Small appliances get frequent use and infrequent cleaning. It’s easy to clean small appliances and it doesn’t take more than a few minutes and a little effort. Here’s a quick tutorial on how to clean small appliances – give yours a little freshening up today!
Toaster
- Unplug the toaster.
- Remove the crumb tray.
Detail Cleaning Brush / Foaming Dish Soap
- Soak the crumb tray in warm, soapy water. Rinse and dry thoroughly.
- Bring the toaster over the sink or a garbage can and shake out the crumbs.
- Clean the exterior.
- Return the crumb tray.
- Plug the toaster back in.
Coffee Maker
- Rinse out the carafe, basket holder and reusable filter (if you have one). You want all the grounds to be gone, but you don’t need to wash it thoroughly with soap and water. A good rinse will do until later.
- Fill your carafe halfway with plain white distilled vinegar and then the remainder with water. For example, if you have a standard 12 cup coffee maker, fill it to the 6 cup line with vinegar and then top it off to the 12 with cold water.
- Pour the vinegar and water mixture in to the water resevoir and begin brewing. Halfway through, turn off your coffee maker and let it sit for 45 minutes or so. The purpose of this step is to allow the vinegar to sit in the inner workings of your coffee maker and gently remove those hard water deposits that can slow your machine down.
- After your time is up, finish up the brewing cycle. See all that gunk and residue in your carafe? That’s what has been sitting inside your coffee maker slowing it down and brewing up a bitter cup of coffee. Pour out this solution and refill the water chamber with fresh, clean water.
- Run clean water through your coffee machine a minimum of three times, or until the water is clear and the vinegar scent has disipated.
- Use a damp microfiber cloth with a dot of soap in order to clean up the exterior of the coffee maker. If you have some hard water deposits on the outside, use a small amount of white vinegar on a cloth to remove. Wash the carafe and filter basket in hot, soapy water and allow it to dry.
I have an espresso machine and it has a different method of cleaning and descaling it. You can read about it here if you’re interested.
Blender
- Bring the carafe to the sink and fill to 1/3-1/2 full with hot water.
- Add a squirt or a pump of dish soap.
- Put the lid on the carafe.
- Blend for 30 seconds to 1 minute on high.
- Bring the carafe to the sink and rinse thoroughly with hot water and air dry.
- Unplug the blender.
- Spray the base with all-purpose spray and wipe the exterior and cord with a microfiber cleaning cloth.
Cleaning your small appliances is an essential component to a clean kitchen. Clean them at the same time or as needed. These methods are effective and easy!
If you’re looking for an in-depth cleaning guide, my brand-new PDF packet, Clean Mama’s Guide to Kitchens – it has checklists, a quick-start guide, DIY cleaning recipes and more. Check it out here.
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