Odors
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did you know that certain odors--ammonia for instance--can cause physical pain? The majority of smells---per urine, refrigerator odors, the lingering stench of cooked fish--simply cause mental anguish, which in some ways is worse. But trying to remove odors can really addle the brain, because you're trying to clean something you can't see. Masking the smell with perfumes and air fresheners is only a temporary solution. To truly quell a smell, you must remove that causes the smell--and do it promptly and completely. The key is patience.
If you have a culinary disaster in the oven and the kitchen fills with smoke, exchange the sooty, smelly air with fresh air. Turn off the oven. If the stove has an exhaust fan, turn it on high. Open windows to create cross-ventilation. (Windows on opposite sides of the room are ideal.) If possible, close doors leading to other parts of the house to confine the smoke.
To remove lingering cooking smells in your kitchen, be they from catastrophes or masterpieces, use a clean sponge or cloth to wipe down kitchen surfaces (other than those that come into contact with your food) with a degreaser, such as Simple Green. You're trying to remove the particles and grease carried by smoke, steam, and splatter so clean the walls and other surfaces close to the stove.
Because heat rises and is drawn to cool areas, wipe down windows and window trim, light fixtures, and upper cabinets. Launder kitchen curtains and exposed dish towels in your washer and dryer.
Reduce garbage can smells by regularly cleaning your garbage can. Take it outside and hose it out, if weather permits. Scrub the inside with a nylon-bristled brush and a solution of water and bleach (4 to 8 ounces of bleach per 1 gallon of warm water) plus a couple of squirts of dishwashing liquid. Air-dry completely. Once the can is dry, sprinkle borax in the bottom of it to prevent the growth of odor-causing molds and bacteria.
To deodorize your sink's garbage disposer, grind lemon or orange peels every so often. If that does not work, the rubber gasket might be harboring odor-causing crud. Because it stays moist, it could be staying smelly. Turn off the disposer. Either remove the gasket for cleaning or lift up the flaps and clean underneath. Scrub it with a nylon-bristled brush and dishwashing liquid. (See also Garbage Disposers.)
To cut down on refrigerator odors, maintain a constant vigil against spoiled foods. periodically purge your fridge of old luncheon meats, rotting veggies, and moldy leftovers. Wipe it inside surfaces with a sponge and plain water. Be sure to clean the rubber gasket that seals the door, because it's likely to hold odors. Keep an open box of baking soda on a shelf(and another in the freezer) to absorb odors. Replace the boxes several times a year.
To absorb stronger refrigerator odors, spread several ounces of fine, activated charcoal, available at stores that sell aquarium supplies, in a shallow pan and put the pan on a refrigerator or freezer shelf. (The pan of charcoal will not harm food.) After about eight hours, put the pan in a 350 degrees F oven for 20 minutes to reactivate the charcoal. By reactivating the charcoal, you can reuse it many times. Put the charcoal back into the fridge until the smell is gone. In a pinch, use kitty litter in a pan to absorb smells. (No need to put it in the oven.) Ground coffee (unused) will do the same.
To remove musty smells in your basement or other parts of the house, first ventialte. The musty smell comes from mold and mildew, which thrive in dank, dark envioronments where the air is stale. Open windows and doors, use fans to circulate the air, and run a dehumidifier to reduce the air's humidity. Then kill the odor-producing growth, using one of these methods:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did you know that certain odors--ammonia for instance--can cause physical pain? The majority of smells---per urine, refrigerator odors, the lingering stench of cooked fish--simply cause mental anguish, which in some ways is worse. But trying to remove odors can really addle the brain, because you're trying to clean something you can't see. Masking the smell with perfumes and air fresheners is only a temporary solution. To truly quell a smell, you must remove that causes the smell--and do it promptly and completely. The key is patience.
If you have a culinary disaster in the oven and the kitchen fills with smoke, exchange the sooty, smelly air with fresh air. Turn off the oven. If the stove has an exhaust fan, turn it on high. Open windows to create cross-ventilation. (Windows on opposite sides of the room are ideal.) If possible, close doors leading to other parts of the house to confine the smoke.
To remove lingering cooking smells in your kitchen, be they from catastrophes or masterpieces, use a clean sponge or cloth to wipe down kitchen surfaces (other than those that come into contact with your food) with a degreaser, such as Simple Green. You're trying to remove the particles and grease carried by smoke, steam, and splatter so clean the walls and other surfaces close to the stove.
Because heat rises and is drawn to cool areas, wipe down windows and window trim, light fixtures, and upper cabinets. Launder kitchen curtains and exposed dish towels in your washer and dryer.
Reduce garbage can smells by regularly cleaning your garbage can. Take it outside and hose it out, if weather permits. Scrub the inside with a nylon-bristled brush and a solution of water and bleach (4 to 8 ounces of bleach per 1 gallon of warm water) plus a couple of squirts of dishwashing liquid. Air-dry completely. Once the can is dry, sprinkle borax in the bottom of it to prevent the growth of odor-causing molds and bacteria.
