Maintaining Your Kitchen Range

To ensure the longevity of your kitchen range/stove and oven, as well as see that it continues to operate and perform properly, a little preventative maintenance and cleaning never hurts. Not all of us can afford to pay for a maintenance plan along with an extended warranty when we purchase that new kitchen range so cleanliness and preventative maintenance are critical issues. If affordable, purchasing a maintenance plan from that manufacturer is always the recommended course of action as this could save you hundreds of dollars in the long run,

Cleaning that range on a regular basis is the key to ongoing problem-free operation and performance. It is also critical when it comes to energy efficiency. Other than this, there are very few repair jobs that the average homeowner is capable of performing. This is due primarily to the fact that a thorough knowledge and understanding of that appliance is required, and oftentimes, the information is just too technical for you or me.

There are certain maintenance and repair aspects that the average homeowner can perform if they have kept their hands on the ownerโ€™s manual that came with that range when they purchased it. These would include:

– adjusting the leveler feet beneath the range to correct any uneven cooking
– relighting a pilot
– replacing door gaskets

Other things that you need to be aware of are positions of the racks inside the oven, as well as checking circuit breakers and fuses.

Additionally, if you have an electric range and one of the heating elements needs cleaning or stops operating, these are fairly easy to clean and/or replace. Make sure you unplug it from the power source before attempting to clean or replace the elements as well as performing any other maintenance. And by all means, should you doubt your abilities and skills at doing any of this, you should always call an appliance repair specialist to address the problem.

– Avoid using commercial oven cleaners. Most of these are way too harsh for the surface and will damage it over time. Ammonia is still one of the better substances to clean with.

– Burner controls and other knobs need to be washed regularly. When removing food build-up and grease, be careful not to scrub them too hard as their markings can come off.

– Reflector bowls on gas ranges need to be cleaned on a regular basis. Not only will they be more eye-pleasing, your range will cook more efficiently.

– Clean up those spills the minute they happen. The surface of the cook top or the interior of the oven are subject to damage from certain acidic foods such as tomato products. So these should be addressed immediately once they occur.

– The gas burners and grates should also be part of the cleaning regimen. This is just common sense and helps you to cook in a more energy-efficient manner.

– Never use abrasive materials to clean with. All too often, people use an abrasive cleanser such as Ajax or Comet to clean the stove top and oven with. The result is that those surfaces can easily be scratched by abrasive materials so avoid using them. For cooked-on gunk, use a mixture of baking soda and water.

Remember, preventative maintenance is the key to energy-efficient operation with any home appliance. Besides that, cleaning your kitchen range on a regular basis will extend the life of the appliance as well.

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