How to Clean Oven at Home: Expert Tips for a Sparkling Kitchen

Your oven is one of your kitchen’s most important and busiest appliances. Keeping your oven spotless can be tough, whether you’re an occasional baker or cooking up a storm every night. Even if you try to clean up spills as they happen, your oven still needs a good deep cleaning every now and then (we know it’s not the most fun task). 

Luckily, there are lots of ways to get your gas or electric oven sparkling clean, whether you prefer commercial cleaners or DIY methods. Let’s explore some of the best oven-cleaning hacks with tips from home and cleaning experts.

Deciding How to Clean An Oven

If you have the latest wall or freestanding oven (you are lucky), it likely comes with a self-cleaning feature. This function burns away spills and grease by heating your oven to a very high temperature. In order to make cleaning easier, some ovens even have a steam cleaning feature that works by dissolving dirt with hot steam.

However, you can still make your oven spotless with a little work and the magic of a homemade or store-bought oven-cleaning solution. Even if it doesn’t have a self-cleaning option, you’d rather not deal with the smoke, heat, or smell.

How Does the Self-Cleaning Feature Work

You must meet a few prerequisites before using the fast and simple self-cleaning technique to burn the grease in your oven to ash on high heat. Be careful to remove everything from your oven before using it again since it will heat up to temperatures much higher than you would for cooking. Remove any pans and lift up any foil you might have put down on the oven’s bottom to catch spills.

Additionally, it’s a good idea to remove the racks to avoid any potential warping or texture erosion. As stated below, you can clean each one independently.

After removing everything, close the oven door and activate the self-cleaning function. Remember that your oven may need up to four hours to clean itself. Check your manufacturer’s manual for the exact procedure and time so you can plan ahead.

How to Clean Inside of Oven

You may detect a harsh or burnt odor when your oven is cleaning. This is very normal, so don’t worry. Simply open the window to allow some fresh air to enter the space.

Your oven will turn off on its own after the self-cleaning cycle is finished. It might take another hour or so for it to cool down enough to unlock the door. Once it has cooled, use a moist sponge or towel to clean the inside of the oven and remove any remaining ash.

“Use an oven cleaner or prepare a cleaning solution by combining vinegar and baking soda to remove any remaining baked-on food after the self-cleaning cycle.”

Try a DIY Oven Cleaner for Tough Grease & Grime

Baking oil and dirt from an oven may be quite difficult to remove, particularly if the oven is not equipped with a self-cleaning option. But fear not—all it takes to make your oven spotless is three everyday household ingredients: vinegar, water, and baking soda.

Here’s how to do it:

• Combine about half a mug of baking soda with adequate water to form a thick paste. To get the desired consistency, gradually add a little amount of warm water at a time. You may need to make more paste, depending on your oven size.
• Apply the paste inside your oven using a fresh or very clean paintbrush to prevent paint from leaking into the oven.
• Use a spray bottle filled with equal parts water and vinegar inside your oven. Baking soda will bubble up with the vinegar, which will also dissolve any dirt. If there are any heavy or tenacious stains, use more spray.
• If the stains in your oven are very difficult to remove, let the vinegar and baking soda in there for at least 12 hours before cleaning it with a fresh towel and clean water. It’s advisable to let it sit overnight. Proceed once more if necessary.

How to Clean Oven Door Glass

Are you wondering how to clean oven glass? You can clean the inside of your oven door in two different ways:

• First, you can mist the window with an all-purpose cleaning or oven spray cleaner that you can buy at the supermarket. Before using any harsh chemicals, make sure you read the instructions that come with your product. Use a moist sponge or cloth to wipe and thoroughly rinse the cleaner after following the instructions on the packaging for how long to let it soak.
• As an alternative, you can use a homemade oven-cleaning solution. After letting it rest on the door, use dish soap and a gentle brush to clean it. Next, give it a quick rinse using a moist sponge or towel.

“Use a razor blade to gently scrape away any persistent burn scars or food particles.”

How to Clean Oven Racks

This is how to keep your oven racks clean:

• Put them in a hot water bath with some dish soap that cuts grease. This will facilitate cleaning by assisting in releasing the oily buildup. After that, cleanse them with a strong sponge or scouring pad.
• You can use the baking soda paste to remove obstinate stains from stainless steel racks. Please exercise caution while using baking soda on aluminum racks as they may react negatively with the metal. Reinstall the racks in the oven after cleaning them.

