How to clean an electric oven: An overview

Cleaning your oven is like brushing your teeth. I mean, cleanliness is a part of regular hygiene. If we wash it regularly, it will last longer and be in better working condition. Besides the well-being of the oven itself, cleaning it is also healthy for our well-being. As we cook food in the oven and intake it directly, the cleanliness affects the quality and hygiene of the food. So it’s essential to clean your oven regularly; sometimes it needs expert cleaning too.

Why should you clean your oven frequently?

It’s about food, so it’s about health. Sometimes frequent cleaning may get on your nerves, but if you don’t take it seriously, it will affect your health. When you cook food in your oven, there are always food leftovers. If you don’t clean it immediately, then the next time you will be cooking food there, those previous leftovers will burn. The continuous burning of food leftovers can develop carbon-based fumes.

Due to these fumes, your freshly baked foods lose their freshness. That dirt affects the baking procedure and adds foul flavor to the foods. Excessive carbon fumes can make your food dangerous and lead to food poisoning. Not only that, the food leftover and grease burn whenever the oven is turned on. It causes a foul smell as the smoke contains gases like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide, polluting your home environment. Sometimes they can be significantly dangerous.

Also, grease and grime build-up inside your oven won’t work as efficiently as they should. Those build-ups will interfere with the hot airflow of the oven. So the food won’t be properly cooked. That can lead to food poisoning and even infections like E. coli. Also, a dirty oven and food leftovers attract pests like cockroaches. Another major concern about dirty ovens is the risk of fire. The cleanliness negligence is directly correlated to the risk of fire.

How often should one clean the oven?

How often you should clean your oven solely depends upon how often you use it. Let’s say you’re baking every day, then you need to deep clean or scrub your oven once in three months. If you’re one of those who seldom fires up the oven, you must scrub twice a year.

The above is a general rule about cleaning. But still, you need to observe the signs. There are three obvious signs that it’s time to clean your oven. The first one is how they look; does it look dirty? Can you notice grease or grime coat inside? Is there any burnt food residue at the bottom? Please don’t ignore it. Secondly, foul odor; is there any foul smell whenever you fire up the oven? Maybe your oven is asking for a cleaning.

The smell comes from the same grease, grimes, or food leftovers that you can’t see. Number three is smoke. A clean oven shouldn’t make any kind of smoke. It always means the oven isn’t working correctly, maybe because of grease and grime build-ups! If you notice any of the three signs, you shouldn’t delay the cleaning process (even if it’s not time for cleaning). Remember how well you maintain your electric gadgets, the longer and smoother they run.

Self-clean function

After knowing the importance of cleaning it regularly, let’s come straight to the point for what we started this article. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about cleaning your electric oven. If you talk about the easiest option available, there is, of course, it is the self-clean button. All you have to do is to press the button and wait. It seems almost effortless, isn’t it? The process has some risks if unattended. Let’s discuss the procedure.

The self-cleaning function is nothing but melting the grease and grime. Once you press the self-clean button, the oven locks itself, and the temperature rises to 550 degrees. This excessive heat melts the grease build-up in the oven. But it works fine only if your oven is moderately dirty. But if too much grease is built up, the system backfires and smokes up. Even in some cases, it catches fire. So, if you use it frequently enough and see too much food leftovers and grease at the bottom, you should go for cleaning with your hands and not rely on the system itself.

For self-cleaning, you need to remove the racks first and clean those by yourself. The process takes around two hours. It’s not recommended to leave the oven unattended while self-cleaning, and it’s required to take action if anything unnatural is noticed (like smoke). After the cleaning is completed, you’ll see some white ashes at the bottom. You need to clean off the ashes when the oven is cooled enough.

No doubt self-cleaning looks smarter and takes less effort, but it’s always better to scrub your oven manually, and it’s more effective and less risky.

How to clean electric oven quickly

Here is another hack if you want the cleaning done in less time. In some ovens, there is a steam-clean button. In that case, you just have to press the button and wait. But if your oven doesn’t have one, don’t worry; you can still go for the option. Steam-cleaning is almost similar to self-cleaning, except it is much safer and quicker. Here are the steps on how you can manually steam-clean your oven.