To deodorize your sink's garbage disposer, grind lemon or orange peels every so often. If that does not work, the rubber gasket might be harboring odor-causing crud. Because it stays moist, it could be staying smelly. Turn off the disposer. Either remove the gasket for cleaning or lift up the flaps and clean underneath. Scrub it with a nylon-bristled brush and dishwashing liquid. (See also Garbage Disposers.)
To cut down on refrigerator odors, maintain a constant vigil against spoiled foods. periodically purge your fridge of old luncheon meats, rotting veggies, and moldy leftovers. Wipe it inside surfaces with a sponge and plain water. Be sure to clean the rubber gasket that seals the door, because it's likely to hold odors. Keep an open box of baking soda on a shelf(and another in the freezer) to absorb odors. Replace the boxes several times a year.
To absorb stronger refrigerator odors, spread several ounces of fine, activated charcoal, available at stores that sell aquarium supplies, in a shallow pan and put the pan on a refrigerator or freezer shelf. (The pan of charcoal will not harm food.) After about eight hours, put the pan in a 350 degrees F oven for 20 minutes to reactivate the charcoal. By reactivating the charcoal, you can reuse it many times. Put the charcoal back into the fridge until the smell is gone. In a pinch, use kitty litter in a pan to absorb smells. (No need to put it in the oven.) Ground coffee (unused) will do the same.
To remove musty smells in your basement or other parts of the house, first ventialte. The musty smell comes from mold and mildew, which thrive in dank, dark envioronments where the air is stale. Open windows and doors, use fans to circulate the air, and run a dehumidifier to reduce the air's humidity. Then kill the odor-producing growth, using one of these methods:
- Mix up a solution of 1 to 2 ounces of bleach per 1 quart of water. Pour it into a spray bottle. Spray any surfaces that won't be harmed by the bleach, such as cinderblock walls and concrete floors. (Test any colored materials first by applying the solution to an inconspicuous corner.) Scrub with a nylon-bristled brush.
- Sprinkle chlorinated lime(bleaching powder) on the basement floor. (see mildew.)
To remove pet accident odors, completely remove the urine or poop as soon as possible using newspapers, paper towels, or a heavy-duty vacuum cleaner. For a full discussion, see Pet Cleanup.
SIMPLE SOLUTIONS
Three Odor- Conquering Strategies >
SIMPLE SOLUTIONS
Three Odor- Conquering Strategies >
- A quick fix for cutting cooking odors: Boil 1/4 cup vinegar per 1 quart of water.The rising heat will carry the odor-neutralizing vinegar particles to the same surfaces on which the smoke and grease landed.
- To reduce an onion smell on your hands, rub them before and after you cut onions with the sliced end of a celery stalk. A little vinegar rubbed on your hands before or after cutting onions has the same neutralizing effect.
- A short-term solution to a smelly basement is to cut an onion in half and leave it on a plate in the basement. The onion absorbs musty odors.
Ovens
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oven spatters and spills are a class-A cleaning challenge. First, there's the grease. Even worse, though, are the melted cheeses, the bubbling, sugary pie fillings, and other food that get fired to the hardness of pottery glaze on an oven's walls and bottom.
"Why bother?" you might say, "No one ever looks in there." The reason: Because proper cleaning improves your oven's efficiency, extends its life, and, most important, reduces the risk of fire. Read on for ways to remove oven deposits that don't involve jackhammers or hours of backbreaking scrubbing. Even if you have a self-cleaning or continuous-cleaning oven, neither of which is entirely self-sufficient, some of the tips that follow will help you clean it right.
Wipe the exterior surfaces of your oven to remove food spills every time you wipe down your countertops. All you need is a moist sponge. Make it a habit, and you'll save time in the end, because even the exterior surfaces get warm enough to bake food on fast. Besides, this is the part of your oven people do see.
To clean the interior, start by removing all oven racks and broiler pans. Wash them by hand in a sink or dishpan, regardless of the type of oven you have. Use a solution of warm water and dishwashing liquid. Scrub with a nylon-bristled brush or other gentle, nonmetal scrubber. Anything abrasive, such as steel wool, will scratch the metal's finish, which can lead to rusting and will make food stick even more the next time.
To loosen baked-on deposits in a conventional oven, fill a glass bowl with 1/2 cup of full-strength ammonia. After making sure the oven has cooled, put the bowl of ammonia in the oven, close the door, and let it stand overnight. The fumes will release the bond between the crusty
food and the oven interior. The next day, open the door and let the fumes dissipate. Then remove the bowl and wipe away the loosened food with a cloth or sponge.
To remove stubborn food that did not come off after the ammonia treatment in your conventional oven, try scouring with a nonabrasive scrubber dipped in a solution of warm water and dishwashing liquid. As with the tacks and broiler pans, avoid scratching the oven's finish. On a flat source, such as the door glass or the oven bottom, try scraping with a plastic ice scraper---the kind you use on your car windshield.
As a last-ditch effort when cleaning a conventional oven, try a commercial oven cleaner. Follow the directions carefully and wear protective rubber gloves when applying. These products are strong and harmful to humans. Never spray a commercial oven cleaner on a hot oven, electric elements, or oven lights. Heat can make the cleaner even more caustic.
