Cleaning your oven shouldn’t be that hard. Yes, booking a professional cleaning is one of the options, but you can also try some DIY oven cleaning techniques. So, we took the know-how of professional cleaners and gathered it all in this guide about cleaning an electric oven by yourself.
We’ve listed the easiest and fastest way, so follow along and make your oven shiny for no time.
Safety first: It’s important to follow the safety tips below.
- Unplug your oven from the electric system.
- Get a pair of thick rubber gloves to protect yourself if any electric problem occurs. Vinyl or latex gloves won’t do the job.
- Put on safety glasses. Protect your eyes and skin from chemical burns.
- Keep children and pets out of your kitchen during the cleaning process. It doesn’t matter if you’ve opted for a natural product or a store-bought one.
Table of content:
- Supplies
- Step-by-step oven cleaning
- How to Remove the odour of the oven cleaner
- Make oven cleaning easier
Supplies Needed
Get the supplies you need when you finish with the safety steps. Here is the list:
- Oven cleaner. You can use a store-bought one or make your own oven cleaner
- Garbage bags
- Newspapers
- Rags
- Slightly abrasive sponge
- Scouring pad
- Towel
Use a solution that is specially made for cleaning ovens. You’ll find many brands on the market that are manufactured for this purpose.
Tip: Don’t use bleach for your oven cleaning. Yes, it disinfects and kills bacterias, but we don’t recommend it. Its general purpose is for other housekeeping chores.
If you want to try homemade cleaners, there are many recipes for mixtures. The homemade cleaners are very easy to make because they contain detergents like baking soda, vinegar and lemon. Also, choosing these methods, you’ll spend time. The mixtures always contain products that every home have.
The homemade detergent works well and most importantly – it doesn’t leave an unpleasant odour after cleaning. Below you’ll see why I’m mentioning this choice as a very good option.
After you’ve picked up the needed supplies you’re ready to start.
How to Clean Your Electric Oven
1. Take everything out
Empty your electric oven. Make sure that racks and baking dishes are out. Lay newspapers or old towels in front of your oven. They will protect your floor from the dirt.
2. Spray the sides and the racks
Read the instructions carefully if you have never used the oven cleaner before. Spray your cleaner inside the oven and be sure to avoid the heating elements. Depending on the type of your electric oven, there could be heating elements located both on the top and the bottom. Lift them up slightly and spray the cleaner carefully beneath them. Make sure you’ve covered the interior of your oven with cleaner – sides, bottom, top and the back of it. Don’t forget to spray the inner side of the door as well. According to the instructions, the detergent might need some time to take effect. Sprinkle the oven racks with cleaner too and put them in garbage bags. Leave the cleaner to do its magic.
3. Wipe down the inside of the oven
Use a damp rag to clean the oven from the cleaner and the baked off grease when the time comes. You can also use a slightly abrasive sponge for tougher stains or you can simply scrub the dirtiest spots with a scouring pad. Keep going until you rinse all the cleaner and dirt from the oven. Repeat this step until your oven is perfectly clean and do not forget to rinse the rag or sponge after each round, in order to avoid grim spreading
4. Rinse the racks and set them in place
Remove the oven racks from the bags after approximately 30 minutes. Rinse them off in the sink or bath with a damp towel and warm water. When the cleaner is completely removed, let them dry. And here you are in the final round – put the oven racks in their place. You can also use aluminium foil to scrub down the racks. For more in-depth information you should read our article which we’ll link to.
Remove the odor of the oven cleaner
After the whole oven cleaning process is completed, you’d probably still be able to feel the smell of the rest of the detergent. Especially if you’ve used store-bought oven cleaner, that’s guaranteed. So, get rid of the leftover smell easily by using one of our methods mentioned in this article.
How to reduce your oven cleaning?
The best way is to wipe down the spills immediately after you’ve finished the daily cooking. Doing this can prevent baked food and grease to smoke and smell bad. Even they can change the smell of what you’re cooking.
Keep in mind that dirty spots that were left alone for a long time, are pretty hard to be removed. Some cleaners don’t have the power to deal with them, so you can always call a company to make your oven in better condition.
Or if you don’t have the time or the energy to do this chore by yourself, you can leave this unpleasant task to a professional cleaner and meanwhile spend your free time with family or friends.
