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How to Clean Your Range and Oven

Experts serve up advice on caring for these kitchen appliances, which work extra hard during the holidays

Bonnie McCarthy
Bonnie McCarthyNovember 16, 2019
Houzz Contributor. Style anthropologist, freelance writer and photographer with a passion for design and living with style. Join me on the adventure at ThisAmericanHome.blogspot.com, and follow me on Houzz! www.thisamericanhome.blogspot.com
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The kitchen takes center stage during the holidays, and the stove-top and oven (along with the cook, of course!) are the stars. Here’s how to get them clean and ready for their close-up.
Zinc Art + Interiors
Joe Shiraz, co-founder of Maids Around Town in Austin, Texas, recommends starting your stove-cleaning project by removing burner trays and putting them in the sink with soapy water. Let them sit for 20 minutes, then rinse and scrub with a sponge to get rid of any remaining food and debris.

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Before returning the trays to the burners, wipe down the stove-top using an appropriate cleanser. Marie Stegner, consumer health advocate for the Maid Brigade in Atlanta, says she likes to make her own cleaning solutions of hot water, vinegar and lemon. “I like to use hot water when I use vinegar or lemon to clean things because I feel like it works better,” she says.

Her method: Put a quarter-cup of vinegar, two cups of hot water and a drop of dish soap (she prefers Castile soap or Dawn) in a spray bottle. Next, Stegner sprinkles baking soda from a Parmesan cheese shaker on the surface to be cleaned. She then sprays on the vinegar solution and wipes or scrubs as necessary. This process should be mild enough to avoid scratching most surfaces; however, if you’re concerned it may be too abrasive, consider wiping with a damp microfiber cloth instead. Better safe than sorry.

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PHILLIP SILVER
For stove-top rust stains, Stegner suggests making a paste with cream of tartar and water. “Wipe it around the area in circles like you are waxing and it should come off,” she says.
Randall Architects
Rack ’em Up

Next, it’s time to clean the interior racks of your oven. Remove the racks and place them in the sink to take their turn at soaking in the sudsy water. Shiraz suggests letting them soak for at least 20 minutes, if not longer. “This will loosen up the grease and caked-on dirt,” he says.

Afterward, use a sponge or dishwashing brush to scrub any remaining residue. “If the racks are ceramic, use a non-abrasive sponge,” he says.

For metal racks, Stegner uses a pumice stone on each bar. “It takes a while, but everything comes off,” she says.

Finally, rinse and dry.
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Inside Job

While the racks are soaking, you can tackle the oven itself. To choose the right cleaning method, Shiraz advises beginning with the owner’s manual. “It can be kind of tricky,” he says, “because there are ceramic ovens and high-end ovens that have special cleaning instructions. I would advise homeowners to first check the manufacturer’s instructions.”
A Crumb-y Idea

Stegner says she begins by vacuuming out the crumbs. If you don’t have a vacuum with a hose and nozzle attachment, you can wipe out the inside with a damp, non-abrasive sponge. “Wipe the loose crumbs into a garbage can or dustpan to save yourself extra cleaning later,” Shiraz says.
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Cleaning Solutions

For many folks, the next step is spraying the interior of the oven with a commercial oven cleaner. For this method, follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the can for best results.

If you prefer not to use a commercial oven cleaner, you can opt for ammonia, Shiraz says. Pour two cups of ammonia in a bowl and use a sponge to scrub the areas that have baked-on debris. Let it sit for 30 minutes, then wipe out the oven with water. “Make sure the ammonia is rinsed out thoroughly,” Shiraz says, “otherwise your oven will smell like ammonia the next time you use it.”

Stegner recommends sprinkling baking soda over the interior surface, then spraying liberally with the solution she described earlier, to create a paste. “I’ve tried everything,” she says. “I used commercial oven cleaner 20 years ago but stopped doing that — there are so many poisons in oven cleaners it’s crazy. When you have that many cautions on something, it’s not something I want in my oven. Now I use the baking soda.”
Osborne Construction
Stegner says some people may want to let the baking soda sprayed with vinegar solution sit overnight, but you don’t need to. “I usually wait about 20 to 30 minutes,” she says. “Then I’ll go in and scrub using steel wool or a bristle brush. If there’s a stubborn area that won’t come off, I’ll put the paste on again via the baking-soda-and-spray-bottle process. If it’s a thick, crusty area, you can also lightly use the sharp edge of a razor blade to chip it off. Or you can just keep scrubbing — it should work.”

