Not only does this task tend to be one of the most dreaded cleaning tasks in the kitchen it can also be the most harmful. Chemical oven cleaners are one of the most dangerous household chemicals on the market. Oven cleaners that contain soduim hydroxide or potassium hydroxide {lye} are extremely corrosive and can be deadly if swallowed. They can also cause chemical burns to the skin or damage your lungs if the fumes are inhaled. Not really what I want to be using on my home…
Okay, so then there is the self-cleaning oven option that many of us have on our ovens. Unfortunately, this can also be harmful to us and our pets {especially birds}. Oven temperatures will get up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit during the self-cleaning cycle releasing fumes into our homes {as well as all of the grease fumes from the oven!}. Most manuals will advise you to only clean your oven in well ventilated areas with the windows and doors open and to relocate birds and other small pets to other areas.
So the last option is to go the green cleaning route!
For the last few years I have been using the Norwex Oven and Grill Cleaner to clean my oven and have been quite happy with the results. It’s quick and easy to use and doesn’t involve a lot of “elbow grease” on my end. It is a water-based, all natural and biodegradable cleaner that is non-caustic. There is still a smell associated with it when you first spray it so you do want to make sure you don’t inhale as you spray!
Lately, I have read a lot of positive feedback from cleaning the oven with baking soda and vinegar so I thought that I would give it a try this time around…
Here is the {not so pretty!} before picture of my oven.
For those of you following along on Facebook, remember when I told you how wonderful it smells to put a capful of vanilla in a coffee mug and pace it on a cookie sheet in the oven? Well this is what happens if you do not have a cookie sheet and dump the vanilla when you are taking it out…
- Make a paste with baking soda and water. I didn’t really use any measurements – just add some baking soda to a bowl and slowly mix in water until it makes a thick paste.
- Remove the oven racks. If you have pots and pans {or other items!} in the bottom drawer, I would remove those as well, as the water/baking soda can end up dripping into there as well.
- Spread the baking soda mixture over the entire oven, oven door, and glass. I had read to leave it anywhere from 20-30 minutes to overnight. I ended up leaving mine on for an hour but I would probably recommend longer if your oven looks anything like mine.
- Now the fun part – start scrubbing! I used a Norwex Enviro cloth and had a big bucket nearby to rinse it in. Things weren’t coming off quite as easily as I would have liked so I sprayed some water and vinegar on the baking soda and let it sit for about another 10 minutes. {I think I just secretly like that fizzing sound that it makes!}
- Keep scrubbing and rinsing. That baking soda residue can be a bit of a pain to take off!
- I found that most messes came off fairly easily although there were definitely a few spots that required some muscle. In the end there were also a few grease drips on the door that didn’t come off and the glass didn’t come out quite as clean as when I used the Norwex spray. {If you really want a spotless oven you could just repeat the process again a second time in those spots that need a little extra attention but I’m not too picky when it comes to my oven}
And here is the after shot – not perfect but SOOO much better!
**EDIT: I have had a number of people mention about putting aluminum foil on the bottom of the oven to catch drips and spills. Make sure you check your owner’s manual – this cannot be done with convection ovens!!**
Now while you are waiting for your baking soda mixture to sit and do its thing, there are a few other jobs that you need to do.
Clean the hood
First up, boil a pot of water so that the steam goes up and loosens up all of the grime on the stove hood. You can even add some lemon juice if you like.
Now that the hood is all moist from the steam, give it a good wipe down with a microfiber cloth. {I then shined it all up with my window cloth} Wipe down the wall behind the oven as well using warm water and some dish soap.
Clean the Oven Racks
This is actually my least favorite part of cleaning the oven. I filled a bowl with some dish soap, wet a microfiber cloth, and ran it along each of the rungs on the rack. I also mixed up a little paste of cream of tartar and hydrogen peroxide to use on the extra burned on, dingy areas. It didn’t really seem to do any better a job than the baking soda paste that I had used before but maybe I just didn’t have enough patience with scrubbing.
Clean the Stove Top
We have a glass top stove and I have tried a ton of different products to clean it. I pretty much hate cooking with the stove light on as all of the little marks drive me crazy! The best thing that I have found is a combination of the Norwex Micropad and Window Cloth. This is one place that I do not like to use baking soda as the residue seems to take forever to get off. If you want to get really fancy, you can also pull out the oven from the wall and clean behind it! So, do you have any great tricks for cleaning the oven or stove? Leave your ideas in the comments below – I would love to hear them!
This post is part of The Household Organization Diet. If you need some organization inspiration, check out THIS POST to learn more about the plan and THIS POST for all of the 2015 updates. You CAN get that house cleaned and organized once and for all! To see all of the previous posts click the Get Organized tab at the top of the blog and go to The Household Organization Diet. I also have all of the posts pinned to my Household Organization Diet pinterest board. Start at any time and make sure you are following along so you don’t miss out…
INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK / PINTEREST / NEWSLETTER
For more kitchen cleaning and organizing inspiration, check out these posts…
How to Organize a Kitchen Command Centre
How to Organize Kitchen Cabinets
Just posted about this! I found a really great way to clean the glass top:)
http://babyscardina.blogspot.com/2013/01/easy-ways-to-deep-clean-kitchen-aka.html
and also.. a tip about keeping the stove clean that my gramma taught my. Laying alluminom foil down at the bottom of the oven to catch drips and crumbs really speeds up the cleaning process, just toss it once a week and no more messy stove!
Thanks for the tip… will definitely try that. I hate cleaning my oven.
Wow, well, I wasn’t planning on cleaning my oven today, but you just may have convinced me! 🙂 You would be disgusted to hear how long it’s been since my oven was cleaned! Thank you for the helpful tips and the non chemical cleaners. It’s extremely useful! Jennifer
Wow, look how clean it turned out!! Impressive!
Chloe
http://rainbowsandhoneysuckle.blogspot.com/
Um, yeah I don’t know if I’ve ever “really” cleaned my oven. It does look like yours did, and I’m starting to think this might have to be my task for the week. Yuck.
I do the vanilla smell on my stove top. In a small pot mix vanilla and water and boil it! Just be careful to not boil the pot dry. I usually set a timer so I go back and check it!
What are we cleaning next month?? We should have a whole month for windows… my least favorite thing to try to clean.
I have a glass top stove and use bar keepers friend to clean it. Works wonders. You can find it at Target.
I have had my glass stovetop for ten years and I love it, it is so easy to clean. I also use bar keepers friend to clean it. I use a sponge with a scrubby top and it does a great job. If anything is a little bit stubborn about coming off, I use a razor blade to get it off. There is also a glass top cleaner made by Weiman that is very good . I also don’t have any noticeable scratches on my top. I would never go back to any other kind of cook top.
I so need to clean my oven it is on my “monthly cleaning list” yet I never do it! LOL
Wow! This is a handy safe tutorial on oven cleaning. I’ll have to bookmark this better yet, I’m going to follow along!
So pretty & clean! I’ve pinned this for future reference!!
Holy Cow – 100 times better. I hope to get mine cleaned this weekend – maybe it will sparkle again. I got two more cupboards cleaned out yesterday and only 2 more to go. I’ve been working on a few each day. It’s been nice to focus on the kitchen this month.
I need to do this so badly. Our oven is a hot mess. 😉 Thanks for the great motivation. I’ll put it on my to-do list.
I’d love for you to share these with my readers at my link party this weekend! They are just too cute! Hope to see you there!
Great tips! I’ll have to try some of them!
Great tips for cleaning the oven! I’m definitely going to use this in the future. Visiting from the LIl Luna features! I would love for you to come link up at my party that’s going on right now!
Any ideas on how to clean the inside of the oven door window? I spilled some liquid on the door putting something in the oven and it leaked into the window part. 🙁
Laurie and others: I found out the heard way about putting aluminum foil in the bottom of my oven. My mom ALWAYS did this. The newer ovens post on the bottom of the oven just inside of the oven door NOT to use aluminum foil. Our carbon monoxide detector kept going off. We purchased a new one, had the heating company out, then call Alliant Engery. They disconnected my stove. After calling a repairman, he showed me the message on the oven. (Hard to see). Boy was I embarrassed! I don’t know if it the the newer ovens, or change in how aluminum foil is made.
Anne-I read somewhere that the oven door window comes apart. I’ve never tried it, but it is worth investigating.
Thanks for the info Linda! Anne – I haven’t had to clean the inside of the glass but here is a link to a tutorial for you: http://www.mom4real.com/2012/10/how-to-clean-in-between-glass-on-your.html
Jenn 🙂
i also have a glass top range and i wipe down the top of the range (after it cools down or i leave to before i am gonna use it) with a vinegar soultion. i use a 1:1 vinegar to water and i add a little tiny bit of dish soap to a spray bottle. spray the cook top wipe with paper towels. i have a ceramic cook top cleaner that i use for any stuck on stuff and shiny spots from pans.
I have the same oven. Unfortunately, the day I got it, I put tinfoil down to catch drips as someone suggested above. When there is no exposed element, do not do this!!! The tinfoil melted to the bottom the black stain is permanent:( I wish I had read the manual before using the oven. I follow a few blogs, but this is the first time I found one from someone in my home province:) I am a new follower.
I just bought my first house & it has a glass cooktop. Found the best way to clean is to once you have a mess bigger than soap and water can handle, once the top is cool, wash it with soap & water – leaving the suds, sprinkle baking soda on it, and cover with wet cloths. Let it sit, and then after a 1/2 hour or so, clean it off – beautiful and looks new!!!!
My husband died in 1983 – I cleaned it once in 1984 and ended up in the hospital from the fumes of the oven cleaner. In 1985 I tried the baking soda paste followed by the vinegar water spray. I did it once a day for 30 days and did not notice anything but a ruined manicure and dry scaly skin on my hands. Oven is still dirty.
Purdy might not like this, then again they might lol. The 5 in 1 tool that many DIYers already have comes in handy for cleaning the oven racks. It even removes dried on baked on grease with very little effort. While living in Germany I found this neat little razor blade like tool on a handle that they used to clean their glass cooktops & when I couldn’t find mine I just pulled out a brand new 5 in 1 tool & used it very gently.
Work in a cafeteria baking. We put a pan of ammonia in the bottom the night before. A warm oven works best. Let sit and next day take out and wipe down. What ever is left use baking soda and vinegar. This will clean the racks too.
The ammonia works well. While you are cleaning the oven, put the racks in the bathtub. Add some cleaner (I like Spic & Span or dish soap) Cover with steaming water. When you are finished with the oven, go over the racks with a nylon scrunge and most of the crud will come off.
Great info – I’m not a massive fan of those toxic chemicals you can buy – using baking soda seems to be a pretty popular choice these days! I admittedly did resort to professional oven cleaner kent or oven cleaner birmingham based companies to do mine when it got bad until I read posts like this, so thank you! But I actually have a tip that I found really helped: EVERY time you use the cooker, just give it a quick wipe over, inside and out. I found a sponge (just water, nothing else) as the oven was cooling down to remove the spillages and grease from that cook really helped stop the build up and I don’t reach that horrible black, baked on stage any more! Thanks for the advice.
It’s funny really – you spend your whole life buying chemical cleaners because that’s just “what you do” and then you read posts like this and everything changes… the simple things can be so good sometimes!
Just wanted to say thanks – I’ve been doing my best to be far more frugal recently. The birth of my 2nd wasn’t half as scary as the first… I feel like I can be a good housewife as well as mamma – fingers crossed! One of the things I used to do was use professional oven cleaners. I can’t say a bad word about them to be honest, at my various houses over the years I’ve had them in every few months. I’d been using oven cleaner solihull and I don’t mind recommending them, however I am ashamed to say that it’s only been recently that I even knew what the word frugal meant! So thanks again for posts like this to help me on my way to being a better stay at home mamma 🙂 x
If the stains (food) isn’t too “baked on” your glass top stove, Magic Eraser works good.
Yep – I use that too! {I actually use a Norwex one without all of the harsh chemicals and then a Norwex cloth to polish} I have yet to find anything that it hasn’t removed. 🙂 Here’s the post: https://www.cleanandscentsible.com/2014/02/clean-glass-top-stove.html
Love these hints. Have always used chemicals and self-cleaner. I ruined my door opener a couple of years ago with impatience and tried to open the door before it had cooled. Needless to say, the door lock is twisted and broken. So, back to manual labor. The soda works well and love the idea of once again having a clean, respectful oven.
Whoops!! Guess that is one way to make yourself switch to natural cleaning! lol!
