Aside from a kettle and a McDonald's Coca-Cola glass, there is one common dominator in British households, a toaster.

Toast is the ever-dependable staple that can keep us going at any time of day. Although it's mainly thought of as a breakfast food, be honest, who hasn't had a toast skyscraper at night?

Despite being a popular comfort food, toasters actually pose a real threat in households.

They are a common cause of domestic fires started by something as trivial as crumbs.

While cleaning the bottom of the toaster is not often high on our to-do lists, the crumbs that lurk down there are a potential fire hazard.

The combination of dry breadcrumbs and the extreme heat can cause smoke and even flames.

While this should be reason alone for removing crumbs, doing so also keeps your toaster working at its best, and therefore makes the device last longer.

Christian Strandoo, product manager at Morphy Richards, previously told the ECHO: “There are really two types of toaster owners; those that regularly empty their toaster’s crumb tray, and those that don’t even know they existed.”

Recommended reading:

Aldi slashes prices on over 40 products to satisfy customers

Man arrested after leaving one-star reviews on Tripadvisor

This Morning: Fern Britton in talks to return ITV show

He added: "The crumb tray sits underneath your toaster and catches errant crumbs so that they don’t build up inside the toaster slots.

"If you’ve never noticed it before, the crumb tray compartment can usually be opened from the back of the toaster and it will slide out from underneath.

"Some toasters, such as four-slice models, might have more than one tray."