Most people don’t really put a lot of thought behind how they are using their oven. You simply prep a dish, heat the oven, throw it in, and walk away until it’s ready. However, if you scratch out the basic maintenance steps that are vital to keep your oven in good working order as it gradually ages – it’s no surprise that ovens can break down and cost you a pretty penny to repair.
So, to help you save a bit of money and keep your oven working flawlessly for as long as possible, here are our top 5 tips on using your unit the right way!
1. When In Doubt, Go For The Middle
Where your oven rack is placed is actually a tad more important than you likely realize. Food that is placed on the lower rack will have a bottom that is browner. On the other hand, dishes placed on the top rack are going to have a crispier top.
So, what do you do when you are not sure? Use the middle rack!
The center rack will allow for heat to be evenly distributed, resulting in better browning for the entire dish thanks to the fact that the heat will be distributed more evenly.
2. Don’t Put Foil On The Bottom
When you put foil on the bottom of your oven it can cause many problems. First and foremost, it can create hot spots. This results in food cooking unevenly or too fast. Additionally, foil can become stuck to the bottom of the oven over time, which will likely void your warranty and make repairs an absolute nightmare – which will ultimately cost you more in labour.
It’s also worthwhile to keep in mind that if you’ve got a gas oven – foil blocks air circulation. In turn, this hinders the cooking process and can even cause carbon monoxide poisoning in some extreme cases.
3. Don’t Leave Spills Uncleaned
Look, it happens to everyone, a dish spills over into the bottom of the oven and you just leave it there hoping that it will bake/burn itself off.
However, that’s actually a horrible idea!
Most oven spills would simply get caked up and harden, making them awfully difficult to clean, and ultimately causing more damage to your oven the longer they’re left there.
While the oven is cool enough, or at some regular interval, make sure to wipe away any spills or crumbs. Leaving these uncleaned can ruin the heating elements and possibly the oven liner.
4. Don’t Leave The Racks In While Using The Self-Clean Function
The self clean feature of an oven is great. However, when you use this feature it is important to make sure that you take the racks out of the oven. If you leave the racks in the oven, it can damage the oven liner coating. The high heat that is used for the cleaning cycle can also discolor the racks themselves, which over time can make them more difficult to pull out and move. Remove the racks from the oven, run the cleaning cycle, and then clean the racks with a mixture of vinegar and baking soda before putting them back inside.
5. Oven Gasket
The oven gasket is something that most people simply don’t think about when it comes to the list of things you’d need to keep an eye on over the years. However, if the gasket is damaged it can cause heat to escape the oven.
When this occurs, the temperature of the oven will fluctuate and it won’t cook your food as well/consistently as you’d expect. Additionally, this wastes energy as the oven will have to work harder in order to maintain the temperature you’ve set.
If you notice moisture on the glass door of the oven, this is a tell-tale sign that you have a damaged gasket. You should keep the gasket clean and make sure that you are checking it at least once per month. If you notice any type of damage you will want to replace the gasket as soon as possible.
Need A Helping Hand With Your Oven?
Whether you’d like a little help with some regular maintenance, or a professional to help you with repairing your broken oven – Once Click Appliance Repair is here to help!
Our expert appliance technicians service the entire Lower Mainland of Vancouver, BC and we work 7-days-a-week to help you get your broken appliances back on track quickly, efficiently, and affordably.
Fill out our quick online form or give us a call at 604-670-3983 to get a quote and book a same-day or next-day service appointment.
