How to Clean the Oven Quickly

Clean the Oven | No Soaking | No Waiting

 

We have had our oven for almost 6 years and I had never cleaned it before today. I wanted to be able to clean the oven as quickly as possible. After a ton of research, I found the fastest way to clean the oven, oven racks, and oven glass. I’ll be sharing all of that with you.

 

During my research, I kept reading all of these suggestions to let things soak overnight. That seemed way too long of a process for me. When I decide that I want to clean the oven… I want to clean the oven and I want the process to be as simple as possible.

 

I wanted my oven to be clean and I didn’t want the process to be drug out over two days.

 

Also, I was not about to soak my oven racks in the bathtub. I’m sure this works, but for me, it felt like I would be overcomplicating things. I didn’t want to have to clean the bathtub out as well.

 

So I set out to find a way to clean the oven quickly. I take a small amount of scrubbing, but I was able to get the whole oven clean, racks, and glass door included, in under 30 minutes.

 

Clean the oven glass, racks, and whole inside in record time.

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How to Clean Oven Glass

 

What you need:

 

*If you don’t have the materials just click the links above. You can have the items and start cleaning your oven in two days. (If you have Amazon Prime). 

 

clean your oven with natural ingredients

 

Steps for cleaning your oven glass:

 

  1. Fill your spray bottle 3/4 of the way up with vinegar, add one large squeeze of dish soap, and fill the rest the way up with water. Shake the bottle to combine the ingredients.
  2. Open the oven and spray the vinegar cleaner on the glass surface.
  3. Cover the entire oven glass with baking soda.
  4. Use your stainless steel scrubber to scrub the oven glass.
  5. Continue to spray the vinegar cleaner as you scrub.
  6. When all the grime is scrubbed up wash away the mess with a wet washcloth.

 

I found things worked a lot better if I was continuing to spray the vinegar mixture as I scrubbed. I also found that I didn’t have to scrub very hard at all.

 

Also, I had to rinse my washcloth numerous times and continue to wipe away the baking soda.

 

I was prepared for this to be hard work and was amazed at how easy this was. Keep in mind, my oven is 6 years old and I have never cleaned the glass before. I understand that some of you may be working under different conditions.

 

If your mess won’t scrub away easily then you may need to let the original vinegar spray and baking soda sit for a little bit before scrubbing.

 

But that’s it! I can actually watch my cookies bake now. 🙂

 

Clean the oven in less 30 minutes. Use this method and you will be able to see through the glass again within 5 minutes.

 

How to Clean Inside Your Oven

 

Before I tell you how to clean the inside of your oven I want to tell you how to avoid cleaning your oven… get yourself an oven liner.

 

I would have never known about these if some older lady from my church, hadn’t strayed from my wedding registry, and bought me an oven liner… insisting it was a lifesaver. I didn’t believe her at the time, but boy am I glad that I went ahead and used it anyway.

 

 

This thing will catch the majority of the mess in your oven and can be washed in the dishwasher. It will save you a ton of time down the road and is just one of my kitchen cleaning tips.

 

What you need:

 

 

Steps for cleaning inside your oven:

 

  1. Spray the walls and bottom of your oven with the vinegar cleaner that you used to clean the oven glass.
  2. Sprinkle the sides and bottom of the oven with baking soda. You may need to use a cloth to get the baking soda on the sides. I was lazy and just kind of threw it on there.
  3. Scrub everything down with your stainless steel scrubber.
  4. Wipe everything away with your wet washcloth.

 

Now you have a shiny new oven!

 

Oven Self Cleaning Option

 

I know you can use the self-cleaning feature on most ovens. I personally decided to opt-out of that option for a couple of reasons.

 

One, as I mentioned, I wanted my oven to be clean and I wanted it to be clean now. I know that if I would have waited for a convenient time to turn the self-cleaner on, I would have continued to put it off.

 

Two, I don’t like the smell and the heat.

 

Three, I don’t like that you have to stay in the house and keep an eye on it. Again, the process is just long and drawn out and I wanted it to get done.

 

And Fourthly, you should really take caution when using your self-cleaning oven option. It’s not always the safest choice.

