Is your range ready for Thanksgiving? It's best to be prepared

By Joe Gagnon - Originally Printed in The Observer Eccentric Papers

Reader writes: I spilled a glass of milk on top of our stove … somehow the milk found its way between the two pieces of glass that are part of the stove front door (area where you can see inside the actual stove). The milk residue is still visible. There are some screws that appear to be for keeping the door in one piece. Is it okay to take the front door apart and clean this mess? I have not used the stove since the incident, so it should be easy to wipe off the milk. I don't want to use the stove and then get the brown spots that sometimes you see on the front of stoves. Thanks for your help.

Reply: The last time I took a stove door apart was in the year 1979 and what a disaster that was. I did a beautiful job and the customer was so happy until a few months later when the glass just suddenly exploded and the kitchen range wasn't even being used at the time. I found out why, from an engineer at the factory who told me that the screws holding the glass and the door together were installed with a torque wrench. Unless you set the proper torque on these screws you are asking for trouble. In my case, I could no longer obtain the glass for the door from anyone in the appliance industry as the part was discontinued. I had to purchase a piece of tempered glass from a glass company and fortunately I fixed it right on the second try. I have read a lot of complaints from consumers who have had their oven door glass shatter or show stains in the glass. Today I suggest that you live with it and blame it on the Halloween spirits. This particular reader wrote a cute reply. I appreciate your quick response. I will leave it be and no crying over spilled milk.

Next month is Thanksgiving and that day is when families get together and many good times are to be had by all. Nothing can upset that day like a kitchen range that fails to cook the Thanksgiving feast. I suggest that you still have enough time to go through a check list on the operation of your stove. Don't wait, do it now. The service repairs you may need from a professional may take a few days to order a part and install it. The service business can not handle the demand for range repair during the Thanksgiving period. Another service tip is the self cleaning feature on your range. Keep in mind that if something is going to go wrong with your stove, it most likely will occur during the self cleaning cycle or shortly after. The weather is cool enough now to put your range through a self clean cycle. I know you don't want to open that oven door and show a messy oven when all the family is running through the kitchen but please don't wait to put it through the cycle. If you take out the racks and put them in a plastic garbage bag and soak them overnight in a mixture of water and vinegar, you will be surprised how clean they come out. Don't use abrasives to clean off spots of baked on food. Try some warm vinegar, it works. Be careful with the glass again. Too much wet solution will flow between the glass panes and cause permanent streaks. The pans under the burners are important. They reflect the heat upwards to give you even cooking and these pans are replaceable. This upcoming Thanksgiving Day is not replaceable and I wish all of you a great one. Stay tuned.