If you wipe appliances regularly with a damp cloth or sponge, most will require little additional maintenance. A buildup of grime, however, calls for a bit more elbow grease and sometimes even a particular cleaning solution. Before you get to work, be sure to consult the owner's manual or call the company's customer-service line, since manufacturers use a variety of materials to make their appliances.

Toaster Oven
Basic maintenance consists of periodically cleaning out crumbs and wiping down the interior and exterior.

Interior: Remove racks; wash them in warm, soapy water. If the inside of the toaster has a nonstick coating, wipe it with a cleaning pad that's labeled safe for this purpose. On a bare metal interior, you can use soap-filled steel wool. To avoid scratching a porcelain surface (or making it more difficult to clean the next time food cooks on), use nothing stronger than a nylon pad. Some toaster-oven interiors may look rough and feel gritty, indicating a continuous-clean surface that automatically burns off food residue. Do nothing more to this type of surface than wipe it with a damp cloth.

Exterior: Since most toaster ovens are plastic or painted steel, use only a nonabrasive liquid cleaner. If burned food discolors the paint on a toaster oven, a degreasing cleaner may minimize the discoloration, but nothing will remove it entirely.

Iron
To clean mineral deposits from steam irons, homemakers used to run vinegar and water through them. Today, some manufacturers warn against that procedure because it may result in a brown substance oozing from the holes. Instead, they recommend cleaning an iron with its own steam. Use the steam-clean setting if there is one. Or place the iron on a metal cake rack over a surface that won't be harmed by heat or water; turn the setting to steam and maximum heat, and let steam and water jet through the holes. Always empty the reservoir before storing the iron.

Soleplate: If an iron drags, the soleplate needs cleaning. Buy a hot-iron cleaner, which comes in a tube (like toothpaste) and is sold in most hardware stores. Put a dab on a scrap of an old terry-cloth towel, and run the hot iron over it. Remove residue by ironing a clean terry-cloth rag. If residue lingers in steam holes, repeat process, or wad up the cloth so you can rub the buildup out of the holes without burning your fingers.