If you use your toaster every day and have never cleaned it, you’re probably dealing with a mountain of crumbs underneath it.
While the crumbs are highly annoying, failing to clean your toaster can have even worse consequences – like a toaster or fire or burnt tasting food.
Luckily, it’s easy to do. Here’s how to clean a toaster.
How to Clean a Toaster
Unplug Your Toaster and Let it Cool Down
The first thing you need to do is unplug your toaster and let it cool down. (If you haven’t’ used it today, you still need to unplug it.)
Remove the Crumb Tray and Empty
I didn’t know this until recently, but every toaster has a crumb tray on the bottom. On some toasters, this tray slides out partially, and on others, you can altogether remove it. Either way, slide out the tray and empty the crumbs.
Now hold your toaster over your trash can and give it a firm shake to remove even more of the crumbs.
Use a Hair Dryer to Blow Out the Rest of the Crumbs
Now you’re going to blow out the rest of the crumbs.
Your toaster should still be unplugged for this part. Here’s what to do:
- Put your blow dryer on the “cool” setting.
- Blow into the unplugged toaster to blow out the rest of the crumbs.
Here’s a video from the Rachel Ray show demonstrating how to clean a toaster with a blowdryer:
Put the Crumb Tray Back
Now that all of the crumbs are blown out, it’s time to put the crumb tray back. You can give it a little wipe down with a microfiber cloth before putting back in place.
(If you washed the tray with water, make sure it is completely dry before replacing it.)
Wipe Down the Outside of the Toaster
Wipe down the outside of the toaster with a mild cleaner and a microfiber cloth. Avoid getting the inside of the toast wet.
You Now Have a Clean Toaster
You can keep your toaster clean by emptying the crumb tray and shaking out the crumbs every one to weeks. Once a month, pull out your hairdryer to do an even more thorough crumb removal.
For more cleaning how-to’s, check out these posts:
Katie Barton is the owner of Cabin Lane. She's also a home improvement writer for Bob Vila and Homedit. Her cleaning and organizing advice has been featured on Realtor.com, Yahoo News, GoBankingRates, and more. In her spare time, you can find her with a paintbrush in hand, searching for her next project.
