A Comprehensive Guide On How To Clean A Gas Oven

Knowing how to clean a gas oven is important for any aspiring chef, healthy eater, or just someone who enjoys a tidy kitchen. While you probably enjoy using your gas oven, the reality is you need to keep it clean too.

This isn’t something that folks typically boast about on social media, but it’s an essential part of maintaining a hygienic and efficient cooking space. A neglected gas oven is a hotbed for grime, grease, and burnt food; not only unpleasant to look at, but it can also affect the taste of your meals.

Below you will find a guide on to how to clean a gas oven thoroughly and effectively, whether you are new to gas cooking or just looking for a refresher. Read on for more!

Why Clean Your Gas Oven?

It’s easy to put off oven cleaning, especially when faced with a really dirty oven. However, a little regular cleaning provides some serious benefits:

• Safety: This should be your biggest concern. A build-up of grease can easily catch fire.
• Sanitation: Built-up food particles can become a breeding ground for bacteria, impacting your health and the taste and smell of your food.
• Efficiency: When grime and grease coat the heating elements, the heat can’t be distributed evenly, impacting cooking times.
• Enjoyment: Having a clean, fresh-smelling oven makes cooking more enjoyable.

When to Clean Your Gas Oven

Many people advise cleaning your gas oven every three months or so, but that might depend on how much you use it. Here are some signs you should definitely give it a clean:

Visible debris

Spills, baked-on messes — anything you can easily see means it’s time.

Smoke

Smoke is never good. If you see any wisps coming from your gas oven when you turn it on, it’s time to clean.

Odor

Even with the door closed, a really dirty oven can smell bad — both before and while cooking.

Tasting off

Even if it’s not visible, burnt-on food can affect the taste of your cooking. Cleaning can restore your meals to their best.

Long preheat times

The dirtier your gas oven, the longer it will take to preheat.

Cleaning Your Gas Oven

Two Methods – There are two basic approaches you can use for cleaning gas ovens: homemade cleaners or commercially available products.

Homemade Gas Oven Cleaners

If you want to go the green cleaning route or tackle a lightly soiled oven, you might prefer a baking soda mixture. I often prefer homemade cleaners when a full deep clean isn’t needed. Baking soda is a great natural cleaner.

Baking Soda Method:

Ingredients Instructions

• 1 cup Baking Soda
• 1/2 Cup Warm Water

1. Mix baking soda and water into a paste. The paste shouldn’t be too thin that it drips.
2. Spread the baking soda paste over all interior oven surfaces, avoiding the heating elements. Let it sit overnight or at least 12 hours.
3. Remove most of the dried paste with a scraper, spatula, or old credit card. Then use a damp cloth or sponge to wipe the remaining baking soda, repeating as needed.

Vinegar:

This works particularly well on the glass of your gas oven, like your oven door. To clean, combine white vinegar and water in a spray bottle, spritz generously over the glass, and wipe away with a damp cloth. If stains persist, let the mixture sit for 15 minutes, then try wiping again.

Commercial Oven Cleaners

If your oven has serious buildup and baking soda just isn’t cutting it, commercial oven cleaners have powerful formulas that dissolve grease and baked-on food. This is particularly useful if your last thorough cleaning seems like years ago.

Always make sure your gas oven is off and cool before using any of these products. As always, it’s best to wear rubber gloves, open windows, and have good ventilation before working with commercial cleaners.

How To Clean A Gas Oven Step-by-Step

Whether you use a homemade oven cleaner, a commercial cleaner, or a mix of both, we suggest cleaning oven elements like oven racks, the baking sheet, and the oven door separately. These removable elements can soak and require less baking soda. So while they are soaking, you can work on cleaning the oven walls, interior surfaces, and floor.

Steps:

1. Preparation: Make sure to consult your oven’s manual. Once your oven is off and completely cool, put on rubber gloves, safety glasses (if using a commercial cleaner), and open a window for ventilation. For extra protection, lay some newspaper or paper towels around your work area to avoid staining your floors.
2. Remove: Remove loose debris — bits of burnt food or food particles — using a spatula, scraper, or dry paper towel. Taking these loose bits out now means less for your cleaner to deal with.
3. Soak Removable Elements: If your kitchen sink is big enough, this is the best place to soak oven racks, the baking sheet, or the drip tray. Be sure to clean the sink thoroughly after, though. Otherwise, use your bathtub, but line it first with an old towel to prevent damage or scratching from oven racks. Commercial cleaners are the best for burnt-on food, though homemade solutions using a baking soda paste can be used too. Whatever you choose, let them soak while you clean the oven.
4. Apply Cleaner: Following product instructions for your cleaner — whether homemade cleaner or commercial cleaner — apply the cleaner liberally to interior oven surfaces and the door. If you use a homemade paste with baking soda, consider making extra. This way, you’ll have plenty for your oven and to spread on the glass on your oven door.
5. Wait: Allowing the cleaner time to break down burnt-on food or stains before you start wiping means you won’t need to put in so much effort. This usually takes around 30 minutes but can be as much as two hours, particularly for stubborn grime.
6. Scrub (Oven Only.): Using either steel wool or an old toothbrush dipped in the cleaning solution, gently scrub stubborn stains or grime on interior surfaces, the floor, and sides. I use a damp sponge with soapy water on stains inside my gas oven. Make sure you don’t apply steel wool to the glass cleaner on the oven door.
7. Rinse and Dry: For homemade cleaners, this means simply wiping down the cleaner, though, commercial cleaners might have specific steps like rinsing first with water. You should be sure all cleaners are rinsed away thoroughly. Dry your interior with a paper towel or cloth dampened in water.
8. Scrub (Elements): You might find you need some elbow grease with your oven racks. An old toothbrush works well here as it can reach hard-to-clean areas. Be sure all baking soda and soapy water has been rinsed from oven elements. Place the elements back inside the gas oven.
9. Wipe Door: Because of its glass cleaner, the oven door requires special attention. Wipe your door thoroughly with paper towels or a clean cloth — both inside and out. Once it’s dry, you can close it.
10. Finishing Touch: Allow the oven to air dry. You might need to leave the door ajar while it dries completely. Remember that safety tip and sniff before you turn the gas back on to ensure everything is dried and there are no leaks.

