How to Clean an Oven (3 Methods)

Cleaning an oven is probably high on most people’s lists of household jobs they would rather ignore.

The problem is that if your oven doesn’t get a good, regular clean, it will just become even dirtier and harder to clean when you finally get around to it.

In this article, we will discuss how often you should clean your oven and then give you three different ways you can clean it. 

How Often Should You Clean Your Oven?

How often you should clean your oven mainly depends on how often you are using your oven. In general, if you use your oven regularly (i.e., 5 times or more a week), you should give it a clean every 3 months, and if you only use it a couple times a week, cleaning your oven twice a year should be enough. However, if you notice a build-up of grease or grime, or if you can smell a strong odor coming from your oven when it is operating, you should clean it out immediately, as this can be a fire risk.

Three Ways to Clean Your Oven

1) Self-Cleaning Ovens

Some makes and models of ovens have a self-cleaning function that you can use to clean your oven when it is dirty. Check your oven’s manual to find out how to use the self-cleaning function and how often the manufacturer recommends that you self-clean your oven.

The problem with using the self-cleaning function is that it isn’t very good for cleaning very dirty ovens. If you have a large build-up of grease and grime in your oven, it can be a fire risk since the self-cleaning function heats your oven to very high heat. So, it’s recommended that if your oven is more than moderately dirty, you should clean it out manually using one of the two methods below.

2) Clean Your Oven with Oven Cleaner

If you don’t have a self-cleaning oven or if your oven needs a good, manual clean, then you have two options: clean it with an oven cleaner or use a natural cleaning solution.

If you’re cleaning your oven with oven cleaner, here’s how to do it:

1. Turn the power off to your oven.
2. Remove the racks and thermometer from your oven.
3. To keep chemicals and/or water from dripping onto your kitchen floor, place an old towel down on the floor under the oven.
4. To keep yourself safe, put on safety gloves, a mask, and glasses.
5. Grab the oven cleaner and spray it around the inside of the oven and on the inside of the door – making sure you spray all the hard-to-reach places. If your oven is electric and has elements on the top or bottom of it, don’t spray them; instead, you should be able to lift them up and spray the cleaner underneath them.
6. Once you’ve sprayed the oven, you can close the door and leave the cleaner to absorb into the oven for about 20-30 minutes (check the instructions on the cleaner bottle to make sure).
7. While you’re waiting, spray the oven racks with the cleaner (if possible, it is a good idea to do this outside). Another tip is to put the racks into a large plastic bag after you have sprayed them, as this will help the cleaning process. Once sprayed, leave the racks for 20-30 minutes.
8. Once the oven is ready to clean, grab a cleaning cloth and pour a little bit of water onto it so it’s damp, and then open the oven door and wipe the whole oven out, making sure you get into all of the hard-to-reach spaces. If there are any hard-to-remove stains, you can use an abrasive pad to remove them.
9. Once the oven is clean, you can grab the oven racks and clean them in your sink with hot, soapy water and a scouring pad to remove all of the grease and grime.
10. You can now put the oven racks back into the oven and use your oven again!

3) Clean Your Oven with Baking Soda and Vinegar

If you don’t have or don’t want to use a commercial cleaning product, you can make a more natural cleaning solution using baking soda and vinegar.

Here’s how to clean your oven in a more “natural” way:

1. Turn the power off to the oven.
2. Remove the racks and thermometer from the oven.
3. Place an old towel underneath the oven on the floor to soak up any water or cleaning solution that drips down.
4. Mix ½ a cup of baking soda with 2-3 tablespoons of water in a bowl, and mix it together to make a paste that you can spread.
5. Put a pair of safety gloves on, and then spread the paste inside the oven and on the oven door using your hands. Make sure you get into all of the hard-to-reach spaces and that you don’t put the paste directly onto the heating elements.
6. Once you’ve spread the paste in the oven, close the door and let the oven sit for 12 hours or overnight.
7. Place the oven racks into the kitchen sink, sprinkle baking soda on them, and spray them with vinegar. You can now fill your sink up with hot water until the racks are covered. Leave the racks for 12 hours or overnight to soak.
8. Once the oven is ready, put on a pair of safety gloves and grab a damp cloth. Open the oven door and wipe down all of the surfaces in the oven – make sure you get into all of the hard-to-reach spaces so there is no baking soda solution left in your oven. If you have any difficulty cleaning parts of the oven, you can spray vinegar on the affected spot and then scrub it with an abrasive pad.
9. Once the oven is clean, give the oven racks a good scrub, and then rinse them with hot water. When they are dry, you can put the racks back into the oven.
10. Your oven should now be nice and clean and ready to use!