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Have you taken a good look at your oven recently and realize it needs to be cleaned? But then you also realized you have no idea How to Clean Your Oven? It's no secret that cleaning the oven is not an enjoyable task. Most people don't even know how to do it! If you find yourself in this not so fun situation, first of all remember that you aren't alone and secondly, remember that with just a bit of elbow grease and a few key tips, your oven can be clean and sparkly in no time.
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The Ultimate Guide On How To Clean Your Oven Easily
Of course, no one wants to cook food in a dirty oven. I mean, think about it this way, when was the last time you really looked inside of your oven. Go ahead, open the oven door. What does it look like? Are there a lot of stains? Burnt on food from the last time you made lasagna and the sauce popped out and boiled up and over out of the pan?
How about built-up grease that's on the inside of the door (Yuck)? Believe me, I'm not judging, my oven is well used and looks like it has been used too. So that's why I do the not so fun task of cleaning it out multiple times a year. It's just one of those things that has to be done.
So if you are looking for ways to tackle this daunting task efficiently, we have some easy tips that I think you will find very helpful.
How Do I Know The Best Way For My Appliance?
Before you dive in, always refer to the owner's manual that came with your oven. If you no longer have it, then see if you can get the manual online. Most manufacturer's have them available now to download for free.
My particular oven is a self-cleaning oven so I know there are certain steps that I need to do with my oven that you may not need to do with yours. So first and foremost, ALWAYS check your oven manual if you've never cleaned your oven before.
How Often Should I Do This?
There is really no set timeframe for this. If you rarely use your oven, a few times a year will be fine. If you use your oven multiple times a week like a do, then every other month or month may be how often you need to clean it.
Other ways to know if it needs cleaned is if it starts to smoke from burnt on food from your previous meal, if you start to smell something funky coming out of the oven when you are baking something different. You know, like if you are making a cake and you can still smell fish. (Yeah, I know bad smell combo, but if you can smell that fish still, clean out the burnt on residue inside your oven before you make that chocolate cake or guess what's gonna smell like fish?)
Isn't That What The Self-Clean Option Is For?
Yes and no. If your oven has that option, that feature works great if your oven just needs a basic clean once a month.
If you really need to get in there and do a deep clean, this feature won't do that.
But here is something to keep in mind. If it's been A LONG TIME, and I mean a VERY LONG TIME since you've cleaned your oven and there is a big build up of grease in your oven, do NOT do the self-clean feature first.
When you use that feature, your oven locks down for a few hours and gets really hot. If you have a very big buildup of gunk in your oven, it could be an issue for your oven and cause problems.
Think of the self-clean feature as maintenance mode for your oven.
What Equipment Do I Need?
- old newspaper
- scrubber pads
- bucket
- sponges
- rubber gloves
- a brush with a long handle
- toothbrush - pick up a pack of toothbrushes at your Dollar Store to have on hand for cleaning
- clean towels (preferably old towels you use for cleaning)
- bowl (if you are going to use baking soda and vinegar)
- baking soda
- distilled white vinegar
- small spray bottle - you can also pick this up at your local Dollar Store
Keep in mind that if you are using anything abrasive inside of your oven, it will scratch it. Make sure to use non-abrasive brushes/pads.
How To Get Started
First of all, make sure your oven is turned off.
Next, wipe down the oven knobs, handles, and control panels with an all-purpose cleaner or an all-natural cleaner that you prefer. This chore should be done each day when you use your stove and oven.
Remove the oven racks and set them aside for now.
What I will go over next is on how to clean the inside of your oven naturally. I don't use commercial cleaners when I clean my oven. I'm really sensitive to chemically (I know, not a real word) strong smells so I don't use them in my home. If you decide to use them, refer to your owner's manual to see what brand they recommend.
Using Vinegar and Baking Soda
I think using this combination of ingredients is a great way to clean your kitchen. I happen to think it cuts grease and burnt on grime on my stovetop and in the oven beautifully and there is no chemical smell, which I love.
And since I buy my vinegar in a large container and I always have baking soda on hand, I always have what I need to clean my stove and oven.
In a bowl, add in about ½ cup of baking soda and then slowly start adding in a few tablespoons of water at a time. You will need to stir the mixture together after each tablespoon of water until you get a spreadable paste.
Next, you will spread the paste all over the inside of the oven. A smaller paintbrush works for this or you can use your hands. It's totally up to you.
This is also where you will use the toothbrush and sponge to really get in there and work the paste into the gunk. You can also use a wallpaper scraper to scrap off the gunk once you are ready to remove the baking soda paste.
Leave the paste sit for a while then make a spritz in your spray bottle of distilled white vinegar, allow it to foam, then wipe the vinegar and baking soda out of the oven.
You may need to repeat the vinegar spritz to remove the remaining baking soda out of the oven. Sometimes I will also follow up with hot water in a bucket or in a separate small spray bottle and use a sponge to rinse everything out.
Now, keep in mind, depending on how dirty your oven is, you may have to do the baking soda paste multiple times or you may need to let it sit for a long time so that it really gets to work on the build-up.
How to Clean The Racks
If you have any burnt on food residue on the racks, scrape it off and then take the racks outside and wipe down the racks with a sponge that has a little bit of the baking soda and vinegar mixture on it or use a scrub brush and give them a good scrubbing, rinse, and let dry.
Now, if it's the middle of Winter or if you don't have the space to take them outside, make sure to check out this bathtub oven rack cleaning hack that the guys over at The Kitchn came up with!
Once the oven is thoroughly cleaned, replace the racks and you are good to go! Now, after all of that, before you use your oven again, tell the fam the kitchen is closed for the night because you aren't dirtying your clean oven at least for 24 hours!
What do you use when cleaning your oven? Leave a comment below!
I'm always looking tips on cleaning the oven. Thank you for sharing great tips.