Also see: How To Clean Bathroom Sink: Step by Step Guide

What is The Self-Clean Function?

A lot of newer ovens feature this special option. It’s meant to make cleaning easier but doesn’t negate your need for manual cleaning altogether. For heavily soiled ovens, avoid this option altogether. Self-cleaning ovens still require some manual cleaning.

Here’s How Self-Cleaning Usually Works:

• Consult Your Manual: As the instructions differ slightly depending on the make and model of your oven, double-check yours.
• Prepare: Remove large pieces of debris, oven racks, and drip trays before starting. For safety, ensure that fans are running, that you are staying home throughout, and keep pets and children away from the gas oven during the cycle.
• Lock: Tightly shut the oven door before activating the self-clean feature. On many models, the oven door locks automatically until the cycle is complete.
• The Cycle: The self-clean function utilizes super-high heat — around 800 to 1000 degrees. — to burn away all that baked-on grime and food residue to ashes. You’ll likely notice an unpleasant odor coming from your oven during the self-clean cycle. You can often choose between regular clean or power clean, though your manual should indicate any difference in the duration of those cycles. Typically, the cycle runs for at least 3 hours. Once completed, you will likely need to wait overnight for the oven interior to cool enough so that it’s safe to open the door.
• Final Touch: You can wipe down loose ashes using a damp cloth, sponge, or even a paper towel. Some people use a damp sponge with baking soda to wipe any stubborn spots from oven walls.

Extra Tips For A Sparkling Clean Oven.

Now that you have completed your deep clean, here are my tips for keeping your oven cleaner longer and keeping odors at bay. A clean oven is a happy oven.

• Prevention: Baking soda and white vinegar make the best prevention tips we know of. If your dish bubbled over — or if you suspect dripping during cooking — place a baking sheet beneath your food to avoid a mess. Alternatively, if a pan spills during cooking, clean up immediately before food hardens and creates stubborn stains.
• Wipe It Down: You should give the oven a quick wipe at least once a week to remove food and grease particles and help keep lingering odors under control.
• Regular Baking Soda Scrub: Every month, create a paste using baking soda and spread it over the inside of your gas oven, letting it sit overnight before wiping it clean.
• Air Freshening: You might be wondering if a smelly oven has a cleaning issue. Though this may be the case, it might also be that your oven simply needs some fresh air. To freshen up your oven between cleans, try using bowls with sliced lemons or lemon juice. Set one bowl in your oven with a pot of water on the lower rack and boil for at least an hour. Not only does this loosen burnt residue for easier cleaning, but your oven will smell good too.

Related: Professional Home Kitchen Cleaning in GTA, Toronto

FAQs

Can you use oven cleaner on a gas oven?

This will depend on what type of gas oven you have. Check your oven’s manual or with your manufacturer before applying any cleaning products to ensure it won’t harm specific surfaces, like a self-cleaning oven. If in doubt, you can stick to using only homemade cleaner on any surface.

How do you get baked-on grease out of a gas oven?

Let’s talk about a commercial oven cleaner. You want to find a cleaning product that’s meant for heavy-duty use. Then make a baking soda and vinegar solution (mix it outside) and generously spray or apply it inside the gas oven and to any removable element with baking soda paste. Allow it to sit as instructed by the product before wiping it with a clean cloth. Hot soapy water can help loosen any remaining debris.

Can you use vinegar to clean inside of gas oven?

Yes. For small stains or daily touch-ups, combining equal parts white vinegar with water and spraying down oven interiors or wiping the glass cleaner with a damp cloth works well. Be sure all of the baking soda solution has been wiped before turning your gas back on.

Conclusion

This is really the most thorough guide you’ll find for how to clean a gas oven, with natural options or with store-bought solutions. Don’t let your enjoyment of cooking wane with a dirty, inefficient oven. Nothing tastes better than something delicious cooked in a clean, fresh oven.

So grab your rubber gloves, and let’s transform cleaning your gas oven from a dreaded chore to something even a busy aspiring chef or foodie can tackle. Not in the mood to clean? Call us at MasterMaid or book an appointment; we will tackle the grime for you!