topic Re: Cleaning My Oven in Community Chat

Cleaning My Oven

781Florist — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 14:40:11 GMT

Help! Amazing as it may sound, I have managed to live almost 70 years without having to clean an oven, However, my luck has finally run out.

I have an electric oven (with the heating coil) and so I am leery of getting cleaning solutions on the coil. I have GP66, and it shows it doing a great job on an oven that

has no coil, but doesn't mention anywhere what to do if you have the coil.

Is it safe to spray stuff on the coil? If not, how the heck do I clean this thing?

Once again.....HELP!

Re: Cleaning My Oven

ValuSkr — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 14:53:10 GMT

I have the same as you - an electric oven with an exposed heating element on the bottom. The oven manual says not to use commercial oven cleaner, rather to use the self-cleaning feature. I would have done that, though I'm wary of such heat. But it was creating too much smoke, setting off the smoke alarms, etc. (I had cooked a frozen pizza "directly on the middle rack" and it oozed olive oil everywhere. Hence the cleanup.) Ultimately, I cleaned it with a paste made of baking soda. I wrapped the element in aluminum foil so the paste wouldn't get on it.

It wasn't an easy job. Needless to say, no more pizza directly on the rack. But my oven was never cleaner.

Re: Cleaning My Oven

depglass — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 14:59:36 GMT

I'm in the same boat. I've had self-cleaning ovens my entire life except for one stove when I was first married. I remember a gruesome job with that thing. Now we've bought a cottage with a clean it yourself oven. I hope to burn enough pizza on that coil and stove bottom to convince DH I need a new stove.

Re: Cleaning My Oven

Skyegirl21 — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 15:17:40 GMT

Recommend to still use the self-clean option on a day when you can open windows. THat will burn off a lot oil and dirt. After that I have use a paste of baking soda and vinegar to clean the rest- Better than caustic stuff and it works. I've even soaked the racks in garbage bags or in the tub with that paste and it gets them clean - But after, you need to rinse off the soda residue. Yeah, it's not a fun job...

Re: Cleaning My Oven

Desert Lily — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 15:16:37 GMT

I haven't had an electric oven for a long time, but I think I remember that the bottom coil lifted up a little from the front. I think I used to hold it up and spray oven cleaner beneath it. The coil was connected in the back and was up on 1-2" brackets.

Re: Cleaning My Oven

scatcat — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 15:31:11 GMT

IMO I would not use spray chemicals in my oven. On so many levels it just screams bad. Again IMO

Re: Cleaning My Oven

fthunt — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 16:48:29 GMT

If you have self cleaning feature - you're silly not to use it .

Yes, it stinks for a few minutes - then it cleans great.....leaving a small

pile of ash in the bottom for a paper towel wipe up..

Re: Cleaning My Oven

RedTop — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 17:20:06 GMT

Unless the oven is really bad, I have put ammonia in a glass container inside the warm oven after I've baked something, and let it sit until cool. As the ammonia warms, it softened the grease spatters, and I was able to wipe the oven clean with a soapy dishcloth.

I don't always want to use my self cleaning feature, and I don't ever use spray cleaners. Dawn in dishwater and a Brillo pad is usually my go to when my oven is in bad shape.

Re: Cleaning My Oven

bmorechick — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 19:12:30 GMT

So what I didn't realize is you aren't supposed to line the bottom of any type oven with foil...for a lot of reasons so I had to stop doing that to keep bottom clean. Supposed to use a piece of foil just large enough under the next rack down to catch spills...duly noted and done.

I too dont like the self clean feature but it's because that high of a temperature for a few hours skeezes me out. So, I use dawn, hot water and a microfiber heavy duty cleaning cloth. They have to be tossed afterward though because they get pretty dirty. cant use oven cleaner on a self clean oven. I typically don't let it get too bad, cleaning it maybe twice a year. The racks come out and I put them on my driveway on newspaper and spray with oven cleaner. Then go over them with the microfiber cloth while outside and spray off with a hose.

Works great! Oven sparkles ✨

edited to add I have an electric oven

Re: Cleaning My Oven

CatsyCline — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 19:34:16 GMT

my oven has a steam-clean setting. careful to keep spills from setting and bake in. olive oil is a PAIN.

have run the self-clean once and it STINKS even when windows are all open.

the racks are a pain to clean and you cannot leave them in for self-clean.

long ago i used Easy-Off but after a chemical burn on my ankle never again! and the fumes smell so bad when burning off.

