Yuck! Have you ever opened your oven up and thought what the heck exploded in here and now it’s smoking.
How the heck does this even happen because I always use a baking dish or aluminum foil when cooking or baking but yet my oven is black and smoking.
Don’t fret—you are not the only one who has looked at an oven before and thought the same thing. Where do you even start if you don’t even know what the culprit was? No matter what caused the explosion (because it couldn’t have been your mom’s lasagna recipe), we are here to help you get it back up to Cynsationally Clean.
Oven cleaning has become much easier with the invention of self-cleaning ovens and understanding how they work, but not all of us have self-cleaning ovens, or if we do, how the heck do we safely clean them anyway?
How to clean a self-cleaning oven Part 1:
If you’re blessed and your oven has the self clean feature then you are in luck that feature is a game changer. To use self clean you must remove all wire racks before turning it on. If you fail to remove them the chrome finish on most of them will start to peel which will lead to more smoking. Once the oven racks are removed now you can use the self clean feature. To turn the feature on you simply just hold the self clean button. Side note if your oven isn’t horrible you can turn the time down on self clean by using the up and down arrows. If it is horrible then use the full time allotted. You will want to turn on the exhaust fan or open a window if it is a nice day outside. The self clean feature tends to leave your home smelling but not for long. Your oven will automatically lock and not unlock until the oven is fully cool so prepare to not use your oven for dinner that night.
How to clean oven racks:
While the self clean feature is running now it’s time to soak the oven racks. The easiest method to do this is to take them outside and use the canned oven cleaner they sell at most home improvement stores.You do not need to splurge on the name brand oven cleaner, the off brand works just as well. The reason I prefer to take them outside is because the canned oven cleaner has very strong fumes even the fume free one still has a fume smell just not as harsh. Once you shake the canned oven up as directed on the bottle now you can soak your wire racks in the cleaner. I lay my oven racks in the grass in a location the water hose can reach. If it’s a super warm or sunny day you will want to do this in a shaded area so the cleaner doesn’t just evaporate in the air. I allow my racks to soak for 30 minutes on both sides being sprayed heavily with the cleaner. If they are black and no longer chrome you will need to soak them longer and spray more applications. Now it’s time to scrub which they should wipe off like a glove. To scrub I prefer a brillo pad but if you have a scrub brush that should work fine too. After a few fast scrubbing of both sides just rinse with the water hose and allow them to drip dry in the sun.
The main reason we do not soak oven racks in the bath tubs is because certain finishes in the tubs can be ruined with the oven cleaner. So keep that in mind if you insist on cleaning them inside.
How to clean a non-self-clean oven:
If your oven doesn’t have a self clean feature we know the tricks to still get it back to smoke free. You will want two bottles of the oven cleaner previously mentioned, a razor blade, a bucket of hot soapy water, gloves and a few cleaning rags.
The easiest method is to clean your oven racks as previously mentioned the same method while your oven cleaner in the oven is soaking.
To get your oven soaking after removing the oven racks, turn your oven on to the highest temperature the oven cleaner says you can do. Once the oven is up to the temperature turn it off and soak the inside walls and bottoms NOT THE GLASS with the oven cleaner. Allow it to sit with the door closed for about 15 minutes. If it wipes easily with a rag of hot soapy water then you’re ready to rock and roll cleaning it. If it doesn’t wipe easily, use another layer of oven cleaner. Once you have wiped the inside clean with the hot soapy water and removed all the oven cleaner you have used, now it’s time to clean the glass.
How to clean a self-cleaning oven Part 2:
Once the oven has cooled and unlocked, now it’s very simple. All you need is hot soap and water and wipe all the debris baked off that is now white powder. You may have to use two buckets of new hot water and soap and that is normal. Once the oven is white powder free, allow to air dry and reinstall the oven racks. Do not use your oven until you have wiped all the white baked off debris out or it will stain your oven even worse.
How to clean oven glass:
Both methods will leave you still having to clean the glass and that is normal. To clean the glass we use dawn spray foam and rubbing alcohol together with a razor blade. As long as the glass is soaking wet you can’t scratch it. Dawn helps cut through the grease while the rubbing alcohol helps loosen up the set in black spots on the glass. Now it’s time to use the razor blade back and forth to remove all the debris. Once the debris is loosened use a new bucket of hot soap and water to remove the debris fully from the glass.
Wrapping it up both methods:
Once the oven is cleaned it’s time to grab those oven racks you have drying outside and pop them back in. If you still have some burnt spots don’t worry, depending on the age of your oven a lot of the spots you can’t feel with your fingernail won’t come off no matter what method you use.
Now give the outside of your oven some love with a stainless steel cleaner and don’t forget to wipe out the oven bottom drawer (the thing we all use to store extra baking sheets.)
Supplies you need for both methods of oven cleaning are:
- Oven cleaner name brand or generic is fine
- Brillo pads
- Razor blade
- Dawn soap
- Gloves for protection
- Bucket of hot soapy water
- Water hose for spraying off your oven racks.
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