Help your self-cleaning oven by doing a little prep work. Self-cleaning simply means disintegrating food spills with temperatures as high as 90 degrees F. But the high heat doesn't reach all parts of the oven, and in areas such as the frame around to oven opening and the edge of the door outside the gasket, the self-cleaning cycle can actually bake food on even more. So clean those parts first with a nonabrasive scrubber dipped in a sudsy solution of hot water and dishwashing liquid. Rinse well using a sponge and a bucket of clean water.
Once the self-cleaning cycle is complete and the oven has cooled down, wipe out the ashy residue with a damp sponge.
Give your continuous-cleaning oven that human touch. The interior fo this type of oven is coated with a chemical mixture that lowers the temperature at which heat will dissolve foods. So whenever you bake or roast at a temperature above 350 degrees F, you're disintegrating food that has splattered on the walls or bottom. But major spills, especially those involving sugar, can cancel out
the effect. Therefore, clean up major spills as soon as possible. occasionally wipe out the entire oven using a nonabrasive scrubbing pad and warm water. Then run the oven empty for an hour or two at 475 degrees F to disintegrate any grease or food that the oven's normal cooking/cleaning cycle didn't take care of. Never use abrasive cleaners or cleaning tools in a continuous-cleaning oven.
WATCH OUT
Oven spatters and spills are a class-A cleaning challenge. First, there's the grease. Even worse, though, are the melted cheeses, the bubbling, sugary pie fillings, and other food that get fired to the hardness of pottery glaze on an oven's walls and bottom.
"Why bother?" you might say, "No one ever looks in there." The reason: Because proper cleaning improves your oven's efficiency, extends its life, and, most important, reduces the risk of fire. Read on for ways to remove oven deposits that don't involve jackhammers or hours of backbreaking scrubbing. Even if you have a self-cleaning or continuous-cleaning oven, neither of which is entirely self-sufficient, some of the tips that follow will help you clean it right.
Wipe the exterior surfaces of your oven to remove food spills every time you wipe down your countertops. All you need is a moist sponge. Make it a habit, and you'll save time in the end, because even the exterior surfaces get warm enough to bake food on fast. Besides, this is the part of your oven people do see.
To clean the interior, start by removing all oven racks and broiler pans. Wash them by hand in a sink or dishpan, regardless of the type of oven you have. Use a solution of warm water and dishwashing liquid. Scrub with a nylon-bristled brush or other gentle, nonmetal scrubber. Anything abrasive, such as steel wool, will scratch the metal's finish, which can lead to rusting and will make food stick even more the next time.
To loosen baked-on deposits in a conventional oven, fill a glass bowl with 1/2 cup of full-strength ammonia. After making sure the oven has cooled, put the bowl of ammonia in the oven, close the door, and let it stand overnight. The fumes will release the bond between the crusty
food and the oven interior. The next day, open the door and let the fumes dissipate. Then remove the bowl and wipe away the loosened food with a cloth or sponge.
To remove stubborn food that did not come off after the ammonia treatment in your conventional oven, try scouring with a nonabrasive scrubber dipped in a solution of warm water and dishwashing liquid. As with the tacks and broiler pans, avoid scratching the oven's finish. On a flat source, such as the door glass or the oven bottom, try scraping with a plastic ice scraper---the kind you use on your car windshield.
As a last-ditch effort when cleaning a conventional oven, try a commercial oven cleaner. Follow the directions carefully and wear protective rubber gloves when applying. These products are strong and harmful to humans. Never spray a commercial oven cleaner on a hot oven, electric elements, or oven lights. Heat can make the cleaner even more caustic.
Help your self-cleaning oven by doing a little prep work. Self-cleaning simply means disintegrating food spills with temperatures as high as 90 degrees F. But the high heat doesn't reach all parts of the oven, and in areas such as the frame around to oven opening and the edge of the door outside the gasket, the self-cleaning cycle can actually bake food on even more. So clean those parts first with a nonabrasive scrubber dipped in a sudsy solution of hot water and dishwashing liquid. Rinse well using a sponge and a bucket of clean water.
Once the self-cleaning cycle is complete and the oven has cooled down, wipe out the ashy residue with a damp sponge.
Give your continuous-cleaning oven that human touch. The interior fo this type of oven is coated with a chemical mixture that lowers the temperature at which heat will dissolve foods. So whenever you bake or roast at a temperature above 350 degrees F, you're disintegrating food that has splattered on the walls or bottom. But major spills, especially those involving sugar, can cancel out
the effect. Therefore, clean up major spills as soon as possible. occasionally wipe out the entire oven using a nonabrasive scrubbing pad and warm water. Then run the oven empty for an hour or two at 475 degrees F to disintegrate any grease or food that the oven's normal cooking/cleaning cycle didn't take care of. Never use abrasive cleaners or cleaning tools in a continuous-cleaning oven.
WATCH OUT
- Never use commercial oven cleaners in a self-cleaning oven. When heated to those high temperatures, the chemical residue grows dangerously caustic.
- Never use commercial oven cleaners, cleaning powders, or metal scrubbers to clean a continuous-cleaning oven. These products may ruin the chemical mixture that allows the oven to clean itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment