How often should you clean your oven?

At the very least your oven should be cleaned once a month. That is if you use it often. If you don’t use it that often you could easily get away with only cleaning it a couple of times per year. 

Why is it important to clean my oven?

After buying the starting a fire in your oven.

Below are 11 incredibly clever oven cleaning tips that you didn’t even know existed until now:

1. Soak the oven racks in the bathtub

Oven racks are often the most difficult part to clean. Instead of spending all day scrubbing, soak it in your tub overnight with a mixture of soap and water. Wake up the next day and give the racks a quick wipe-down and voila.

2. Let it get warm

Allowing your oven to get a little warm before you start to clean it will help remove some of the build-up on it. Now we’re not saying let it heat up to 350 degrees, that would be dangerous. Just turn it on your lowest setting for about five minutes and then shut it off. Open it for let the air flow through it for about 1-2 minutes and then begin wiping it down with your cleaner.

3. Create a paste solution

One great way for you do to clean your oven is to create a paste solution using baking soda and lemon juice. Take one cup of baking soda and add your lemon juice until you’ve created a paste-like solution (making sure it’s not too watery). Apply the paste to the inside of your oven and let it sit for about 30 minutes before wiping away.

4. Use a green cleaner

Green cleaners are great for cleaning because of the natural ingredients that can be found in them. Sometimes cleaners with harsh chemicals can actually cause more harm to a surface than good. And it’s why you should always practice safe cleaning. Consider finding a natural cleaner for your oven. Depending on the material your oven is made out of a green cleaner may be just the thing you need to get it all nice and shiny.

5. Clean with vinegar

The method of cleaning with vinegar has been around for centuries. And that’s because it works. In fact, vinegar may just be one of the best oven cleaning tips we have for you. But that being said, it’s also important to note that although this method is effective, it might not be suitable for all oven types because of the acidity that’s in the vinegar. It’s best to test a small area of the oven before fully emerging it in vinegar.

6. Break out the plastic putty knife

Before you go and spray a bunch of chemicals in your oven try breaking out the plastic putty knife to help eliminate some of that stuck on food. Sometimes a putty knife is the quickest fix when it comes to oven cleaning. 

7. Utilize the self-cleaning feature

Nowadays many ovens come equipped with a self-cleaning feature. We talked a little bit about this feature at the beginning of the article if you aren’t familiar with it. And like we said, it shouldn’t be used to clean your oven single-handily but it can be used in conjunction with some of these other oven cleaning tips.

8. Don’t wipe away solution immediately 

Sometimes when we’re cleaning we can get into the habit of wiping surfaces immediately after spraying them. But just like every other surface, you can’t just spray and wipe your oven. Oven cleaning is different than your typical counter cleaning because there is likely to be stuck on food and grime on this surface. In this case, you’ll need to let the solution you choose to clean with sit on a little longer than normal in order for it to do its job.

9. Have a magic eraser handy

Magic erasers are likely to come in handy when it comes time to clean the oven. These puppy’s work wonders on a dirty oven! And not to mention the fact that they’re super easy to use – no chemicals required.

10. Use a non-stick oven liner to simplify future clean-up

A non-stick oven-liner is made from heat-resistant plastic that is safe to withstand the heat your oven produces. The liner rests on the bottom of your oven, and can be removed and easily washed. Any baked on residue will come right off.

11. Call in professional to help you

If cleaning your oven seems overwhelming to you or you physically can’t do it, call in a professional house cleaner to help you. Professional house cleaners are trained to clean your home, which means they know how to do it without breaking a sweat.

Karina Toner is the Content Manager for Spekless Cleaning. When she is not writing and researching content for the Spekless Blog, she is busy spending time with her children, crafting new recipes in the kitchen, and backpacking through the U.S. National Parks.