How to Clean a Really Dirty Oven in Just 9 Steps? [DIY Method]

As an essential cooking appliance in the kitchen, ovens require time-to-time maintenance and cleaning. Ovens are often neglected in terms of cleaning, and over time, they cause lots of problems with the appliance, the food you’re cooking in it, and your health. If you regularly clean the oven, you will extend its lifespan and improve the quality and taste of the food you’re cooking. But how can you clean your oven, especially if you haven’t done it in a long time?

In this article, we’ll go through an easy way to clean your oven using inexpensive homemade and green cleaning solutions.

How Often Should You Clean Your Oven?

Many believe cleaning an oven is unnecessary as the heat kills all bacteria and germs. This is true to some extent. High heat kills germs and bacteria that may have grown in the oven. But cooking with the oven leaves grime, fat and other food spills inside which causes unpleasant smells and smoke when burnt. Over time, food residue and grime damage the oven interior and affect the food we cook.

The frequency of oven cleaning depends on how much you cook with the oven. Most households who cook with an oven 3 times per week need to clean it every 3 months. If you’re cooking less frequently, once every six months is adequate. Also, if you rarely use the often, we still recommend cleaning it once every year so you have a clean oven if you decide to cook a meal or two in it.

Equipment & Supplies

To start cleaning, you need some equipment and cleaning supplies. Our oven cleaning technique only needs DIY cleaning solutions you can find around the house.

Rubber Gloves
Warm & Hot Water
Baking Soda (You can also use commercially available over cleaners)
White Vinegar
Dish Soap
Spray Bottle
Scrubber
Steel Wool
Cleaning Cloth
A few old newspapers

Safety’s First

Before start cleaning the oven, consider the following precautions:

Make sure the oven is not on or hot. If so, wait for it to cool down completely.
Remove oven racks and shelves as well as any other removable equipment. Put them on a piece of newspaper on the ground to prevent making the kitchen floor dirty and greasy. You can also soak them in hot water for two hours to make cleaning easier (The bathtub is a good place to soak them in hot water).
If you don’t want to use the oven for the next 12 hours, close and turn off the gas supply valve. If it’s an electric oven, unplug it.

Read More: All About COSHH Risk Assessment

The Easiest & Safest Way to Clean an Oven

When you prepare all the cleaning equipment and supplies and do all the safety checks mentioned above, it’s time to start the cleaning process. This is an easy DIY oven cleaning but it needs 12 to 15 hours to complete.

However, most of it is waiting for the cleaning solution to dissolve the grease and grime. You only spend 2 to 3 hours cleaning and scrubbing and the rest is waiting for the solution to penetrate the residue.

#1 Prepare Baking Soda Paste (5 minutes)

First, you need to prepare a baking soda paste. Baking soda paste is a versatile homemade cleaning solution used to clean many things including ovens, silverware and many other household appliances.

To make the paste, add 1/2 cup of baking soda to a bowl with an equal amount of lukewarm water. Mix until a paste is formed. You can add more baking soda and water to make more as you have to cover the entire interior of the oven with it. Just make sure the parts are equal.

If you’re using commercial oven cleaners, make sure to read and follow the instructions closely to maximise the cleaning effect.

#2 Cover The Oven Interior With The Paste (20 to 30 minutes)

Wear your rubber gloves and apply the baking soda paste with a cleaning cloth. Cover the entire interior surface starting from the back to front as well as walls, ceiling and bottom. If you’re cleaning an electric oven, start with the heating element.

Covering the inside of oven with baking soda paste

If you see very noticeable spots of grease, fat or other food residue, make sure to add extra paste to them.

#3 Waiting Game (12 to 15 hours)

The paste will begin to penetrate the grease and grime in the oven and change colour during the process. This process is very slow. Therefore, you should give it at least 12 hours to get the best results when wiping off the paste.

In the meantime, you can continue with the next steps of cleaning your oven and doing other chores and errands around the house.

#4 Wash & Clean Oven Racks (15 to 20 minutes)

If you have soaked the oven racks in hot water, cleaning them at this step is straightforward. Use the steel wool to scrape off the residue. Then, wash the rack with dish soap or washing up liquid and let it dry.

Otherwise, apply baking soda paste on oven racks and let it sit for 1 to 2 hours before wiping them off and washing them with dish soap.

#5 Wipe The Baking Soda Paste (25 to 30 minutes)

After 12 to 15 hours of applying the paste inside the oven, you can wipe it off. Dampen a cleaning cloth and start wiping the baking soda paste. For stubborn residues, you can use a scrubber, but scrape them gently without scratching the surface of the oven.

#6 Clean With White Vinegar (10 minutes)

Pour white vinegar inside a clean spray bottom and start spraying the oven interior to cover the surface completely. Wait for a few minutes, then wipe off and clean the oven interior surfaces completely.

Vinegar will help the baking soda paste to foam up and break down the remaining residues and grime inside the oven, making cleaning easier.

#7 Clean The Interior Glass (35 minutes)

To turn your oven into a clean and pristine kitchen appliance, you have to clean the oven glass as well. To clean the interior of the oven glass, make some more baking soda paste and cover the glass with it. Let it sit for 30 minutes before wiping it off. Finish the cleaning with vinegar and a damp cleaning cloth.

#8 Clean The Exterior Glass (5 minutes)

The exterior glass is often free from grime and food residue. To clean the exterior of the oven glass, spray vinegar or any other kitchen cleaning sprays and clean it with a cleaning cloth or non-abrasive scrubber. You can apply baking soda paste on stubborn stains and wipe it off with vinegar.

#9 Clean Oven Doors & Knobs (5 minutes)

To finish cleaning the oven, mix an equal amount of white vinegar and water and pour it into a clean spray bottle. Spray it on oven knobs, handle and door to clean it. You can also use stainless steel cleaners to get a bright and shiny finish if your oven body is stainless steel.

Use Oven Self-Cleaning Feature

Many modern and high-end ovens have built-in self-cleaning features. Self-cleaning usually heat the oven interior to over 400°C to incinerate any grime and residue and turn them into easy-to-wipe ash.

If your oven has a self-cleaning programme, first remove the oven racks and shelves and ensure the oven is well-maintained and doesn’t have any issues. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to use the self-cleaning feature. In most cases, oven self-cleaning takes 3 to 4 hours.

Keeping The Oven Clean for Longer

There are two easy ways to keep the oven clean for longer. First, you can cover the bottom of the oven with non-stick oven liners to catch any drips and spills during cooking. You can replace the line every 3 to 4 times you use the oven. This way, the oven remains clean after each use and proper oven cleaning is less often required.

The second way is to clean the oven after each use. After cooking with the oven, leave the oven door open and let it cool down. Then, use a damp cleaning cloth and white vinegar spray to clean the interior. This takes 10 to 15 minutes every time you use the oven but reduces the frequency of proper oven cleaning.

Conclusion

Ovens are among the kitchen appliances that we use regularly but don’t pay enough attention to cleaning and maintenance. By properly cleaning an oven, you can extend its lifespan and help the food taste better as a clean oven doesn’t have any food residue that may affect the taste of what you’re cooking. In this article, we provided instructions on the best way to clean your oven using DIY methods and cleaning supplies. We also talked about how often you should clean the oven and how you can keep the oven cleaner for longer.

The information provided by this article can help you clean any gas or electric oven with inexpensive cleaning supplies and easy-to-follow instructions even if you haven’t cleaned the oven for a long time.

How to Clean a Really Dirty Oven Easily and Safely? [9 Steps]