DESIDERATA

Time to tackle these bad boys. I intentionally haven’t cleaned mine for months just so I could relate. Yeah, that’s totally why. Also, I found a tatertot in the bottom of my oven that was basically a charcoal briquette but still recognizable as a tatertot. So whatever preservatives they put in those things has me seriously re-thinking my dietary choices. Which means I will now feel extra levels of guilt when I cook them but will proceed to do it routinely anyway. Because mom life.

The non-negotiables:

• Pull out any appliances you can. Yup. Just do it and scrub the sides, back, floors, cabinets, etc. I might not clean the inside of my oven often but I do the outside and it doesn’t matter if it’s been 2 weeks or 2 years, it never fails to horrify me. After one extended travel, I pulled it out and found a family of mice. True story. After the shock wore off, it was replaced with utter horror and a strong desire to call that hoarders tv show. Point is, it gets scary back there. Give it a good scrub with some all-purpose cleaner.
• Oven. Take out the racks and leave them to soak in a sink/tub of warm water and dish soap while you scrub the rest. I hear lots of recommendations for lemon juice or baking soda to do the deep clean. I’m personally a fan of the pink stuff paste. For most solutions, you can just rub the mixture into the surface and then wipe it off. In theory. I find it takes a little elbow grease and a toothbrush or spin scrubber to really get it done. But actually clean it, don’t just set the self cleaning function or use a harsh chemical like easy off. Does it work? Yes. Does it do more harm over time? Also yes. Scrub the top and your dials.
• Dishwasher. Remove any moving pieces you can easily and empty the filter. Your dishwasher manual should have instructions on how to do this but YouTube is also a wonderland for figuring it out. Scrub down in there, put it all back, and then run a cleaning cycle with a gentle cleanser (I like Affresh). Wipe down the outside with all purpose cleaner, paying special attention to all those little seams around the handle. A cotton swab dipped in cleaner does wonders for me.
• Microwave. Give it a good wipe down with soapy water. If you need more oomph, try the pink stuff cleaning paste. Use a toothbrush and warm water over those little holes (what are those things called, anyway?) and around the seams and edges. Then wipe down the front with all purpose cleaner. Don’t forget in/around the handle!

The maybe negotiables:

• Replace broken parts. Is the handle on the dishwasher loose? Does the oven have a broken dial? Order replacement parts or conduct fixes now.

Smarter, not harder (smart home integration):

• Connect any smart appliances. We talked about this already but turns out, those are pretty handy and I wish I had done mine years ago.

Maintenance:

• Run the dishwasher every day. You’ll be shocked at how clean it seems to keep the whole kitchen.
• Wipe down any immediate spills, especially in the microwave.
• Steam clean the oven weekly. My oven has a steam cleaning feature I can just set and go and it loosens all the gunk so it’s easy to just wipe out for a quick clean. You can also just heat up a pan of water and then wipe out anything that’s come loose.
• Deep clean once a month. Run your dishwasher cleaning cycle, clean behind the oven, the whole nine yards. Set a reminder in your calendar for every month to be the chore of the day!

Your turn:

What are your ways to keep those appliances clean and lasting for years?

Now let’s get to it!