Cleaning Tips

How to Clean an Oven

photo credit: Jennuine Captures via photopin cc

You have two options here when learning how to clean an oven as far as I'm concerned; in my own personal experience anyway.

I used to help my mother clean a lot growing up, did a lot of housekeeping as a teenager, and as an adult I worked as a self-employed house keeper at one point (made pretty darn good money too!).

When I was self-employed, I was cleaning vacant apartments and condos for a realty company to get them ready for new tenants and I cleaned a lot of ovens.

Method Number One

When I cleaned vacant apartments and had to clean an oven I would put on a mask and spray the oven with a fume free oven cleaner spray. I would then let is sit for as long as it needed to sit while I went on to clean other things. Even though the spray I used was fume-free I still wore a mask. When it was ready to be wiped down I would wipe it down with a rag. I prefer to not use scrubby sponges with ovens because little pieces of the sponge break off into your oven and you don't want that.

That can also happen with some rags, so be careful about the material that you are cleaning your oven with. I'm also paranoid about anything that can cause fire (again - OCD), so avoid anything flammable falling into your oven. Use a rag that is strong and won't break apart. You can always test it out.

Now that you're ready to wipe it down grab your rag and a bucket. Fill the bucket with warm to hot water, preferably hot since you're going to be wearing cleaning gloves anyway. The hotter the better. Dip the rag into the water bucket and begin wiping down the oven, starting with the door that way you don't get oven cleaner on yourself! :D

Once the door is all clean, then start working on the inside. To clean the racks you should really take them out and clean them in either your kitchen sink or bath tub. The bath tub would give you more space but it can be done at the kitchen sink too. You will probably have to rinse out your bucket a few times before you're finished as the water will become dirty.

Method Number Two

Your second option and less toxic option in cleaning your oven is to use S.O.S. pads with a bucket of hot water and a rag to rinse. A little more time consuming but less toxic.

And there you have it. That's how to clean an oven. When you're finished your oven should be sparkling like new!!