Have you ever wondered how to clean a halogen oven?
One of the biggest draws of a halogen cooker is that most models feature a self-cleaning function that reduces the maintenance involved in keeping kitchen gadgets.
The self-cleaning capability of your halogen oven should take some of the work off your shoulders, so you can spend less time scrubbing and more time creating amazing meals. However, it is worth noting that using the wash setting might not be enough when there are stains and baked-on food splashes involved.
Here’s what you need to know about cleaning your cookers and removing even the most stubborn of stains.
What Is the Thaw/Wash on Halogen Ovens?
When you buy your halogen oven, you’ll notice that the cooker has a variety of features and modes to explore. These features aren’t always for cooking alone. There’s also a “thaw” function on most cookers that doubles as a cleaning mode.
To reduce the amount of kitchen spray and elbow grease that you must use on your unit, take advantage of its “wash” setting. Fill a glass bowl with around 2 inches of hot water. The water needs to be at a higher temperature to help get rid of any tough baking stains.
Put the glass bowl on the metal rack in your halogen oven and set the unit to the self-cleaning mode or thaw/wash. Remember, the reason you don’t use more than two inches of water is that it can boil and spill over into the oven’s internal elements.
Allow the product to clean itself for around ten minutes, or the time suggested in the instruction booklet, then turn the cleaning mode off.
Fully Cleaning Your Halogen Oven
If you have some tricky stains in your halogen oven – thanks to some complicated dishes or saucy recipes, then you might need to go beyond using just the self-cleaning function. Try rubbing some cloth around the inside of the oven when it’s cool, and see whether you can remove any of the baked-on dirt after you’re done with the self-cleaning mode.
Remember, you will need to give the oven a while to air out in your kitchen so that you don’t burn yourself with the heat of the water or the oven. Remove the water from the cooker with a set of towels or oven gloves. You can add a little kitchen spray to the towels you use to rub around the inside of the oven. Be careful to rinse the inside of the oven with clean water and a paper towel before you turn it on again.
Try to avoid using anything too corrosive or harsh on the heating ring or any other part of the halogen oven. Although some tips might suggest using scrubbing brushes, you could end up harming these halogen ovens if you use an abrasive cleanser.
If you’re struggling with difficult stains, add a little extra kitchen spray and consider giving the solution time to soak into the bacteria before you try washing again.
Cleaning the Halogen Oven Lid
Even if the self-cleaner function on your oven is perfect, and you don’t need to do any scrubbing after using the method mentioned above, it’s worth remembering that it’s not just the inside of the oven you need to maintain. As any articles on halogen cooking will tell you, it’s important to clean its lid and exterior, too.
The halogen lid is often the thing that you’ll experience the most stains and food debris with. Cleaning the lid properly will extend the life of your product – but be careful. The heating elements and electrics are contained within this lid.
Don’t submerge the entire lid in water, or you risk damaging the internal equipment and extender ring. With some models, you may be able to remove the heating element part and put the glass section of the lid in your dishwasher. If this isn’t the case, you’ll need to use a sponge or cloth to clean your lid instead.
Follow the cleaning instructions provided by the manufacturer to get your cooker up to the best hygiene standards. Give the lid ample time to dry before replacing it on the oven bowl, as this will reduce the risk of water harming the electrical parts.
Cleaning the Exterior of Your Halogen Oven
Once you’ve used the self-cleaning feature of your halogen oven to clean the internal elements, with the help of a glass bowl of water and some kitchen cleaning spray, remember to wash the exterior of the oven, too. The exterior can sometimes gather dust and dirt from cooking with other devices in your kitchen.
Using the glass bowl you had before for the internal oven cleaning session, you can use more hot water and a little kitchen cleaning spray to rub over any part of the outside that looks dirty. You can usually clean the exterior of a halogen oven at the same time you wash over any other appliances in your kitchens.
Remember to let the bowl of water cool a little before you dip any cloth into it, and avoid exposing any fans or internal heating elements to excess water. Do not put your halogen oven in the dishwasher unless you are advised to do so in the instructions. As many safety posts online should tell you, it’s usually not dishwasher safe. The way these devices are made with electricals, fan elements, and cooking components all connected together doesn’t support dishwashing.
Keeping Your Halogen Oven Clean
As countless posts and videos online suggest, learning how to clean a halogen oven can be a simple experience, provided that you have a bowl of water, a little over 10 minutes of time, and some basic cleaning spray. Take your time to clean all of the various parts of the oven – from the section covering the fan to the interior components – to keep it working perfectly.
Taking the time to regularly clean your oven doesn’t just ensure that your investment looks great, it can keep it working well in the long term, too.
