Cleaning the Oven

If you find deep cleaning your oven a chore, start with a clean oven and take a couple of minutes each week to give your oven a quick wipe. 

Exterior:

Wipe down the control panel and the entire unit with water (if it’s stainless steel), or hot soapy water or diluted all-purpose cleaner (if it’s not stainless steel).

Pull the stove out from the wall and clean the sides. Vacuum the back. If your stove has one, pull out the bottom drawer and vacuum underneath the stove. Wipe out the inside of the drawer and get rid of any tools and cookware you don’t need. Clean the countertop edging where it meets with the stove.  

To soften splatter on the oven door and make it easier to remove, lay cloths down on the open door. Drizzle them with hot water from the kettle. Saturate the cloths, but don’t overdo it. Let the cloths sit for about 30 minutes to rehydrate any stubborn buildup. Clean the oven window with hot soapy water. Stubborn marks can be removed with a cloth and baking soda paste.   

Interior:

If you have a self-clean oven, remove the oven racks and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. 

Use commercial oven cleaner if your oven does not have a self-clean cycle. Place newspaper on the floor to protect it from the spray and follow the instructions on the packaging.

Never line the oven with foil. It can permanently fuse to the oven floor and will void your warranty. If needed, use a baking sheet on the rack directly underneath the food to catch boil-overs.  

Oven Racks:

Oven racks can be tricky to clean. Glide or rolling oven racks shouldn’t be submerged in cleaner, because it can remove the grease in the mechanism. Instead, wet some cloths with hot soapy water, an all-purpose cleaner solution, or a commercial cleaner. Lay the cloths over the racks and let them sit until the buildup is soft enough to scrub off. Scrub with a nylon scouring pad or non-scratch SOS pad. Rinse and dry to prevent rusting.   

Soak regular oven racks in hot soapy water in your tub for at least an hour. This will soften any buildup and make them easier to clean. Put on some dishwashing gloves and scrub the racks gently with a scouring pad and hot soapy water. Rinse and dry to prevent rusting.