• Remove all the racks but the middle one.
• Wipe out all the loose dirt and food leftover.
• Place an oven-proof container filled with water at the bottom of your oven. More or less, 10-ounce water is enough for this task. You may add ½ cup of white vinegar for better cleaning.
• Close the door of your oven for best results (Those with a steam-cleaning button also don’t work with the door opened).
• Turn your oven on and let it be heated to 300 degrees F. Let the water boil and make steam. You can see steam filling the oven soon.
• Let the steam do its job inside for 20-30 minutes.
• Turn off the oven and let it cool. Wait for at least an hour for it to cool down.
• Finally, you can wipe it with damp clothes or white vinegar solution.
• Remember that if you want to deep clean, you must give it time and effort. This quicker option will work for only moderately or above moderately dirty ovens, which isn’t good enough for tough and stubborn grimes.  

What do you need for manual cleaning

So, self-cleaning is not always the most optimal option. You can use the manual cleaning option when your oven is not just “moderately” dirty and you have time to clean it well. There are several procedures that you can follow to clean your oven.

You can buy some oven cleaner like Easy off. These usually contain powerful cleaning agents, and you just have to follow the instructions written on the package. For most cleaners, you need to let it soak overnight to get the job done. You just need to wash or clean off the solution in the morning. It cleans almost every strong build-up on your oven.

For minor cleaning, you don’t need such powerful cleaners, though. Just some warm soapy water gets the job done. You must soak a sponge or a clean cloth in that water. Then scrub the oven with it. Or you may simply leave it for soaking and then wipe it up after some time.

You can also use baking soda paste for scrubbing. Mix half a cup of baking soda with a tiny amount of water to make a thick paste (e.g., 115 gm to 3 tablespoons of water). Then scrub the paste all over your oven and leave for soaking overnight. Allow the paste to sit on the oven’s surface for at least 1-2 hours. Then clean off the paste with a damp cloth and warm soapy water. After wiping it off, dry the oven with a paper towel or dry cloth.

Any procedure you may follow but make sure to switch off the oven before you start cleaning. Avoid cleaning any heating or hot object.

Professional cleaning

You can also avail professional cleaning for your oven. You should try professional cleaning every once in a while as it is healthy for your oven and helps it last longer. Well, you have to contact your nearest cleaning professionals to book a cleaning service.

The process might take 1-2 hours to complete (though it depends on the size and condition of your oven). Standard cleaning job includes several services. You have to ask for extra services that the standard cleaning doesn’t include; you also need to pay extra. Anyway, routine cleaning means the following things:

• Setting up protective sheets to keep the surroundings clean.
• Remove all interior racks and trays.
• Cleaning the racks and trays using appropriate chemicals.
• Cleaning doors inside out.
• Cleaning the inside oven cavity.
• Resetting the oven and replacing all the removed and cleaned parts properly.
• Cleaning the surroundings and disposing of the dirt.
• Testing the working of the oven.

You can ask to clean your grills, coils, stovetop, rangehood, etc., for an extra price. The standard cleaning cost ranges from $65 to $300. The cost depends upon the size of your oven, the task’s complexity, urgency, the appliance’s age, location, etc. Also, you should keep in mind that weekends and holidays have different rates than other days.

How to clean electric oven grates/racks

Besides cleaning the inside, it’s also important to clean the other parts of the oven. Let’s first talk about the racks. You must remove your racks first, and there are several ways to clean them. You can simply lay the removed racks in your sink and cover them up with very hot water, and then pour an adequate amount of dishwashing liquid or laundry detergent (detergents are stronger than dish-cleaners, so you may need a lesser amount of it if you choose detergent) in it. Now just let it sit overnight and wash it off the following day.

If you don’t have enough detergent or dish-cleaner, sprinkle some baking soda instead and add some white vinegar. Immediately after adding vinegar, you’ll notice foaming. When that will finally stops, pour very hot water upon it and let it sit overnight. Your cleaning is done. You can use a toothbrush or similar small brush to scrub the grimes off.

