Clean the Toaster
Electric toasters with slots in the top for the bread all have one thing in common: they collect bread crumbs and dust, and need to be cleaned regularly.
Cleaning an electric toaster is not merely good sanitation. It is also fire prevention. Left uncleaned, a toaster will eventually collect enough crumbs and dust to begin to smoulder, or to create a short in the heating elements, or both. Either of these creates a fire hazard.
Toasters are both easier and safer to clean when they're cool. If you use the toaster at breakfast, you may want to make a habit of cleaning it as part of supper preparation or the cleanup after supper. If you use it to make croutons for the dinner salad, just before bedtime or first thing the next morning may be the best time.
A toaster should be quick-cleaned after each use, just as you do with a coffee maker. For the toaster, this means the loose crumbs should be dumped out. A more thorough cleaning might be done weekly or monthly, depending on how often you use it. If you only use the toaster occasionally, you should probably clean it thoroughly after each use. This is because both dampness and decomposition will make the crumbs stick harder over time, and cleaning it then will be much more work. It is also more important for occasional users to cover the toaster when it is not in use, to keep dust from settling into it.
1. To clean the toaster, you probably want to take it to the sink.
That's not so you can use the water, though. It's so the debris will fall into the sink for easy cleanup. Working over a trash can may be just as effective, if that is more convenient.
2. To dump the crumbs, open the bottom of the toaster.
If this is your first time to clean this particular toaster, look down through the bread slots while feeling around on the bottom with your fingertips. You are feeling for a toggle to turn or an indentation for your finger which you can use to slide the bottom plate a little bit to one side to release it. You should never turn the toaster upside down or even on its side if you suspect there might still be some loose crumbs in it. That's because those crumbs might become lodged against one of the heating wires or in the timing mechanism. If you can't find the release by looking down while feeling around for it, you can consult the manual, if you have one, or you can lift the toaster overhead and look up at the bottom. There should be instructions printed or engraved there. Lower it before opening it though - crumbs in the eye are not fun.
3. Gently shake the open toaster over the sink or trash can.
If you like, you can also tap it with one hand while holding it in the other. After shaking the loose crumbs out, you can prop it on the counter or the edge of the trash can, at an angle, and use a paper towel to brush off any crumbs that didn't shake loose.
4. To do a more thorough cleaning job, you can use a plastic scraper to gently remove any stubborn deposits.
Steel wool, metal scrapers and any other implement that might scratch the finish inside the toaster should not be used, because any scratches there are likely to reduce the toaster's efficiency or contribute to its deterioration, or both. Toasters should also never get wet inside. Wiping off the outside with a damp sponge or some cleaning spray and a rag is fine, but no liquid should be used inside the appliance - it is likely to damage the controls or the heating elements if they get wet.
As a practical matter, there's not a lot a homeowner can do to repair a toaster. That's why I usually just replace one if it stops working. Keeping it clean, on the other hand, is both simple to do and the most important single measure in enjoying its use for many years.
