Whether you own your house or you're renting, chances are your oven has not had a proper cleaning in a while. Our cleaning hacks for ovens will show you the best way to give it some love and restore it to its original condition.
Regular use and improper cleaning of even the best ovens will result in build-ups of grease, staining of the windows, and rust. Leftover crumbs and food debris can burn at the bottom of your oven and make it smoke every time you use it. Unless you want to set off your fire alarm every time you roast something, it might be time for a good scrub.
Ideally, you should clean your oven thoroughly at least once a month. It helps if you wipe your oven down every few uses, especially if you know you've made a mess.
As it's officially spring, why not set aside some time in your cleaning routine to give your oven a cleaning? Follow our cleaning hacks below to bring it back to life.
Our top cleaning hacks for ovens
What you will need:
- Rubber gloves
- Sponges
- Microfiber cloths
- Hot water
- Dish soap, or a dishwasher tablet
- Bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar, or oven cleaner
- A metal scraper
In order to properly clean your oven, you will need to take it apart. Remove all the trays from inside the oven, and remove the door if possible. Near the hinges, you should find two clasps you can undo to gently remove the door from the rest of the oven.
Once all your parts are separated, you can clean each one of them separately.
Inside the oven
If you've managed to remove your oven door, you will be able to remove crumbs and grime from the crevices and vents.
To clean the inside of your oven, you have two options: using a store-bought chemical cleaner or with a natural baking soda and white vinegar paste.
If you decide to use a chemical product, apply it as indicated on the bottle and wait the appropriate amount of time before wiping it off. As these products are strong, remember to wear rubber gloves and ventilate your kitchen properly while using them.
If you want to go down the natural, homemade route, make a paste with 1/2 cup of bicarbonate of soda and 3 tablespoons of water. Lather it on the inside of the oven, including the crevices and corners, and leave it for at least ten hours, ideally overnight.
Once that is done, spray a cloth with white vinegar and wipe off the paste - you should find the grease comes off easily. You can also use a metal spatula or scraper to get rid of stubborn debris.
The shelves and trays
We also tested an oven cleaning hack inspired by this TikTok video that showed three unusual ways that you could use dishwasher tablets, including cleaning stovetop grates, the inside of your washing machine, and your kitchen sink drain. However, we tried soaking our oven trays and shelves in hot water with a single dishwasher cleaning tablet – and the grease lifted clean off!
There are several ways of effectively cleaning the oven shelves. You could soak them in warm water and dish soap for at least 30 minutes, then scrub them with a sponge until residue and grease have disappeared. Alternatively, if they fit, you can put most oven trays and shelves in the dishwasher.
Once your trays and shelves are clean, leave them to dry and then place them back in the oven.
The door
You'll probably find the door of your oven is stained with streaks of grease. Once you have taken it off its hinges, you can choose the same two cleaning methods as for the inside of your oven.
Firstly, scrape off any baked-on food debris with a metal spatula or ceramic scraper. Don't apply too much force to avoid leaving marks on the oven door.
Most store-bought oven cleaners will do a good job of cleaning your oven window, but they are strong and harsh, so you might prefer to go down the natural route.
Using the same bicarbonate of soda and water paste, apply it over the entirety of the oven door and leave it to rest for 20 minutes. Wipe the paste off with a vinegar-sprayed microfiber cloth.
How to keep your oven clean between uses
The best way to keep your oven clean between scrubs is to wipe it down regularly. That way, when you come to deep cleaning, there will be less grease to scrub off.
After each use of your oven, especially messy ones, leave it on high heat for 15 minutes, placing a heatproof bowl full of water inside it. The steam will help any grime come off the sides and bottom of the even. Turn the heat off and wait for the oven to cool down before wiping the inside of the oven with a cloth.
This might seem like a lot of effort, but it will save you a lot of time when it comes to your next clean!
