Tuesday 8 December 2015

How Soon Can You Use Your Oven After Cleaning It?

Image credit: Pimasuro
I read an article how things like burnt or well-done potatoes, toast or other starchy foods release chemicals that can cause cancer.

So when I noticed a bunch of burnt bits in the oven I thought it might be time to give it a good scrub-down, especially when in the past few weeks I’ve heard multiple sad stories from lovely folks at work whose loved ones have been diagnosed with cancer.

The problem is the heavy duty cleaner I used left a lingering smell, even after I left the oven door open for hours. So I was then left worrying about toxic chemicals of a different kind.

And they say no good deed goes unpunished.

Anyway, as usual there’s always someone else in the same predicament and after a bit of research online, I found a foolproof solution to get rid of the chemical smell that lingers when you give your oven a good clean:

Give the oven one last wipe-down with a damp cloth to get rid of any residual cleaner. Then switch on your (empty) oven and let it warm up, kinda like how you’re supposed to pre-heat the oven before you cook something (let’s be honest though, who really does that?). After about 15 minutes, the smell should disappear. 

It may take a couple of goes, but the smell does eventually fade after a few uses.

My attempts at cooking usually end in disaster (hence why the oven gets a lot of use). I thought cleaning was my forte for sure, but apparently not. 

2 comments:

  1. I've read that vinegar is great for dissolving chemical aftermath, yet not sure that I like the idea of malted acid stinking my oven out either!. My best suggestion is to thoroughly scrub oven with a wire scour pad and plenty of hot soapy water (twice max), then rinse twice with plain old fashioned cold water. I never clean any of the inside elements of my cooker, wouldn't recommend this to anyone unless you know what you are doing, yet only the inside space surrounding them.

    Your article is informative yet also comical - fanning the caustic soda flames with a bit of scorch, sort of gets you thinking of how people in medieval times used those curious fire bellows to waft some air about a furnace to banish chimney soot - so far we have come today that we must contend instead with hydrochloric venom!.

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    1. Haha thanks for the tip! Yes, it does make you wonder if modern appliances really do make your life easier...or instead, cause you more problems with their maintenance.

      Maybe they were doing it right in the good ole' days.

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