Ovens are a miracle of modern food preparation, and every homeowner would wish for them to last forever. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. If you are wondering, what is the lifespan of an oven, they last between 5 and 10 years, with an average lifespan of 9 years.
Would you love to give your oven a long life? Here are tips to follow as given by oven repair professionals:
Clean it regularly and thoroughly
A dirty oven is not only ugly, but it also tends to have a short lifespan. To keep your unit in top shape, make it a habit to clean up spills as soon as they happen. Leaving baked or burned food gives your kitchen a dirty look and, at the same time, causes the heating elements to work harder to cook the food, which significantly reduces the lifespan of the appliance.
If you already have baked-on food materials on your oven, remove it using silicone or plastic scraper. Don’t use a metal scraper as it has been shown to cause serious damage to the appliance.
When doing the cleaning, be cautious about how you do it. As a rule of thumb, don’t spray the cleaning solution directly on the oven knobs as this can burn out the electrical elements leading to corrosion and shorts.
To clean the knobs, use a damp cloth. Spray the cleaning solution on the rag then use it to clean the buttons and knobs.
You might have the impression that using a heavy-duty cleaning product is good for the oven, but this isn’t the case. It has been shown that some of these cleaning products have tough chemicals that can ruin the heating elements or the protective coating. For your appliance to last for long, use a lighter cleaning product.
If you don’t like cleaning, it’s easy to be tempted to use the self-cleaning feature. Don’t use it as it heats the oven to extremely high temperatures, which reduces the lifespan of the appliance.
Repair the appliance when a problem comes about
Even with the best care, it’s common for oven problems to crop up. For example, the door seal can crack or fray. For a long-lasting appliance, fix a problem as soon as you notice it. Many homeowners ignore most of the minor issues and wish them away. Don’t do this.
Remember, it’s the minor problems that get worse, and if you don’t fix them when they come up, you will forget about them, and when they worsen, you are forced to replace the entire appliance, or you incur huge repair costs.
The cool thing is you can fix most of the minor problems by yourself without involving a professional.
Don’t put foil on the drip pans.
As you are visiting other homeowners, you must have come across some that put drip pans under baking elements or on the stovetop. You should never do this as doing it can cause the foil to melt, damaging the oven or throwing off the thermometer hence you end up over or undercooking your food.
If your drip pans are damaged or old, don’t cover them with foil. Replace them.
Parting shot
These are some of the ways you can extend the life of your oven. Even after doing all the above, it will come a time when your appliance will come to the end of its life due to normal wear and tear. To avoid paying hefty amounts of money on replacement, appliance repair Springfield professionals recommend you invest in-home warranty.
Do your research and find a sensible company, and the appliance warranty will save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars when it comes to time to replace it.