No one likes it when their appliances break down. It never happens at a good time. You never need to find someone to do your refrigerator repairs or washing machine repairs when no one is around. It always seems you have to call someone to come out to fix them when you have all of your family visiting for the holidays. Just as you start to cook that big dinner, you find something is not right with your oven and you need someone to come in to do oven repairs.
The good news is that you can prevent yourself from needing oven repairs by taking simple steps to keep it working well. Your oven should last you more than a decade if you take care of it the right way.
- Make sure you clean your oven on a regular basis. The frequency with which you clean your oven is really determined by how often you use it. For instance, if you use your range every day, you need to take some time to clean it every day. If you cook with your oven all of the time, you need to clean it more often than if you never use it. Most people can get away with doing a thorough oven cleaning once every six months. Pay attention to your oven and clean it as you think it needs it.
- Be careful when you use the self cleaning feature on your oven. This is a great feature and if your oven has it, you should use it. You need to make sure you follow the instructions that were written up by your oven’s manufacturer. Your oven should have come with an owner’s manual, you should refer back to that before you go to use this. This is a great way to prevent needing oven repairs to be made on your unit. Make sure you can be home when you start the self cleaning process and can sty there until it is complete. It is never a good idea to leave you oven on when you are not home. After the cleaning cycle is complete, you need to give your oven about six hours before you wipe it all off.
- Leave your oven knobs alone. When you are cleaning your oven and stove, do not remove the knobs. Many people who handle oven repairs report that they get called into fix problems causes when people try to clean under these knobs. Basically, the cleaner gets into the electrical system of the oven or stove and causes a host of problems that can be avoided. You can also cause an electrical fire or suffer serious injuries when you do this.
- When you clean the oven by hand, unplug it first. When you are going to go in and do your oven cleaning by hand, you need to put safety first and unplug it before you start any of your work. Most people end up using a lot of water when they clean an oven by hand and everyone knows that electricity and water do not play well together. Any oven with a power source needs to be unplugged before you clean it. This is as much a safety issue as a way to prevent needing oven repairs. One good way to clean the oven is to use a solution of baking soda and water. Follow that up with liquid dish washing soap (it is great to get rid of grease). Finish your cleaning with a vinegar and water solution to kill germs and leave your oven looking shiny and new.
- Pay attention to your burners. From time to time, you should look at the coils for your burners and have any that have become damaged replaced. When these coils are damaged, they can cause a short and then you will have to have oven repairs done. You can do more damage to your stove if you keep using your burners that are damaged. It is always a good idea to pay some attention to your burners to keep your stove working properly.
Most people dread the idea of needing oven repairs, dryer repairs or dishwasher repairs but they can all be avoided with preventative maintenance.