Re: Cleaning My Oven

Mom2Dogs — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 19:40:47 GMT

I have the same style oven...heating element in the bottom. I generally use the self clean option...on days when the windows can be open, but I have also used easy off oven cleaner...so far no issues.

I don't use it often, but do use it.

Re: Cleaning My Oven

chrystaltree — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 20:43:21 GMT

Last year my sister's homemaker ruined her self cleaning oven by using oven cleaner and scouring it. They had to give her a new stove.

Re: Cleaning My Oven

ValuSkr — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 22:55:10 GMT

@chrystaltree wrote:
Last year my sister's homemaker ruined her self cleaning oven by using oven cleaner and scouring it. They had to give her a new stove.

Bad news: We ruined your oven. Good news: We'll get you a new one.

Re: Cleaning My Oven

sunshine45 — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 23:11:46 GMT

@CatsyCline wrote:

my oven has a steam-clean setting. careful to keep spills from setting and bake in. olive oil is a PAIN.

have run the self-clean once and it STINKS even when windows are all open.

the racks are a pain to clean and you cannot leave them in for self-clean.

long ago i used Easy-Off but after a chemical burn on my ankle never again! and the fumes smell so bad when burning off.

@CatsyCline

i use my self clean feature every other month or so. i do have the steam clean feature but i have never used it. is it more for light cleaning?

Re: Cleaning My Oven

SilleeMee — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 00:45:35 GMT

I thought it was not good to use cleaners on self-cleaning ovens b/c you can ruin the finish on the walls of the oven. My friend used oven cleaner on her self-cleaning oven and it never looked the same after that, even after she used the self-cleaning mode. It just looked dirty all of the time b/c of that oven cleaner she used on it made it that way.

Re: Cleaning My Oven

Sage04 — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 01:07:44 GMT

@SilleeMee wrote:
I thought it was not good to use cleaners on self-cleaning ovens b/c you can ruin the finish on the walls of the oven. My friend used oven cleaner on her self-cleaning oven and it never looked the same after that, even after she used the self-cleaning mode. It just looked dirty all of the time b/c of that oven cleaner she used on it made it that way.

@SilleeMee I'm surprised your friend did that. That's a no no. Flip the switch and leave it alone. Sometimes all you have when it's done is wipe it out with a rag.

Re: Cleaning My Oven

SilleeMee — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 01:14:35 GMT

@Sage04 wrote:
@SilleeMee wrote:
I thought it was not good to use cleaners on self-cleaning ovens b/c you can ruin the finish on the walls of the oven. My friend used oven cleaner on her self-cleaning oven and it never looked the same after that, even after she used the self-cleaning mode. It just looked dirty all of the time b/c of that oven cleaner she used on it made it that way.
@SilleeMee I'm surprised your friend did that. That's a no no. Flip the switch and leave it alone. Sometimes all you have when it's done is wipe it out with a rag.

@Sage04

That was her very first self-clean oven she ever owned and she always had gas ones before that. She didn't read the directions and no one was there that knew anything about the oven to ask. That was my ex MIL. I never heard the end of it...lol! Every time we were there for dinner...the same story was told, like a broken record!

Re: Cleaning My Oven

Sage04 — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 01:15:13 GMT

I don't understand why anyone thinks that a self cleaning oven "needs help". It's self cleaning. It usually takes about 4 hours. Leave it and let it clean. I love it.

Once I tried to tell the housekeeper that "it's self cleaning" and she kept saying she will clean the oven. After not getting through to her I took some masking take and taped the door shut.

Re: Cleaning My Oven

Lucky Charm — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 01:43:08 GMT

I'm being honest here, I hated the self cleaning oven option.

First of all, I had my inlaws for a nice dinner, had London Broil in the oven (broiler was in the oven, not below). Accidently hit the oven clean button and the door locked and I almost pulled the oven away from the wall trying to get it to release.

After that I was petrified of the oven cleaning option.

So the house we just sold last fall, I actually bought a new oven because mine looked awful from not cleaning it up after spills, etc. And I've never used the self cleaning option because of the London Broil fiasco.

This house, my oven is pristine. And I love to cook. But I do most of my cooking using our outside oven (which is a hot mess, tbh). I'll never let my kitchen oven get that messy again.

Re: Cleaning My Oven

Sage04 — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 01:48:52 GMT

@chrystaltree wrote:
Last year my sister's homemaker ruined her self cleaning oven by using oven cleaner and scouring it. They had to give her a new stove.

@chrystaltree did your sister tell her it was self cleaning? I told my housekeeper and she looked at me like I was crazy.