 

How to Clean Oven Racks

 

Clean your oven racks without having to let them soak.

 

What you need:

 

 

Step to cleaning your oven racks:

 

  1. Put some baking soda into your bowl and pour some of your vinegar cleaning mixture into the bowl as well. Mix it up.
  2. Place one oven rack across your sink.
  3. Spray the oven rack with the vinegar cleaning solution.
  4. Take your stainless steel scrubber and dip it into the baking soda mixture you just made.
  5. Scrub all parts of your oven rack with the stainless steel scrubber.
  6. Rinse your oven racks.
  7. Let the oven racks dry and then place them back in your oven.

 

It’s really that easy. I found this way faster than letting the oven racks sit in your bathtub overnight. Plus, you are now avoiding the nightmare of cleaning the oven rack gunk out of your tub.

 

Final Steps to Clean the Oven

 

Since you are here and took all that time and elbow grease to clean up your oven, you might as well end with a bang. Finish up with this list:

 

  1. Put your new oven liner in the oven so cleaning the oven in the future will be easier for you.
  2. Pull everything out of the oven drawer and wipe the drawer clean.
  3. Use a glass cleaner or stainless steel cleaner to wipe down the outside of the oven. If you don’t have a stainless steel oven then a multi-purpose cleaning spray will work great.
  4. Go all in and clean the stove top as well or save that task for another day because you just worked hard on this oven!

 

Thank You! Need More Support?

 

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you’ll stick around and read some more.

 

Here are some more simple cleaning tips

My main passion is helping women build systems and routines that make homemaking simple. I find this possible through simplifying life, decluttering, and building routines that work for your household.

If you love all of that or want to learn more you should jump on my email list. I’ll send you a bunch of info on how I take care of my house, free access to my printables library, and a weekly newsletter with challenges and tips. Hope to see you there. 

 

Either way, thanks again, and come back any time. 🙂 

How to deep clean your oven fast wtih baking soda and vinegar. Use this method to clean your oven racks and glass in less than 30 minutes. #cleaning #oven #kitchen #cleaningtips #cleaninghacks #cleaningtipsandhacks Easy way to deep clean the oven glass and racks with baking soda and vinegar. #cleaning #cleaningtips #oven #kitchen #cleaningtipsandhacks #cleaninghacks

46 Comments

  1. Angie

    November 18, 2023 at 4:54 pm

    Method worked pretty well – a tip – if you don’t have a stainless steel scrubber DO NOT attempt to use an SOS type scrubber. The result is a mass of gooey disgustingness that ends up all over the place! Make the trip to the store and get the correct tool. However, my oven is currently in the state that most will say I need to clean the oven as opposed to “no way am I eating something that came out of that”. Thanks!

  2. Donna

    November 15, 2023 at 8:54 am

    Yes this works 98% for inside the oven. There are newer ovens that are steam self cleaning that won’t allow an oven liner in the bottom of the oven. If you use a baking sheet under your baking item, there is no mess. Also, the steel wool ball is not allowed in these new ovens. I did find that you can get away with using the fine steel wool SOS pads on tough spots without doing any harm to the enamel surface. I’ve never seen or owned a stainless steel oven here in Canada as a home oven. I have only seen them in restaurants.
    Great post for people who have older ovens. I don’t like the chemicals and smells of regular oven cleaners. In the newer ovens they are not allowed to be used. Also the oven racks are much different from the newer ones. The new ones are not made as well or of good materials. You can’t use oven cleaner on them as they are not all made of stainless steel anymore!!

  3. Carol

    October 16, 2023 at 7:13 am

    What about cleaning an oven that has exposed heating elements? Do I use the same method?

  4. Christy

    June 30, 2023 at 11:01 pm

    Do you have instructions on how to clean the grease from in between the glass on the oven door? I am at my wits end trying to clean this!

  5. Iris

    February 24, 2023 at 9:42 pm

    I want to try this but I thought you can’t use steel wool on Teflon (which coats the inside of self-cleaning ovens). Isn’t scratching the Teflon with metal toxic?

  6. Shelby

    January 16, 2023 at 4:45 pm

    Never thought how easy this could be! Thank you for the tips!!

