Blast Your Toaster With a Hair Dryer

Cleaning a toaster is more involved than you might think, but one of the most important steps is just getting all the crumbs out. But there’s an easier way to clean out toaster crumbs than turning it upside down or reaching inside to rustle them out.

How to use your hair dryer to clean out your toaster

Of course, start by unplugging your toaster. The next steps come from TikTok user Jessica Haizman, who recommends a simple (if unexpected) two-step process for loosening up those crumbs. First, stuff a dry microfiber cloth down into the slots to knock out the big crumbs. Then grab your hair dryer and direct it right into the slots to blow the smaller crumbs out, too. Watch her TikTok here:

What else can you do with a hair dryer around the kitchen?

Hair dryers are versatile little devices: You can use them to clean your radiator and even stay warm in a drafty room while you work on other, longer-term solutions. Around your kitchen, they even have a few more uses. Inventive home chefs have recommended it for:

• Dry out chicken before roasting to enhance crispiness
• Dry out containers for dry goods so they don’t get sticky inside
• Re-melt melted wax from your candle holders to make removal and cleanup easier

On that last point, we’ve also recommended using a hair dryer to help get wax out of carpet, too. In other parts of your home, you can use a hair dryer to stretch out tight shoes and clean your filthy computer keyboard, but just go ahead and start with the toaster for now.