As the owner of an apartment clean out business, we deal with some horrendous ovens. We do use commercial cleaners. The best way we have found to clean racks is to get a 30 gallons trash bag and lemon ammonia. Put the racks in the bag, pour a cup of the ammonia in, close the bag tight and shake. Lay flat outside, in the sun is best, and let soak for a few hours. If severely crusted, overnight is best. Get a bucket of hot water and a metal, silver scouring pad from the dollar store and start scrubbing. The baked on bits should come right off. Spray down with the hose and voila! Clean, shiny racks.
Absolutely. …I have used this method for over 20 + years, and it makes the racks look like NEW. I leave them outdoors, as suggested, in the sun….and overnight, outdoors . I empty them outside, spray off with the hose, and then take them inside to the bathtub. that has a cloth or old towel laid down to protect the bottom of the tub, if additional ‘ scrubbing ‘ is needed. Rinse with very hot water, and the racks will look amazing !
An exelent way to clean your windows is to us water and viniger and a lint free cloth.
Works well.
Cerama-Brite works amazing on glass ranges.
Yes, I have heard that. Still haven’t gotten around to trying it! 🙂
I leave my racks in the oven when I clean it. They will be hard to slide afterwards but I just put some cooking oil on a paper towel and rub on the ends that slide and they are as good as new. Saves all that work. Have done this for years and no problem with anything.
Recently, I discovered the wonders of cream of tartar. It cleaned a rust spot I had on one of my burner pans. I mixed a small batch of equal amounts of white vinegar and COT, let it sit for about 10-15 minutes, then rinsed. Since I was doing dishes, I washed it, rinsed again, then dried it. The rust spot hasn’t reappeared like it did when I used other cleaners like baking soda, lemon juice, salt, etc. So, I decided to use the COT mixture on a couple other burner pans that were greasy and grimy. They also came out clean and shiny. I was hooked.
But the real test was trying it on my oldest daughter’s drip pans. Hers were worser than mine. So, I mixed up another batch of this mixture and painted on all 4 of her drip pans. Left it on for about 15 mins, then scrubbed using a brown, wiry-like scrunbber. As I was scrubbing, I noticed that all of the grime wasn’t coming off and the paste became soap-like. So, I left it sit for another 10-15 minutes, then scrubbed again. And let me tell ya, her drip pans are clean, shiny, and bright just like mine.
Since I was in a cleaning mood and thrilled about the cleaning power of COT, I decided to try it on my daughter’s shower tiles. I applied it to to the lower part so I could use the water from the shower to rinse. It cleaned and brightened her tile so nicely that I was more than convinced that I would definitely be including COT in my diy cleaning recipes.
Now, I plan on tackling my youngest daughter’s stove as a surprise. Hers is far worst than me and my oldest daughter’s, so this will be the ultimate test. I should also point out that I plan on using COT and white vinegar to clean the oven too. Green cleaning is the only way I roll from now on.
Yes, I have used it before for pots and pans and cookie sheets – works great! I’ve never tried it in the bathroom though – thanks for the tip!
Read somewhere to ball-up tinfoil and use it to scrub glass. Using it on my oven glass now… Grime coming off very easy. Anyone else try this?
I’ve never tried that – thanks for the tip!
My sister put oven cleaner a day before i bake but she forgot to informed me that she didnt clean it yet she just let the chemical stay for a day. The next day without knowing that she didnt clean the oven completely I bake a cake and put the tin inside the oven. My question is it okey to eat the cake that I bake?
Whoops! Personally, I wouldn’t eat the cake. 🙁
je vous remercie beacoup.
Jenn,
Check your User Manual…. your oven might have the new AquaLift technology, where you can use steam to clean your oven. I think it has this due to the blue enamel interior and lack of a lower heating element. Super easy way to clean your oven more often.
That sounds cool – I love cleaning with steam! But sadly, no, it is not on our model.
You give awesome advice! I’ve used most of the natural cleaning solutions you mentioned, and I can confirm that they give pretty good results if you put a little effort in it. I really liked how you don’t spare any details and give step by step instructions, they are very well explained. I even learn a couple of things I will try the next time I clean my oven 🙂
Wow this is an amazing article you have gone to great detail, this is defiantly something we’re are going to share with our clients. Many of them cannot deal with the cleaning of their appliances including ovens. The steps here are clear and explained well.
Hi, I have a Gaggenau oven with blue enamel that looks like yours here. I stupidly used a steel wool scrubber to get rid of baked on grease, and the grease is gone but now I have superficial scratches where I scrubbed…pff…do you know if I’m stuck with these scratches now? Thanks so much.