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How to Clean an Oven

Do you know how to clean an oven?

This is probably one of the scariest kitchen cleaning tasks.

A lot of us might have self-cleaning oven but are afraid to press the button.

I don’t blame you because ovens get scorching hot (over 900 F) when they self-clean.

This tutorial will show you how to remove grease and grime from your oven by using a few basic products.

You might even have one in your kitchen right now!

How long do you think all this will take?

Let’s dive into this cleaning chore so that you can see some shortcuts :DWe always host Thanksgiving dinner.

It’s a ton of fun but the oven and stove get covered in food, grease, and other unidentifiable foodstuffs.

So it’s good to have a cleaning routine that’s quick and actually works.

What I’m sharing with you may not get your oven or stove top back to looking brand new.

But it’ll make surfaces look a heck of a lot better.

Here’s the complete supply list

  • Baking Soda (FREE or $2)
  • Kitchen Sponge (FREE or $2)
  • Dawn Dishwashing Liquid (FREE or $3)
  • Paper Towels (FREE or $1)
  • Microfiber Cloth ($1)
  • Weiman Stainless Steel Wipes ($5)
  • Steel Wool #0000 ($4)
  • Straight Razor Blade (FREE or $3)
  • Ammonia ($2)
  • Plastic Container with Lid (FREE)

Not a bad supply list.

So let’s dive into the cleaning…

My oven cleaning test with baking soda (maybe try this at home)

I love testing cleaning products.

And you might want to adopt the same habit.

It’s good practice to see how any cleaning product will react with the surface you’re wanting to spruce up.

I also suggest reading your oven’s manual to see what it recommends for cleaning.

That’s exactly what I did.

But what if you don’t have the manual?

Check out this site to get free manuals online http://www.manualsonline.com/

Our oven is a little over 5 years old and I had to find the manual on the web.

But even if you can’t find your manual these tips will help.

The first test I did was with baking soda and water.

Baking Soda and Water

Mix the baking soda and water into a paste that has the consistency of Elmer’s glue.

I found that if you let this mixture sit on a surface for 10-15 minutes it will absorb grease.

You can then simply wipe it off with the soft side of a kitchen sponge.

Baking Soda and Water Removes grease

If you’re worried about scratches test this mixture on a small section of your oven and see what happens.

The baking soda mixture was great for the inside and door surfaces but didn’t do anything for grease on the oven door window.

What’s the best way to clean grease from an oven window?

Turn’s out it’s pretty simple…

Dawn dishwashing liquid is AWESOME

Believe it or not my oven cleaning directions said to apply dishwashing liquid to the glass in the door.

So I did this, let it sit for 15 minutes, then scraped off the grease with a razor blade.

RAZOR BLADE!!!!

Yes, the directions actually say to do this.

And it totally works.

Apply Dishwashing Liquid

My recommendation is to let the Dawn sit on the glass for at least 15 minutes so that it can break up the grease.

Again, you don’t have to worry about scratching the glass as long as you place the razor’s edge flush with the glass.

When my wife saw me using the razor on the glass she freaked out a little until I showed her the results and the fact that it didn’t scratch the glass.

Then she was wowed by my marvelous cleaning abilities (I didn’t tell her that’s what the manual said to do, haha).

I found that running the razor at a 45 degree angle across the glass worked the best at removing residue.

Dawn Dishwashing Liquid

Use paper towels to absorb the Dawn and clean the window.

If you have a self-cleaning oven you can use that functionality to clean the inside.

Yes, this is scary.

The oven will be hotter than 900 Fahrenheit.

THAT’S HOT.

I had some reservations about using the self-cleaning.

But it totally helped with not only the inside of the oven but the stop top, too.

Should you press the self-clean button on your oven?

Here’s my suggestion: if you’re comfortable with letting your oven self-clean then do it.

Simple.

If you’re worried you’ll burn down your house then don’t self-clean.

If you don’t have a vent hood or window to open in the kitchen (to let out heat) then don’t self-clean.

You can use the baking soda and water mixture to clean the entire inside of your oven.

It’ll just be a little messy.

Before hitting the self-clean button you should remove any food debris from the oven using a sponge and water.

Remove Food Debris

The heat will turn anything else left in the oven to a white ash.

My directions said to clean the oven and door frame so before the self-clean process.

I also removed the oven racks. Although some oven models don’t require this.

Check out the video to get my secret formulas for cleaning the burners, stove top, and racks with minimal effort.

I’m actually amazed myself at how easy the cleaning went and the final results.

What’s Next

This cleaning approach helped me a ton.

I also did an experiment on how to clean a greasy kitchen hood – the results are impressive.

If you’re doing a bathroom remodel and need help, join one of our online courses – they’ll make your bathroom renovation much easier!

Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to help.

Thanks as always for reading, watching, and being part of our awesome community.

Cheers,

Jeff

Oven Cleaning Tips