Finally, wipe down the interior with a clean, damp cloth or paper towels until thoroughly rinsed.
NEXT Project Studio
Doing Windows

When it’s time to clean the window on the oven door, Stegner says water and vinegar are a great choice. “Anything we’ve been using to clean the oven can also be used on the window,” she says.

Don’t despair if the window has become cloudy or dirty on the inside, Stegner says. “All you have to do is take the back of the oven door off. People don’t know you can do that. You unscrew it, wash it and put it back together,” she says.

For those squeamish about deconstructing their oven, Stegner has another solution: “You can just take your prettiest towel and hang it on the bar over the window.”
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Comments (196)
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  • User
    last year

    Dear yk06043 Sir: Thank you for your promotion of Oven Pride in UK and Oven Brite-ZEP in US. Both products are made bySGI Industries and Flo Kem. However, asking people to stop taking about safer methods to clean things is not very nice.

    I, for one, am very sensitive to products and even common drugs such aspirin and others. I won't bore you with my difficulties. You need to realize there are people who because of sensitivities and allergies, cannot utilize chemical products such as Oven Brite - Zip in the US and Oven Pride in UK without developing problems the would send us to a doctor. The product you so highly recommend has 6 chemicals in the formula. All can cause difficulties for those who are sensitive.

    Please note, that the product you mentions consists of respiratory and dermal toxicity that is well documented. I wear gloves and long sleeves even when using any cleaning product such as borax, white distilled vinegar, baking soda and castile soap. I rarely use bleach and when I do, I wear a mask or I have breathing problems. I also protect my eyes and skin. It is a poison. Same with ammonia of which I don't even buy. Perhaps it might take a bit more time to keep my oven clean with a simple baking soda paste that using Oven Brite, but then I don't have to worry if I'm going to get a rash or coughing spasms.

    BTW, there are Safety Data Sheet available in the UK, but then you probably don't have any sensitivities.

    And note that Oven Pride/Oven Brite cannot be used on the walls nor the glass of self-cleaning ovens. You can, however, use it on the oven racks. The manufacturer of this product even states to check with the manufacturer of your oven if it is appropriate or note. And "If you are in any doubt, don't use the product." That says a lot right there.

    Instructions state it takes 4 hours for it to work in cleaning the oven, but overnight gives best results. Takes me about 30 minutes to clean my oven including the walls, top, bottom and racks using baking soda and distilled white vinegar paste if the oven is quite dirty - that takes a bit longer than 30 minutes - more like an hour. I use Borax, Castile soap and white vinegar as a quick wipe down the walls, top, bottom and racks between oven use. It not only cleans, but disinfects & deodorizes. And I don't end up at the doctor's office with skin irritation or breathing problems.

    as Oven Pride/Brite says "follow the instructions provided on the packaging, protecting surfaces thoroughly from any leakage or spills and taking care not to let the solution drip onto areas not intended to be cleaned or not listed as compatible." And even though a Microwave is an oven, don't use your favorite oven cleaning product on it, or you may have to get a new microwave oven.

  • Jonny Quest
    last year

    Even tho im asthmatic I’m not overly sensitive to many chemicals. Medications and cats are a totally different story. But I would prefer to use things that are lower toxicity if I can. Dilute ammonia, water and soap work for me and are easy to find. Or in a pinch windex. I’ve not tried vinegar but borax I’ve tried in laundry needed with mixed results. I’m not sure that vinegar would dissolve grease without a lot of scrubbing. But vinegar and baking soda works on my ceramic stovetop.


    In a pinch I have used plain table salt in my mom’s oven. The abrasiveness was just enough to remove newly burnt on food Once oven was cool.l of course.


    All of the oven brite SDS I found have either sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide as the primary ingredient. These are caustic and result in chemical burns. Don’t really want to use these. So technically these are not that different than easy off.


    I’m lazy. So that I don’t have to scrub my oven I try to minimize my messes. I no longer have a wall oven and I’m not remodeling to obtain one. So it’s best my lousy eyesight, crappy knees and sciatica avoid messing up my oven. So technically I’m probably not lazy I just want to avoid being in pain. 😉

  • User
    last year

    And Sodium Hydroxide is the main ingredient in Oven Brite/Pride and many oven cleaners that are chemical based.

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