How to Deep Clean Your Oven

Grime and soot on the oven walls can affect the quality and flavor of the food you’re cooking. Additionally, grease and pieces of burnt food can stain the glass, making it hard to watch the cooking process.

5-Minute Crafts would like to tell you how you can clean your oven correctly, how often you should do it, and what you can do to prevent it from becoming greasy.

Necessary gear

To clean your oven, you’ll need:

• Thick rubber glass

• Old newspapers or paper towels

• A sponge

• A cloth rag

• Store-bought oven cleaner

• Vinegar

• Baking soda

How to clean the oven with a store-bought oven cleaner

1. Lay out newspapers or paper towels on the floor beneath your oven to prevent grease and the oven cleaner from staining the floor.

2. Remove everything from your oven, including racks, pizza stones, thermometers, etc.

3. Put on your gloves and spray the oven cleaner around the inside of your oven, covering the back, sides, bottom, top, door, corners, and crevices. If you have an electric oven, don’t spray it on the heating elements — instead, simply lift them up and spray underneath. If you have a gas oven, don’t spray where the gas comes through.

4. Close the oven when you’re done. Let the spray sit for the time listed on the label (most cleaners will need about 20 to 30 minutes).

5. Take a damp cloth or rag, open the oven, and wipe down all the surfaces. If there are extra sticky spots, use a wet scouring pumice or microfiber sponge to remove all the grime.

6. Rinse the rag and wipe the oven again until you’ve removed the remains of the oven cleaner.

How to clean the oven with baking soda and vinegar

If you prefer natural cleaners, try to clean your oven with vinegar and baking soda. Repeat the first 2 steps of the previous method, then do the following:

1. Make a baking soda paste. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup of baking soda with a few tablespoons of water.

2. Put on some gloves and spread the paste all over the interior surfaces of your oven, steering clear of the heating elements. The baking soda will turn a brownish color as you rub it in, which is fine. Just try to coat the whole oven to the best of your ability, paying extra attention to any particularly greasy areas.

3. Shut the oven and allow the baking soda mixture to rest for at least 12 hours or overnight.

4. After 12 hours, take a damp dishrag and wipe out as much of the dried baking soda paste as you can. Use the abrasive part of the sponge to remove stubborn stains.

5. Put a little vinegar in a spray bottle and spritz everywhere you still see any baking soda residue in your oven. The vinegar will react with the baking soda and gently foam.

6. Rinse the cloth and wipe out the remaining foamy vinegar-baking soda mixture.

How to clean between the glass on an oven door

1. Open the oven door.

2. Check the hinges on your oven door — they are on the bottom left and right of the oven door. There should be small levers. Pull them toward you*.

*For some models, it is enough just to push the door back until it comes out of its hinges. Then you can pull the door gently away and lay it on the floor. After, you will have to push in the tabs on the top right and left of the oven door. This allows you to remove the panel and take out the glass.

3. There is a plastic panel on the top of the oven door. Along the edges of the panel, there are hidden tabs. Press them.

4. Now remove the plastic panel from the top of the oven door.

5. Pull up the glass and remove it from the oven door.

Clean all the glass panels, then put them back, fix the plastic panel, and put down the clips on the hinges.

How often you should clean the oven

It depends on how often you use it. If you use your oven on a daily basis, clean it every 3 months. If you rarely use it, it’s enough to clean it once or twice a year.

However, it’s recommended to clean the oven if you notice old greasy stains, smell unpleasant odors, or see smoke form during cooking.

How to keep your oven clean

• Use roasting bags for meat, fish, or even vegetables to stop spills or splatters.

• When you check the progress of your cooking, remove the tray rather than prodding inside the oven.

• As soon as you’ve finished using the oven, put a heat-resistant bowl of water inside and heat it at a high temperature for 20 minutes. This will help loosen dirt and grease. Then when it’s cool enough, wipe the interior surfaces to remove grime.