Oven Maintenance Tips

While cleaning your oven is important, there are a variety of things that you can do to ensure the long-term health of your appliance, some of which you might not have thought of. In this article, we will be going through those checks so you can get the most out of your oven.

Check your timer

This first tip is more of a quick fix. If you’re finding that your oven won’t switch on, even though it was in tip-top shape before, there’s a good chance that it could be to do with the timer. Specifically, you may have set the timer to auto. This can often happen after a power outage, so it might not have been something you’ve done yourself.

To fix this, you’ll just have to reset the clock to the correct time. As the process for this will differ from oven to oven, it’s best to refer to your manual.

Clean the interior

Cleaning the interior of your oven is arguably the most important check that you will perform, as this will combat the risk of char buildup. The best way to clean your oven is to use a specific oven cleaning detergent, which can usually be bought as part of a kit.

A word of warning: if your oven has self-cleaning panels, make sure that you do not use any detergents or other cleaning agents on them. If your oven has a pyrolytic cleaning function, it’s best to check the manual first.

Inspect the doors

Door misalignment isn’t a common problem, but it can make achieving and maintaining the correct temperature difficult for you oven. Perform a visual inspection and make sure that the door doesn’t drop when opened. If the hinges appear to be loose, you will want to call an engineer to get this fixed.

Check the seals

Your oven’s seals help to retain heat once a temperature has been reached, so it’s important to check that they are in good condition every now and again.

Some seals are hooked into place and may become loose after a while. To fix this, you can just hook them back into their corresponding holes. If they are attached to the oven itself, it may be best to contact an engineer.

Your hob

When it comes to keeping your hob clean, prevention really is worth a pound of cure.  Always make sure that the bottoms of pots and saucepans are dry when you put them on the hob, as this will stop the char transferring and creating a bigger problem.

If you have a ceramic glass hob, we would advise against using glass or copper cookware. This is because glass is known to shatter at high temperatures, and copper has the propensity to melt. Stick to stainless steel and cast iron and you’ll avoid any unnecessary accidents.