5 Baking Mishaps & How to Clean Them

Holiday baking is a time-honored tradition. From magazines to Pinterest and even binge-worthy baking shows, we see the mouthwatering results. But what about those little mishaps and messes that happen behind the scenes? Our cleaning experts at Merry Maids® are here to help you clean up kitchen accidents with ease.

My Pyrex baking dish exploded in the oven! What do I do?

Glass bakeware can suffer from thermal shock when it goes from cold to hot or hot to cold too quickly. When this happens, it can shatter. Though bakeware is generally designed to withstand a fair amount of temperature fluctuation, it’s not unheard of for that chilled casserole dish to shatter when placed in a high-temp preheated oven. So, how do you deal with this unfortunate mess?

Start by turning off the oven and letting it cool. If you don’t have children or pets, or you can safely keep them out of the kitchen, leave the oven door open to cool faster. Once it has cooled to a safe temperature, put on a pair of rubber gloves and remove large pieces of glass (and food, when applicable) by hand. Place glass shards on a few layers of newspaper or in a paper bag. Use a damp paper towel or cloth to clean up the smaller shards of glass. You can also press a slice of bread over the area to collect any tiny shards that remain.

To clean up any remaining food residue, mix about three teaspoons of baking soda into a spray bottle filled with warm water and spritz down the walls of the over. Scrub with a sponge, then rinse with a clean sponge or cloth and plain water.

Oh, no! I knocked over the bag of sugar!

Dry sugar isn’t too difficult to clean up—the trick is taking care of the spill before any moisture can create a stickier mess. For dry spilled sugar on a hard-surface floor or carpet, simply vacuum up the spill and empty the canister or bag as soon as you’re done to prevent pests or sticky damage to the machine. If the sugar has mixed with water or other damp conditions on a hard-surface floor, sweep up as much of the sugar as you can, then use a microfiber cloth and some hot water to clean up any remaining residue.

Sugar and water on carpet requires a little more patience but is still fairly simple. Scoop or scrape up as much of the sugar as you can without rubbing or grinding it into the fibers. Add warm water and a few drops of gentle liquid dishwashing soap to a spray bottle. Spray onto the sugary spot, taking care not to oversaturate the carpet, then blot the area with a clean cloth. Repeat this process with plain warm water to rinse the soap from the fibers.

Uh-Oh! My little helpers dropped green frosting on the cream carpet.

When you’re dealing with food coloring stains in addition to stickiness, you’ll want to address the spill as quickly as possible. You’ll start with the same technique as cleaning up spilled sugar, but add an extra step to tackle the coloring.

• First, scrape up as much of the frosting as possible using a clean spatula, taking care not to rub or grind it further into the carpet. Imagine lifting the mess up out of the fibers.

• Next, spray the spot with a mixture of warm water and a few drops of mild dish soap. Be thorough but avoid soaking the carpet. Blot with a clean dry cloth.

• Rinse the soap from the area by spraying with plain water and blotting again.

• Address the color stain next by spritzing the spot with vinegar, club soda, or a store-bought stain remover. (Be sure to test in an inconspicuous area of your carpet first to make sure it won’t harm the fibers.) Leave it to soak for several minutes, then blot dry with a clean cloth.

• Soak up any remaining moisture by laying a stack of paper towels on the spot and standing on them, then remove them and let the area air dry. Avoid walking on the spot until it is fully dry.

That syrup drizzle turned into a syrup puddle—on the floor. Help!

We have three great tricks to clean up spilled syrup. If you have a sticky puddle of syrup on the floor, try one of these techniques:

• Use a spatula to squeegee the spilled syrup off the floor, then remove any remaining residue with hot water and a cloth or sponge.

• Loosen up sticky syrup by pressing the spill with very hot soapy water until it can be wiped up easily. The secret here is using water that is as hot as you can handle (you may even want to wear rubber gloves) and pressing rather than rubbing.

• If you don’t have the time to clean it up right away, sprinkle some flour or table salt onto the syrup spill. This should stop it from traveling, and when you come back to it, the puddle should have hardened enough that you can scrape it up fairly easily.

Santa knocked over his glass of milk. How do you clean up spilled milk from the carpet?

First, soak up as much of the liquid as you can with a sponge or dry cloth. Next, blot several times with a clean cloth dipped in a solution of 2 cups of warm water and 1 tablespoon of mild dish soap or laundry detergent. Take care not to scrub; you want to avoid pushing the stain further into the fibers. Once you’ve removed as much of the spilled milk as possible, blot with a dry cloth or paper towels to soak up excess moisture, then sprinkle the area with baking soda. Let that sit for about 30 minutes to absorb any remaining milk and neutralize any odors, then vacuum it up.

Has holiday baking sapped your energy? Merry Maids® can help you reclaim your time by taking care of the house cleaning! Request your free service estimate today.