Woman exposes ‘hidden compartment’ in toasters that people never knew existed

We all use and abuse our toasters pretty much every day, but often forget that they deserve some TLC too.

But some people really ought to take a closer look at the staple kitchen appliance that transforms your boring bread into perfectly golden goodness each morning, as there is apparently a 'hidden compartment' that people don't know about.

Take a look here:

I, for one, was well aware of this feature, so I'm pretty taken aback that so many others don't have a clue about it - and I'd really dread to take a look inside their toasters.

Due to all the delicious bread we stuff inside the slots, a lot of crumbs and bits of crust can often end up getting stuck in between the heating elements where we can't reach.

It's toaster 101 to never stick a fork or anything down there to retrieve your stray bits of toast as it is very dangerous, but there are other ways you can get to it.

There's probably a huge accumulation of crumbs at the bottom of your toaster, so you can take a thin paint brush and try and dust them away (when it's off, obviously) or alternatively flip it upside down and give it a good - but gentle - tap.

But if you do prefer the sweeping method, make sure you're sending the morsels of bread into the right direction - which is towards the aptly named 'toaster tray' or 'crumb catcher'.

TikTok/@kacie_thebigcleanco

If you weren't aware, the large majority of toasters are equipped with one of these at the bottom and loads of toast debris tumbles onto them. You simply slide it out, get rid of the crumbs, give it a clean and pop it back inside.

However, hundreds of social media users seem to have a serious crumb build up problem on their hands, as they admitted they had never heard of the toaster tray - and therefore have never emptied it.

A woman named Kacie, behind the TikTok account The Big Clean Co, revealed she had received a so-called 'tip' from a follower who told her to clean her toaster with a HAIRDRYER. How on earth that would work, I don't know.

She explained in a short clip: "There are cleaning hacks going around the internet that are not really hacks at all, they make it harder.

"I’m a professional cleaner, and this week I was sent one: 'Clean your toaster with a hairdryer'. Just tip it in the bin!"

TikTok/@kacie_thebigcleanco

In the viral video, she showed herself removing the crumb catcher from her toaster, tossing the bits away and tipping the toaster upside down over the bin to get rid of any little bits she had missed.

But rather than being blown away with her cleaning method, it was the fact that she had casually debuted the toaster tray which got people talking in the comment section.

One wrote: "There’s a TRAY?!?!?!?|"

Another said: "I was today year's old when I found this out."

A third added: "Omg I can’t believe this. I always stare at it and get annoyed because of all the crumbs."

Someone else commented: "This is why I love TikTok - yes, I am a person that didn't know it had a tray. Mine is different, but I've finally cleaned it well!"

And a final viewer chimed in: "Wow, the amount of people who didn't know there was a tray..."

That's exactly what I'm thinking mate.