Almost every home incorporates an oven into its kitchen design, providing the ideal appliance for baking desserts, broiling meats and roasting a variety of delicious dishes. In order to work at peak efficiency, your oven needs to be clean, but many homeowners are unsure of how to clean their kitchen oven.
There are a variety of methods you can use to clean your oven, and to help you maintain your appliance. With this in mind, we’ve gathered some useful information on methods for cleaning your oven.
Use The Oven’s Self-Clean Feature
Most of today’s ovens feature a self-cleaning option that helps eliminate food debris and waste from the appliance. The self-clean feature essentially heats your oven up to such a high temperature that it burns off any leftover food particles within the appliance’s interior. Once your self-clean cycle is complete, you can wipe any burnt waste from the unit.
While self-cleaning features can be effective, these options only work if used on a regular basis. If you have not used your self-clean option in at least six months, it may not be very effective, and may actually cause damage to your oven’s interior. Moreover, the self-clean options for older units are much less effective than those found in modern appliances. If you have an old oven, its self-clean option may not meet your needs.
Use Specialized Chemical Cleaner
There are a variety of brands that produce specialty oven cleaner, utilizing unique chemical combinations to help wipe away grease and charred waste from your appliance. While these cleaners can be effective, they also tend to leave a layer of chemical residue within your appliance after use. This can result in foul tastes being cooked into your dishes, and even present a health hazard to yourself and your family.
If you use a chemical cleaner in your oven, be sure to run the unit on high heat afterwards to help destroy any chemical residue that is left behind. But be warned — these chemicals can create foul and unpleasant odors.
Home Oven Cleaning Solution
To ensure your oven is properly cleaned, nothing beats cleaning the appliance by hand. You can follow the steps below for an effective home oven cleaning solution:
• Make Your Cleaning Solution: In a small bowls, mix half a cup of baking soda with several tablespoons of water. This will create a baking soda paste that will be spread across your oven to eradicate germs and clean its interior. You can adjust the ratio of baking soda and water to properly create a spreadable paste.
• Empty Your Oven: Before the cleaning process begins, remove the oven racks and any additional items that are stored within your appliance.
• Coat Your Oven In Home Cleaner: Spread your baking soda/water combination across the interior of your oven without coating its heating elements. Be sure to coat particularly greasy areas with extra cleaning solution. We recommend wearing rubber gloves during this process. Allow the solution to sit in your oven for a minimum of 12 hours.
• Clean Your Oven Racks: While your cleaning solution rests, you can wash your oven racks in the sink or your bathtub, using hot water and dishwasher detergent to combat grease and grime.
• Wipe Out Your Oven: After at least 12 hours, take a damp washcloth and wipe out as much of the cleaning solution from the oven as possible. The baking soda/water combination will now be a dried paste, and you may need to use a spatula to scrape the paste from your oven’s interior.
• Spray Vinegar: Put white vinegar in a spray bottle and spray it anywhere you see remaining baking soap residue. This will create a foamy reaction with the baking soda.
• Final Wipe-Down: Use a damp cloth to wipe any vinegar and baking soda from your oven. You can add more water or vinegar to the oven interior in order to wipe away any additional baking soda. Repeat this process until the oven is clean. Once clean, place your oven racks back inside the appliance.
Premium Ovens For The Modern Home
No kitchen design is complete without an oven, but your oven won’t be able to cook properly unless it’s clean. While your appliance’s self-clean function and chemical cleaners can both be effective, the best way to clean your oven is dive in to the appliance and do it by hand. Once you understand how to clean your oven, you’ll be able to properly maintain your unit and ensure it produces delicious dishes for years to come.
A clean oven is vital to any kitchen, but if your appliance is old, it may be time to upgrade to a newer model. You can use this online collection of ovens to explore a variety of choices, or contact a home appliance specialist for additional information.