  7. Sharon Blancarte

    July 29, 2022 at 3:09 pm

    Best oven cleaner ever! Doesn’t compare to other vinegar and baking soda recipes. Was fast, cheap, did a great job of cleaning. Got stuff other cleaners didn’t. With it 107 degrees outside it’s a relief not to turn on the oven

  8. DSmith

    April 16, 2022 at 12:59 pm

    So…..I just tried this and I’m pleased to report it worked pretty well. My self cleaning feature
    stopped working so before I sprayed a horrible chemical in the oven, I figured it couldn’t hurt to try this. The cons are that my arms aren’t long enough to reach the back of the oven (did something, unbeknownst to me, explode in there?!?) and you have to find away to work around the door. All in all, I’m pleasantly surprised.

  9. Nina

    October 17, 2021 at 10:13 am

    I just wanted to say thank you so much for your oven cleaning method! I was skeptical at first because we had moved into our home in July and the bottom of the oven was crusty and nasty. I did the glass first and was pleasantly surprised at the result. I tackled the bottom of the oven and omg it works! It wasn’t a lot of work either. I did purchase the liner as well. Thank you!

    1. KatiesKottage

      November 8, 2021 at 8:52 pm

      I’m so glad this helped you Nina. Thank you for the kind comment.

      1. Evelyn Seaton

        December 15, 2021 at 9:29 am

        Does the stainless steel scrubber scratch the glass?

  10. Linda Holmes

    May 25, 2021 at 5:33 pm

    I have a LG stove. When I first got it my family came over for Christmas and before I could tell my family not to use aluminum in the oven. Now the bottom of my oven is ruined. I hope I can use the liner. I used to use them with my old stove and they really worked.

  11. Donna Delhagen

    April 14, 2021 at 8:00 am

    I am concerned that the wire scrubber would scratch the glass??

  12. Rainey

    January 27, 2021 at 3:06 pm

    Just finished my glass door and yes it was super easy and now it’s really clean, but ( sorry ) now I have greasy water stains that seeped between the two glass doors

    1. Rainey

      January 27, 2021 at 3:15 pm

      Update: found a site that showed how to wrap the end of a wire fly swatter with disinfectant wipes and go up thru the bottom vent slots in the door ?

      1. KatiesKottage

        February 15, 2021 at 8:44 pm

        That’s great! I’m glad you were able to find something to help you figure that out.

    2. Dorothy

      February 13, 2021 at 3:13 pm

      How do you clean inside the glass

      1. KatiesKottage

        February 15, 2021 at 8:46 pm

        Rainey posted in another comment that she found a website that shared how to wrap a cleaning wipe around the end of the fly swatter and stick that up through the slot between the door and glass. Hope that helps.

    3. KatiesKottage

      February 15, 2021 at 8:46 pm

      glad you were able to get this fixed… thanks for the updated comment.

  13. LINDA TORRENCE

    January 4, 2021 at 2:00 pm

    I an going to use this to clean my oven tomorrow, I have streaks inside the glass on the door. Is there any way to remove it? My stove is only about 4 years old but is has gotten rusty on the outside of the oven door, on the bottom. There is a lip on the bottom of the door where is opens and the rust has acquired on the top of that. Am really disappointed in this stove!

    1. KatiesKottage

      February 15, 2021 at 8:48 pm

      Oh man that is such a bummer. You left this comment so long ago… sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I had a baby and took some time off. Where you able to solve your problem. You can put a cleaning wipe around the end of fly swatter and stick that up through the gap between the layers of glass.

  14. Nancy

    December 16, 2020 at 9:41 am

    I did the glass front 1st- looked amazing…..turned oven light on so I could close the door and look in through the glass. Looked great for 5 seconds, then a water streak appeared between the glass! Nothing I can do about it because I do t want to take apart. Maybe I scrubbed too hard. Oven looks great and I appreciate your method…I don’t mean this as a negative, just thought you would want to know. Doing my daughter’s oven using same method. Thanks!

    1. KatiesKottage

      February 15, 2021 at 8:49 pm

      You are not the only one… a lot of people comment this same thing. There is a gap between the glass. It can be tricky but you can use a cleaning wipe and the end of fly swatter to go up through the two layers.