“It’s a good idea to give the broiler pan a thorough cleaning as well while you’re cleaning your oven. Simply give it a thorough scrub and soak it in the same soapy solution.”

How to Clean the Oven Door

Apart from the customary spills and messes that arise when cooking, the outside of your oven door may accumulate oily buildup. Here’s how to make it clean:

• Wash the exterior of the oven door with a soft cloth and hot, soapy water. After, be sure to give it a thorough rinse.
• For further gloss, use a paper towel and a little amount of glass cleaner to polish the door.
• Using a stainless steel cleaner designed especially for that kind of surface will bring out the best in the shine of your oven’s stainless steel finish.

How Often Should You Clean Your Oven?

According to our research, you should often clean your oven every three to six months or more if needed. Spot cleaning at various points throughout the month is also a smart idea. Your oven will be easy to clean the better you take care of it. Also, maintaining a reasonably clean oven makes the task simpler and produces food that tastes better and has fewer germs.

Maintenance & Oven Cleaning Tips

The frequency of thorough cleaning of an oven is contingent upon its use. It’s a good idea to thoroughly clean your oven every three months if you or your family cooks often. However, twice a year, thorough cleaning should be sufficient if you sometimes prepare large dinners, such as over the holidays.

Food that has burned or built up in your oven might have an impact on flavor. Therefore, it’s a good idea to do a quick cleaning once a month to avoid any difficult-to-remove build-up. To achieve this, there are a couple of simple methods:

• After applying the baking soda and water mixture and waiting an hour or two, remove it with a cloth.
• Consider using a combination of water and lemon juice to spritz your oven. Lemon acid has the ability to dissolve grease and facilitate its removal. After thoroughly cleaning your oven with clear water, use a scrub brush to remove any remaining dirt.
• To make a steam-cleaning oven of your own, partially fill an oven-safe pan with two-thirds water and one-third white vinegar. Adjust the oven temperature between 300 and 350 degrees Fahrenheit, then place it in the center of the rack. Leave it in the oven after around 30 minutes or until all the water has evaporated. Use a moist sponge to clean the oven when it has cooled. If required, repeat.

You can maintain your oven’s functionality and appearance by knowing how to clean it. 

Tricks to Maintain Your Oven Over Time

In between routine cleanings, consider the following additional advice to help you maintain a clean oven:

• Cover the oven base with oven liners or aluminum foil to capture oils and grease that leak. After baking, don’t forget to take off the liners or foil.
• To leave space for the food to simmer without overflowing during cooking, try not to overfill your baking pans.
• Sheathe baking pans with aluminum foil or oven-safe lids to avoid splatters while baking.
• Use roasting packs to flavor your meal and keep splatters contained within the bag.
• If anything leaks while baking, be sure to liberally season the liquid with salt. After the oven cools, remove the salted mess with a spatula. It will be considerably simpler to clear than a tough, baked-up stain.
• After baking, use steam to cleanse your oven. It’s a painless method to safely remove small quantities of dirt, but after using it, take care to take out the water bowl from the oven.

How to keep your oven clean

The difficult part of maintaining a clean and shining oven is not knowing when to stop! To help you keep it clean for longer, consider these tips:

1. Use oven liners

Line the bottom of your oven with foil or one of those convenient, easy-to-clean oven sheets that you can get at kitchen shops before you begin cooking. You won’t ever need to clean the oven floor again thanks to these non-stick sheets, which are available in a variety of sizes to accommodate any oven!

2. Purchase roasting bags

To avoid spills and splatters while cooking, use roasting bags for meat, fish, or vegetables.

3. Clean immediately after use

After using the oven, make sure it’s clean right away by heating a heat-resistant dish of water inside for 20 minutes at a high temperature. This will assist in removing grease and grime. Wipe out any dirt from the inner surfaces after it has cooled down enough.

4. Consider hiring a professional oven-cleaning service

If you can’t handle the muck and grease, think about getting an oven cleaning service. It eliminates the headache of cleaning it yourself and saves time.

FAQs

Explore Further:

• How to Clean Dishwasher—Like a Pro!
• How to Choose a Great Stick Vacuum to Clean Your House?
• Top 10 Electric Lawn Mowers: The Quiet Revolution in Lawn Care