We all dread cleaning time, more so, when the mammoth task entails cleaning up your kitchen ovens. Your oven takes a lot of heat and the grime and spillage that will surely pile up after weeks and months of use.

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Soap and water can never achieve the level of cleanliness that you are aiming for and we have compiled for you an ultimate guide to help you face any and every oven related problem head-on!

Some of you may have the best automatic self-cleaning convection ovens, but they will never be spick and span the way these methods will turn them. Some elbow grease, some common pantry and kitchen ingredients and some odd and short bucks will transform your oven and your kitchen.

Why Cleaning Your Oven Thoroughly Is Important

Surely you wouldn’t want any part or nook of your kitchen to be left crusty, crumbly and stinky, not even the most unused kitchen cabinets. Your oven is a major investment when it comes to your culinary space and keeping it clean is the first step to ensuring that the investment pays off over time.

Like most things, ovens to accumulate dust and dirt over time, that oven door is a mighty trap for grease and food crumbs. If allowed to settle and build up, will result in discoloration, residue build-up, excessive smoke and overheating, and might also add some hazardous odor and taste to your meals.

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Cleaning your oven sure is an unpleasant and time consuming task which is not welcome in any household, but letting yourself fall short on your cleaning duties might result in your oven turning into a haven for germs and diseases. Food residues can give way to breeding germs, viruses and fungi which can very easily find their way into your digestive system by infecting your food that you are preparing in your oven.

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Piling up grime can also mean more frequent calls for repair and replacement of your oven over time and all this can be avoided by just being more regular on the cleaning sprees. Health and safety hazards will be just another imaginary concept if you take up the responsibility of taking care of your high-performing oven.

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We have in store for you the best and most convenient cleaning tricks and hacks, so this unpleasant and monotonous task of cleanout can turn super fun and simple and your food always stays safe and healthy. Read on to reward yourself!

3 Best Ways to Clean Your Oven

These simple and amazing hacks will end up making your oven shining clean even if months of grime, grease and charred food residues have turned it into carbon’s playground.

1. Making The Most of Self Cleaning Modes

If you have brought yourself a self-cleaning oven, half your work is already done!

-- All you have to do is remove the racks and place them in a sink or trough of warm water. Here you allow the racks to completely submerge in the water to which you can add a few drops of dishwashing liquid, let it soak for a few minutes

-- Make sure that you have 2 to 6 hours on your hands, since that is the amount of time most self-cleaning ovens take to let the self-cleaning mode work. Make sure the oven is properly locked and that the oven door is sealed shut properly before you turn on the self-cleaning mode.

-- Set the temperature to 800-900 Fahrenheit or what your oven manual tells you and let the grease and charred residues turn into ash over the next couple of hours.

-- Once this is done, open the oven door and let it cool down while you sweep out the burnt ashes and wipe the oven clean with a wet sponge or rag. You can also use vinegar and water mixture to clean the oven and door better.

-- Scrub and dry the racks and place them back in the oven once they completely dry off. And ta-da! Your cleaning session is over!

2. Got A Non-Self-Cleaning Oven? We’ve Got You Covered

If you are the owner of an oven that doesn’t self-clean, take it from us, you are very fortunate!

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Auto-cleaning is not always the safest and the best option and most oven specialists will tell you the same. Neither will harsh chemicals do your oven any good, the solution – going natural with a little baking soda, vinegar and some elbow grease!

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Vinegar is the most versatile natural cleaning compound and we have some more life hacks for you. Vinegar is not only excellent as a cleaning agent for the oven, but they also work great to clean the stove drop pans.

-- For this, foremost make sure that your oven is well rested and cool. Now grab some rubber gloves, baking soda, white vinegar and a spatula.

-- You need to make a paste of baking soda with some spoonfuls of water. Once you have the paste ready, remove the oven racks, and soak them in a warm water-vinegar bath.

-- Spread the baking soda mix along the interiors of your oven (the baking soda will turn brown) and let it rest for 8-12 hours, preferably overnight.

-- The next morning, grab a damp sponge or rag and wipe the baking soda paste off.Fill a spray bottle with some white vinegar and spritz it on the interiors. Wherever the vinegar foams up, some baking soda residue remains. Wipe it clean with a wet rag.

-- Once your racks are dried and clean, put them back in and let the oven open for some minutes to let it dry. You can also turn the oven on at a very low temperature to dry it off.

Watch the entire procedure here.

3. Avoiding Heavy Cleaning Routines with Some Smart Hacks

After these jumbo cleaning procedures, one thing is clear – these immensely time consuming cleaning sprees are not always possible due to time constraints.

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It is much better not to let such spills and grime accumulate in your oven in the first place. This is why we have a few smart hacks for you that let you care for your appliance in between these heavy cleanings.

-- If you are cooking something that can turn your oven into a mess, the best option is to place a baking sheet on the rack below. This will give way to catching of spills and food bubbling over the baking dish.

-- If you do not have spare baking sheets handy, then you can also sprinkle some salt over the areas over which some of this food has spilled or overflown to. Once you finish cooking your meal, turn off the oven and wipe the salt with a half vinegar half water mixture and wipe it all away with a wet sponge.

-- Opt for natural cleaning products, especially those that contain citrus oils, since they are tough against grease and stains. Always choose liquid cleaning products that come in spray bottles for ease of use.

-- Another cheap cleaning alternative is a paste made of white or apple cider vinegar, a dishwashing tablet or a drop of dishwashing liquid, water and few drops of essential oil. Dilute the paste with water and fill it in a spray bottle for effective and prolonged use.

-- Always keep rubber gloves, paper towels, old toothbrushes, paint brushes and butter knives handy for use as oven cleaning tools. Try and clean spills immediately and make it a habit of wiping your oven interiors once every night with a damp sponge. Look at some more kitchen oven cleaning tips here.