  15. Melody

    December 6, 2020 at 10:14 pm

    I like using a Magic Eraser instead of the steel scrubber.

    1. KatiesKottage

      February 15, 2021 at 8:50 pm

      Those really do a great job cleaning a lot of things.

  16. Renee

    July 14, 2020 at 11:06 pm

    Thank you! My oven looks great, I’m exhausted but happy. No yucky chemicals and didn’t heat up my house My oven was so much dirtier than your too!

    1. KatiesKottage

      July 15, 2020 at 9:12 am

      That’s great Renee! So glad that it worked for you. 🙂

      1. Christy

        June 30, 2023 at 11:03 pm

        Do you have instructions on how to clean the grease from in between the glass on the oven door? I am at my wits end trying to clean this!

  17. Debbie

    July 10, 2020 at 11:09 pm

    Hi Katie,
    Just wanted to say a big thank you re the oven cleaning info, I followed your guide and it worked a treat.

    1. KatiesKottage

      July 15, 2020 at 9:12 am

      That’s great! So glad that it worked for you Debbie!

  18. Clair Lune

    April 27, 2020 at 10:10 am

    Thank You Katie for these super helpful tips.
    I tried out vinegar and baking soda solutions before but with little success.Need to apply the necessary elbow grease:)

    I shall try it out today.
    Much appreciated.

    1. KatiesKottage

      April 28, 2020 at 10:18 am

      Thanks Clair! I hope it worked for you. 🙂

  19. Carolyn

    April 22, 2020 at 2:44 pm

    Thank you. Very helpful. Do you have ant suggestions for rust stain in the shower?
    Carolyn

    1. KatiesKottage

      April 27, 2020 at 9:24 am

      Hi Carolyn, I can’t quarantine this will work but I have removed rust from stainless steel and from a toilet bowl with Scoth-Brite Heavy Duty Scour Pads. You do have to put some muscle into it. The same baking soda and vinegar paste I used on the oven should help as well. These are the pads I’m talking about: https://amzn.to/2y4jAWP

  20. Sharron

    April 19, 2020 at 3:49 pm

    Hey Katie,
    62 yr old newbie here,and I have a 2 yr old LG Electric Range that says NOT to use foil in the bottom but says nothing about a liner
    Have you had any feedback on using a liner in these newer ovens that can do both convection and regular cooking?
    I really like the sound of the liner.
    Thanks
    Sharron from VA

    1. KatiesKottage

      April 27, 2020 at 9:26 am

      I have one of those ovens and use the liner so I’m guessing it’s fine. I’ve never had any problem with it. However, I never did any research on it so try it at your own risk. Lol. 🙂

  21. Pat

    April 4, 2020 at 7:48 am

    White or cider vinegar?…

    1. KatiesKottage

      April 4, 2020 at 8:28 pm

      White vinegar is what I used and what most use for cleaning. I would imagine cider vinegar would work as well if that is all you have, but I have never tried it.

  22. Kelly

    January 5, 2020 at 11:16 am

    This works amazing! Thank you! ?

    1. KatiesKottage

      January 6, 2020 at 2:30 pm

      Thanks Kelly! I’m so glad that this worked for you. 🙂

  23. Adrienne

    January 4, 2020 at 9:39 am

    Your first step says to fill with vinegar twice. Is that correct or is it a vinegar and water solution?

    1. KatiesKottage

      January 4, 2020 at 1:44 pm

      It should say “fill the rest of the way up with water.” I edited it. Thank you for pointing that out so that I could get it fixed. 🙂

  24. Gen Smyth

    January 29, 2019 at 5:16 pm

    Can’t wait to try it. Can it be used on a gas oven? Just want to make sure.

    1. KatiesKottage

      January 29, 2019 at 8:52 pm

      Hey Gen! Yes, since it is all natural ingredients with no chemicals, I believe you can. 🙂

    2. Carolune Hunter

      April 26, 2020 at 6:43 pm

      Very informative i will try that next time for sure

      1. KatiesKottage

        April 27, 2020 at 9:21 am

        Thanks Carolune. I hope it works out for you. 🙂

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