Saving time cleaning does not always mean cutting corners, sometimes it means cleaning wisely, or prepping the area before you clean to save time later. Here’s how to clean a kitchen oven quickly.
Save Time Oven Cleaning Tip: First, Check What the Oven Manufacturer Recommends
Most major appliance manufacturers have websites that include the care and cleaning of their appliances. Find out your client’s appliance brand ahead of time and check the website for the best way to clean their oven. You can even ask for a model or serial number located on the appliance and enter this information into the website to pull up a PDF copy of the oven’s owner’s manual.
Save Time Oven Cleaning Tip: Cover the Floor Around the Oven and Oven Door
All that greasy grime from inside the oven can spill over the door and drip in-between cracks, leaving a messy floor that you now need to clean. Avoid this by placing either a plastic garbage bags or an old towel to protect the floor.
Save Time Oven Cleaning Tip: Remove the Warming Drawer
Now is the time to test and clean your oven in preparation for Thanksgiving Day. Cleaning takes time and it’s not something you want to put off.
Why Should I Clean My Oven?
According to appliance manufacturer Whirlpool, a clean oven cooks food more evenly and smells better versus a dirty oven. Grease and food spills can gather inside of the oven’s interior, darkening it and making the oven work harder to evenly cook food. Any spills can start to smoke and produce unpleasant smells. These smells might affect the taste of any food you cook inside it.
How to Test Your Oven Before Thanksgiving Day (Easy)
If you have not turned on your oven in several months, make sure it is working properly by baking something simple like a frozen pizza or cookies. Thanksgiving is already a very busy time for appliance repair businesses so if something is not working right; you want to know as soon as possible in order to schedule an oven repair.
Using an Oven’s Self-Cleaning Cycle
If you are planning on using the self-cleaning feature of your oven, do it a few weeks before Thanksgiving. A self-cleaning cycle reach’s incredibly high temperatures in order to incinerate food particles, dirt and grime inside your oven. The cycle takes a long time to run and the oven door locks as a safety precaution. Self-cleaning cycles can also produce smoke and smells that might linger inside your home. Be sure to open windows and keep the room well-ventilated when running the self-cleaning cycle.
If your oven is several years old, it might prove risky to run a self-cleaning cycle so close to Thanksgiving Day. During these cycles, there is a good chance that any weakened parts might break, leading to a needed repair. Thanksgiving is already a very busy time for appliance repair businesses and they may not have the part they need to fix your oven in stock.
Eco-Friendly Options for Cleaning an Oven
You may decide that cleaning your oven by hand is best. To clean your oven, first consult the owner’s manual for your oven to see what to use and what not to use when cleaning your oven. If you no longer have the owner’s manual, you can search for it online using your oven’s model number which should be located somewhere on the oven or range.
Let an oven completely cool before cleaning it. Put down towels or a plastic garbage bag to catch any drips or dirty water from cleaning and to protect your floors. Remove any oven racks. Make your own DIY eco-friendly oven cleaner by mixing together a paste of baking soda, dish washing liquid and a little water. Let the baking soda mixture sit for 30 minutes to overnight. Use a spray bottle filled with vinegar or lemon juice to spray inside the oven for added cleaning power on tough grime and grease. Scrub the walls clean using a non-scratch scrubbing sponge like the Instant Erase Super Star Scrubby or SpongeOutlet’s non-scratch cleaning pad.
Remove the oven racks and clean them by soaking them in a sink or bathtub using the same mixture. Rinse and wipe clean.
Remove any trace of your home-made cleaner before turning on your oven with a damp microfiber cleaning cloth. After your oven is clean, turn it on to make sure there is no smoking from left-over cleaner.
