How To Look After Your Oven to Avoid a Christmas Breakdown

Turkey In Oven For Christmas

Your oven is the star of your kitchen on Christmas day. Without it there would be no turkey, no roast potatoes and no pigs in blankets. This situation doesn’t bear thinking about so it’s worth looking after your oven in the run up to the big day.

Here’s how to make sure your oven is working well so you can cook Christmas dinner with no hiccups.

Element

How do you know if your oven element is about to fail? If there are glowing hot spots on the element itself or your oven is cooking very unevenly it could be a sign the element is on its way out. If your oven light and fan are working but no heat is being produced the most likely cause is a failed element. However, if your element is failing or has failed, replacing it is one of the most easy appliance fixes out there so you can definitely do it yourself. Our video shows you which parts you need to unscrew and re-screw to get the job done:

Door Seal

A loose door seal can also affect the efficiency of your oven as hot air will be able to escape through it. If this happens, your oven will have to work harder to stay hot, putting pressure on the internal parts and using more energy. If the air escaping is very hot it could even melt the knobs on your cooker. Replace loose seals to bring your oven back to full working order:

 

Clean

A clean oven and hob work better, whereas a dirty oven can affect the taste of your food. You don’t want bits of burnt food falling from your oven walls onto your stuffing! A really greasy dirty oven could even be at risk of setting alight. A dedicated oven cleaner and scourer will clean your oven up nicely, or if you prefer not to use chemicals you can use store cupboard ingredients instead like baking powder, white vinegar, lemon juice and warm water. Once your oven is clean, you can put a reusable baking sheet at the bottom for easy future cleaning.

If you’d like to go one step cleaner and remove the glass panels on your oven door to clean off the burnt on grease between them, follow these steps to remove the door:

 

Light

Most ovens have a helpful light inside them so you can see when your food is cooked, but if the bulb has blown in yours it can easily be replaced. If you’ve ever successfully changed a light bulb in your home you are well equipped to change one in your oven. It really is just as simple and the same safety rules apply. Don’t work with live electrics, unplug your appliance before you begin your fix and pay attention to how you take the light bulb out to help you put the replacement bulb back in more easily. Here’s our demonstration of just how easy it can be:

 

Should something unexpected happen to your oven, or any of your appliances, right before Christmas, we’re here to help you. You can order up until 23rd December and still receive your part in time for Christmas with our Saturday delivery option.

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