Removing Burnt-On Grease from Oven Pots and Pans

The oven is not the only thing in your kitchen that need your caring too.

Once you have overcome the challenges of the daunting task of cleaning up your kitchen convection and microwave ovens, the next place to get your hands on for cleaning is your various pots and pans that you use in your oven.

The food debris dwells in these utensils in the form of black grimy and greasy stuff which is too stubborn to come off after a regular wash. To make sure that this clinging carbon and burnt residue comes off your most used oven accessories and utensils, here are some great methods.

1. Soaking and Scrubbing
While washing and cleaning kitchen appliances and utensils is an arduous task, the first line of defense against them is often soaking and scrubbing. A hot water bath with a few drops of a good quality dishwashing liquid can go a long way in loosening the grip of dirt on your pots and pans. Scrub them with a wire brush to get rid of the grease and make way for the dazzling new shine.

2. Soda and Vinegar
Yes, this magic recipe is not limited to cleaning kitchen ovens only. Just uniformly sprinkle some baking soda and spray on some vinegar. Scrub it off with a wet sponge or a butter knife in case the debris is too stubborn. You can even leave your pans soaked in baking soda and vinegar overnight for the best results.

3. Alka-Seltzer
Your ovenproof glass cookware can also fall prey to these stubborn stains and the best way to scour them off is by filling the glassware with water and adding about 5-6 Alka-Seltzer tablets to it. Let it soak for an hour or so to wash off the stains and grease easily.

4. Club Soda
Club soda when poured in a pan while it’s still hot keeps the mess from sticking to the surface. Using this nifty hack will save you a lot of hard work and time.

Tip: How your Baking Will Turn up A Notch With Ovens

Electric ovens are perfect comrades-in-arms when it comes to baking.

Once your oven is all cleaned up and ready for use, you should definitely give baking muffins and cakes a shot. The steady heat provided at a constant temperature for cooking and the dry environment an oven furnishes is what can turn your weekends sizzling and golden just like the tops of your bread, muffins and cakes

​Electric ovens, especially convection ones are absolutely perfect and built for baking. The electric coils that provide for all the heat flow are designed to heat up and cool down very slowly, which means that there are no sudden temperature fluctuations and your bakery items will cook slowly and uniformly.

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The heat is better distributed throughout the oven compartment which promotes baking devoid of any undesirable burning or overcooking episodes. Your shortbreads and cakes will get an opportunity to rise and turn golden-brown on the outside in the moisture ridden environment.

​The best fan-based ovens or convection ovens force the heat by a large fan so that the temperature is uniform throughout and the food bakes at a lower temperature, faster and at constant heat.

There are also special pre-programmed bake functions available in electric, convection and microwave ovens which will make your cakes taste supremely delectable and decadent. Watch this cake getting baked ever-so-easily with a microwave oven.

Tips for Baking Using Ovens

-- Always preheat the oven, and always preheat it for a bit longer. The electric coils take a little longer to heat up and fully reach higher temperatures. Built-in preheat modes are also available in some latest oven models. Let the preheating take place completely before placing your items to be baked.

-- Use the right cookware. You can use a cookware or bakeware to your advantage to get exactly the results that you are aiming for. Glass, ceramic and silicone containers are best used when you want to make light brown colored cakes and cupcakes. If you are looking for more browning and crispier crusts, metal baking pans are best.

-- Electric ovens rarely cause overheating and burning, but to make sure your bakes don’t get overcooked or burnt, tent some aluminum foil on the top or crimp some of it along the edge of the baking pan to allow better heat circulation.

-- Electric ovens have excellent heat and airflow provisions; therefore, placing your bakery item on a medium rack in the center of the oven is the best way to bake it uniformly. This will ensure that all sides get cooked at a steady rate and nothing gets burnt.

Tips for Using Your Oven More Efficiently (Infographic)

You want to save your efforts, time and most importantly your electricity bills and the power consumed by your electric ovens and OTGs (Oven-Toaster-Grill). You don’t just save power and energy, but also your hard-earned money. With these tips, you can rest assured of the efficacy of your latest buy. Check out the infographic below!

Watch this video for more tips.

Safety Tips

Your much useful kitchen appliance is so good only as long as if you use it smartly and cautiously. Leaving things unattended and in innocent hands may prove to be very dangerous. Therefore, we have compiled a few safety tips for you to keep in mind while cooking up some delicious and amazing recipes for your loved ones.

-- A working oven is not a safe area for children to play around. Never leave your oven unattended while it’s working, just like your stove tops.

-- Always use an oven for what it is intended – cooking. Storing things in switched off ovens can lead to accidents if turned on unknowingly. One should never try heating water in the oven and neither try cooking a whole egg in it.

-- Always use oven mitts while handling hot dishes and pans. Your oven is a cooking appliance; do not use it for heating the surroundings or a room. The results could be disastrous. Set the right temperature for cooking. In case of a fire incident, never use water if it is a grease fire and turn off all burners and the oven.

-- Always check and read the safety guidelines and make sure you are operating the oven in the right manner. Do some safety checks regularly, keep a fire extinguisher close by and make sure there is a working smoke detector in your kitchen close to your oven and stove top.

As you can see the safety tips are very basic but sometimes we tend to overlook it. While kitchen appliances are excellent at helping our cooking chore but if we take it for granted, accident might just be lurking at the corner and waiting to strike at you. So never let you guard down.

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There you have it. This is a lengthy post and packed with tons of information. We hope this ultimate guide on oven cleaning and usage was highly helpful for you. Stay tuned and keep visiting for more amazingly useful articles and guides!

This Smart Hacks to Keep the Oven Clean and Shiny (Tips, Tricks, Infographic and More) was originally posted on Gordan Ladd's Kitchen