For tough ones, salt makes your job easy. You can also add a few drops of orange essential oil as it contains powerful antimicrobial compounds. That will ensure your cleaned racks are microbes free too. And also, you’ll have a delightful citrus smell there.

How to clean electric oven coils

The burner coil is another very important part of your oven. Though it isn’t always found on the cooktop, it occasionally gets dirty. There might be food leftovers spilled. If unattended, it can make a foul smell and, in the worst case, it might even flame.

With mild dishwashing soap, water, baking soda, one cleaning cloth, and a toothbrush, your job will be finely done within 20 minutes. First, remove the coils when they are completely cooled. If removing coils from the burner seems a difficult job, then you need to go through your manufacturer’s detailed instructions for best practice.

You should be careful while unplugging as bending the prongs or ruining some other thing while unplugging may destroy the whole oven. Once you successfully unplug it, it’s ready to be cleaned. First, try to remove food leftovers from the coil. Then clean the coil with mild dish wash.

Don’t submerge the coils or any of the electrical parts in water. Water may stay in the electrical connections. That may cause a short circuit (which will cause overheating) later, and the connection can be ruined in the worst case. After cleaning with dish wash, there can still be burnt-on food/grimes.

To remove the stubborn sticky things, you may use baking soda and water paste (as mentioned previously to clean the inside). Gently scrub the paste on the dirt. Let it sit for a maximum of 20 minutes, if there is any stain, and then scrub it off. Don’t forget to rinse it carefully. After the cleaning is over, make sure to dry it properly. Now, carefully reinstall the coils to the oven.

Cleaning glass doors

After cleaning, coils and burners come to the glass door. Don’t you think a shiny glass door looks brighter on your oven? By cleaning it regularly, you can make it appear like a new one.

First, remove it from the oven. Ensure the oven is cool enough for safety. Be careful as the glass door may be heavy and fragile. You can see the manual if you face any problems removing the door. Once removed, set the door on a hard surface protected by a towel. Clean the door’s outer surfaces using dish wash, baking soda-water paste, or a baking soda-white vinegar mixture. Don’t forget to rinse it thoroughly after scrubbing.

 To the clean middle of the two glass layers, you only need a yardstick, a barely damped cloth, and a rubber band. Wrap the stick with the damped cloth and secure it with rubber bands.

Insert the wrapped yardstick between the layers and scrub the dirt or stains away. Repeat the process until it’s completely clean.

Make sure to dry the glass door once you finish cleaning. Follow the same process with a dry cloth to dry the middle of the layers. Once the door is completely dry, reattach it with the oven.

For your information, the middle portion of the layers of glass doesn’t require frequent cleaning. Twice a year is okay!

How to clean without scrubbing

There are a few options that you can go for to clean without scrubbing.

In the case of the inside, you can make a loose water solution of bicarbonate and spray it all over first. Then spray the white vinegar solution on it, and you’ll see foaming. Please wait for the foaming to stop and then wipe it off. Repeat the process to make sure the cleaning is done.

For metal racks, you can use the Magic Eraser, an abrasive cleaning tool made of compressed melamine foam. It’s more effective than a sponge or damped clothes, and it’s safe on metals but not with a non-stick coating.

You can use ammonia for any removable part of your oven. Just place the parts in a trash bag, add a pinch of ammonia, and seal the bag. Let it seal and sit overnight. In the morning, make sure you’re unsealing it at any well-ventilated place (preferably outside of your house), as the ammonia fumes will be much stronger when you open the bag. Now take the parts out and rinse them thoroughly (electric parts shouldn’t soak water).

Conclusion

To conclude, It’s not a tough job if done regularly, and it’s worth it. Regular small cleaning won’t let the grease and grime build-ups be stubborn. So, don’t let your oven get too dirty to avoid efforts in cleaning. Also, sometimes expert cleaning will help your oven to last longer. So, go for it!