Depending on how dirty your oven is, you’ll want to let the cleaner sit overnight.
Cost
Up to $25
You might need a thing or two.
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What you'll need:
TOOLS
Sponge or dishcloth
Rubber gloves
Spray bottle
Razor blade
SUPPLIES
Oven cleaner (optional)
Baking soda
Vinegar
Dish soap
Paper towels
It’s easy to shut your oven door and forget about it, but that build-up of crumbs, grease, and other burnt remnants can become a serious stuck-on mess. Before you know it, the smoke detector is going off, your cookies have a funky flavor, and one look inside your oven makes you grimace in horror.
While it’s nobody’s favorite chore, you’ll do your oven (and your future self) a big favor by keeping it clean. Here’s how to clean an oven so it stays smoke- and grime-free.
Prepping to Clean Your Oven
Scrubbing out an oven can seem like a major task, but the right supplies can make it much easier. While a commercial oven cleaner is always an option, if you don’t have that handy, you can effectively clean it with baking soda and vinegar. A paste of baking soda and water helps to loosen baked-on spills, and vinegar is an effective cleaner to remove residue from oven surfaces. For your tools, you can use a clean cloth or sponge to wipe out the oven.
Turn Off the Oven
Turn off your oven and ensure it’s fully cooled before you get started. Using baking soda and vinegar or commercial oven cleaner can require up to 12 hours for the cleaning agents to work, so be sure you won’t need to use your oven until the process is complete.
Empty the Oven and Scrub the Oven Racks
Next, take your oven racks, bakeware, and any other objects out of the oven. To clean the oven racks, place them in hot, soapy water to soak for at least two hours. Then, scrub them clean and rinse. If your oven racks won’t fit in the sink, consider placing them in a bathtub so they’re fully submerged in the suds.
Use the Self-Cleaning Feature
Wondering how to clean a self-cleaning oven? Many ovens have a feature that uses extremely high temperatures to burn off any residue to clean inside of the oven. If your oven has this feature and you want to use it, follow the manufacturer’s instructions and run the self-cleaning cycle after removing the racks, then skip to Step 8 once it’s complete. This process will usually take several hours and is often accompanied by a strong smell, so make sure your kitchen is well ventilated.
Remove Large Pieces of Food and Debris
Unfortunately, there are likely crispy bits of food debris left over from past meals inside your oven. Use a paper towel to remove any bits of food and debris from the oven.
Make a Baking Soda Paste
Now, combine about one-half cup of baking soda with small amounts of hot water, stirring until it becomes a paste. The consistency of the paste should be thick enough so that it can be applied to the oven walls without running down. If your paste ends up too thin, simply add more baking soda to thicken it up.
Spread the Baking Soda Paste Inside the Oven
Don rubber gloves and spread the baking soda paste all around the oven’s interior with your hands. You can also opt for a sponge. Ensure that all interior surfaces are covered, including the walls and the bottom of the oven, but avoid the glass on the inside of the oven door for now. For stubborn stuck-on spots, add a little extra baking soda paste and use your hand or sponge to scrub the spot a bit, leaving the paste to sit on the spot once you’re done.
Let it Sit
Close the oven door and let the baking soda paste sit overnight or up to 12 hours. Ovens with a lot of burned-on food or other resistant spots will benefit from a longer time to let the baking soda break up the stuck-on material.
Wipe the Oven’s Interior
Once the baking soda has sat overnight, use a damp sponge to re-wet any stubborn spots and use the baking soda paste to scrub at the spot. Then, wipe down the oven’s interior with a clean, damp cloth or sponge.
Spray the Inside of the Oven With Vinegar
In your spray bottle, mix up a solution of equal parts vinegar and water. Spray all interior surfaces with the solution. If there is any remaining baking soda residue, the vinegar will bubble when it comes in contact with it. (While this reaction looks dramatic, once the two ingredients mix, they both immediately start breaking down and you’re essentially left with water after the bubbles stop.) Wipe the interior surfaces after spraying with vinegar for a like-new shine.
Scrape Away Stuck-On Messes
Sometimes stubborn stuck-on messes can stick around, even when the other elements of the oven are clean. Carefully use a razor blade or other sharp tool to remove any stubborn burnt food, if necessary. Follow up with a spray of your vinegar solution to remove any residue once the spot is removed.
Clean the Interior and Exterior Door
Mix up a small batch of the baking soda paste and apply it in a thin layer to the glass on the inside of your oven door. Let it sit for about half an hour, then wipe clean. If any burned-on spots remain, carefully use a razor blade or plastic scraper to remove them. Finish by spraying the vinegar solution and wiping it away with a clean rag or paper towel to avoid streaks.
To clean the exterior of the door, use a sponge or rag dampened with a little dish soap and water to cut through any greasy residue. Finish by cleaning the glass with your vinegar solution and a paper towel or clean rag. If your oven is stainless steel, clean the stainless steel components with a cleaner formulated for that material.
Tips for Keeping Your Oven Clean
Now that the inside of your oven is squeaky clean, let’s review some tips to keep it that way.
Line the bottom of your oven with aluminum foil to catch stray drips and crumbs.
Avoid placing food directly on your oven racks to cook.
Wipe up spills and splatters as soon as they happen.
Cleaning your oven can be a pain, especially if you’ve been putting it off. If you're pressed for time (or willpower), hiring a local house cleaning service can help ease your stress and get your oven sparkling in no time.
"Cleaning appliances is a tedious and long process," says Asya Biddle, Angi Expert Review Board member and manager of The Dust Busters janitorial company in Williamsport, PA. "Every homeowner needs to weigh the cost versus time benefit of DIY to hiring a pro." Many people find that the cost of a house cleaner is worth avoiding tasks like cleaning the oven.
Frequently Asked Questions
In general, a good rule is to clean your oven every three months, but this will depend on how often you use your oven and how much debris and residue there is. If you notice smoke or a burning smell when you use your oven, that’s a pretty clear sign that it’s time to clean it.
You want to avoid using steel wool, scouring pads, or anything else that’s a strong abrasive on your oven’s interior, as they can scratch the metal, enamel, and glass surfaces. Only use materials that will not scratch the surfaces in your oven like a sponge or rag. Mixing baking soda and water makes a paste with some scrubbing power but that isn’t abrasive enough to damage your oven.
Rachel is a freelance writer and editor dedicated to helping people clean up their messes, get organized, and learn to love their homes again. Her work has appeared in Elle, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, Apartment Therapy, Lifehacker, and NBC News.
Rachel is a freelance writer and editor dedicated to helping people clean up their messes, get organized, and learn to love their homes again. Her work has appeared in Elle, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, Apartment Therapy, Lifehacker, and NBC News.
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