cover the table with some newspapers and work over it. Take out the tray inside, and throw the loose bread crumbs. If your toaster doesn’t have removable crumb tray, just turn it upside down and shake it until most of the crumbs fall. Even if your toaster has a tray, you can still do this step – there will be some crumbs trapped inside.
3. Take the tray to the kitchen sink and fill it with warm, soapy water. If there are crumbles and burnt spots on the tray, soaking it will loosen the dirt. Leave it like this for 15 minutes and after the time is up – clean the tray using a sponge and rinse it well. You can also use a thick paste made of baking soda and water to clean these burnt spots. Allow it to dry completely, before putting it back in the toaster.
4. Take a small brush (or a medium sized hard bristle painting brush) and use it to get to the corners and hard to reach corners of your toaster. Run the vacuum to collect the remaining crumbs.
5. Dip a clean cloth in soapy water and wipe the exterior of the toaster. Pay extra attention to the knobs and buttons – they usually get sticky and collect a lot of dust and dirt. If your toaster exterior is stainless steel take a dry clean cloth, dip it in white distilled vinegar and polish the surface.
6. If the inside of your toaster is scorched and dirty too, you might have to wipe it several times with damp sponge to loosen the dirt. After this apply oven cleaner, wait for a few minutes, depending on your product, and wipe with a clean damp sponge. If you don’t want to use commercial cleaners you can try 1 of these 5 DIY oven cleaner recipes.
7. Put back the crumb tray after it dries completely and you’re done!
At last, but not least – if you don’t have the time to clean as thoroughly as you want, but you still want your kitchen to be impeccably cleaned, you can always turn to a professional home cleaning company to do the job for you. Our domestic cleaners in London can help you deal with tedious tasks such as fridge or oven cleaning, dusting, window washing and more.
