We do thousands of small activities every day that don’t require much thought. It’s routine! But what to do if you start to forget? Burnt food on the stove is nothing terrible, but what if the next time it even catches fire?
Stove left on: Do you have a safety concern?
Do you have a beautiful, shiny and straight-as-a-shot glass-ceramic cooktop or do you still pay tribute to the classic stove and oven? Each option has its pros and cons. Even older stoves are not depreciable and often serve for decades before they need to be replaced with new ones.
Still, are you thinking that you would buy your parents a new stove just for the sake of safety? On a gas stove, there is a risk not only of burning and catching fire, as with all other types, but also of blowing out the flame and leaking gas.
If someone in the family regularly forgets to prepare food on the stove, try a few tricks first that can remind you that something is cooking. An ordinary rubber band can also help.
If you have an older stove and would like to give it a good cleaning, then check out this few second post. In just a few photos, you will see how it is possible to remove the top plate and clean the space below it.
Source: Youtube
Why put a rubber band on the stove?
Stoves with a rotary knob are a classic that at least most of us still remember if we don’t still use it. Although trendy, and also very beautiful new appliances are quite common these days, especially seniors often insist on using old tried and tested appliances with which they don’t have to learn anything new.
However, the problem comes when they start to forget. And not only seniors! All it takes is some serious stress and then it doesn’t matter if you are old or young. Burnt food and forgotten turned knobs of the stove, which is still running for nothing and for nothing, will also soon appear.
If you haven’t developed the habit of checking the kitchen when you leave, which is recommended in any case, or members of your household already have trouble remembering routine details, try these few tricks that can help you remember to turn on the stove.
An ordinary rubber band even helps with this. Wear it on your hand and every time you turn the stove knob, before you start cooking, drag the rubber band from your hand to the stove knob. This is already quite a visible sign, and not only on the stove. At the same time, the rubber band will be missing from your wrist, and the chances of you remembering will therefore multiply.
Someone chooses the opposite procedure and has rubber bands on each rotary knob. Then, when you turn on the stove, take the rubber band down and pull it down the hem of your shirt or t-shirt to remind you that you have the stove on.
More tricks to remind yourself that the stove is on
What other tricks are recommended? For example, it can help if you pay attention to your hands and the stove wheel when turning it. But you can also say some surprising or silly word. When you turn the wheel of the stove, say “tajtrlík” or bark.
Why? Because we generally have a fairly good ability to forget routine activities and then we are not at all sure whether we closed all the windows, locked the house or the car. A silly story sticks in the memory a little better, as does a titter or a bark.
If you believe that there is no chance to develop new habits, you can consider, for example, the purchase of signaling devices that report when the stove is turned on without supervision. Some more sophisticated stoves can also be turned off. Believe me, you are not the only one dealing with a similar problem. In 2016, the Prague fire brigade registered even 156 fires caused by food ignition. The damage is usually small, but you definitely can’t rely on it.
Sources: thekitchn.com, tastingtable.com, hzscr.cz
