Cleaning The Stovetop/Oven

Cleaning the stovetop is a cinch, even if it’s a daily task. Depending on the stovetop (or oven) you have to work with, it could mean as little as wiping the top or as much as taking the burners apart to clean (or change) the plates. If you have a glass top, scrubbing stains isn’t as hard as the old burner plates. Unless, of course, you line the burner plates with aluminum foil, then all you have to do is change the foil.

I work with a propane-powered stove, with a little flame. Since it does a lot of cooking, this stovetop gets cleaned a good 5 days a week. It gets easier when I wipe it up as soon as possible. Not that hard, really, I just need an oven mitt to pick up the burner tops and wipe underneath. It’s the daily care that makes clean-up easy. Wiping up spills before they dry up (and harden) means less time scrubbing the stovetop.

The knobs (if your stove has them) that control the burners may also be able to come off. You will be able to wipe around the area more effectively. Let the knobs soak in hot-as-you-can-tolerate-it water and clean them with dish soap and an old toothbrush. Brush the face gently, but well enough to remove any debris. Let knobs air dry before putting them back in their place.

If your stove has a digital screen, read the manual to see how you can clean it.

The Oven

However, the oven doesn’t need weekly cleaning, though it can take an easy 2-3 hours to clean it. That may sound overwhelming, but when you break it down into parts, two hours can pass quickly.

Note:

Vigorous cleaning may be tiring. To offset this, either clean the oven in parts over a period of days or spend less time at each station.

Depending on your oven, you may or may not be able to clean it. If it is an old model (20 years or older), you may be able to use a steel wool pad or steel (or copper) scrubbie. If it is a newer model (19 years or younger), check the manual to see what you can or cannot use. Some ovens use the floor to heat the oven and cleaning it with steel/copper may damage it.

Some ovens have a cleaning cycle. This is ideal! Set it and walk away. Clean this oven when you are going to be out of the kitchen for the day (or done for the day). It can take several hours. You may be able to wipe the inside with a cloth to gather any charred debris on the oven floor. Always check the instructions first before taking any action.

Oven Cleaner

If you have oven cleaners, then follow their instructions carefully. It does a fantastic job for those who are not sensitive to the chemicals. Oven cleaners bother my respiratory system, so I find other ways to keep a clean oven.

D-I-Y Cleaner

I’ve heard lots of different ideas, but I stick to the old-fashioned – and cheap – method of baking soda & dish soap with elbow grease. I pour a small heap of baking soda on the door (easy access) and drop several drops of dish soap. Then I add to it as I need to. With a dripping wet steel scrubbie, I dip into the mixture and begin my circular or zig-zag cleaning motions.

Cleaning Tool

Steel wool and steel (or copper) scrubbies work the best. Unless your oven’s manual specifies cleaning procedures, or you’re not sure (it’s not your oven), a green scratch pad works well. Pair it with AJAX or COMET and work small areas at a time.

An Ounce Of Prevention

A little care goes a long way when it comes to the floor of your oven. When you’re baking something with lots of liquid or grease, it’s a good idea to line the bottom of your oven with aluminum foil. The foil creates a thin barrier between the food and you spending extra time scraping off the overflow. (If your oven doesn’t allow anything on the bottom, put one rack lower than what you’re baking and line the rack.)

If your oven has a light, leave it off. As tempting as it may sound to have better lighting inside, the light bulb may shatter when the wet cloth comes in contact with it. If you have a portable light to shine in, that would be better. Turn on all the lights, open all the curtains, and/or have a large flashlight handy to see inside.

Station #1: Oven Racks

This can be first, last, or as a break from kneeling down at the oven. You can soak them in the bathtub with cleaner and hot water (several hours), or scrub them in the sink. Steel scrubbies work best. If you have the facilities, you can scrub outside with a wire brush and rinse with cold water. The main idea is to take off the black charred pieces stuck on the rack. The brown stains may likely be grease stains. These take a little extra work.

Start with one side of the rack and with the wet (with hot water) steel scrubbie between your forefinger (the pointer) and thumb, run it up and down the individual steel poles, swirling the best you can when they intersect. This can take 15-30 minutes, depending on how dirty it is. Rinse the best you can in the sink. Leave the rack somewhere to drip dry. Repeat with the other rack.

Station #2: Oven Walls

We begin by taking the racks out and setting them aside. Leave the door open and use it as your cleaning station. Set up your cleaner (baking soda + dish soap). Dab a generous amount on your cloth and hold your cloth so very little falls out.

An oven wall may take 20-45 minutes, depending. Start on one side of the oven and scrub down with a steel scrubbie. Work in circles and zig-zags, but keep your area small. Stay on it for at least 3 minutes, but no more than 10. Move at a steady pace; remember that you won’t be able to get everything, just most of it.

When you reach halfway, rinse what you have done. Wet a cloth (one that you don’t mind getting very dirty) and squeeze out excess water. You want the cloth more than damp, but not soaking wet and dripping everywhere.

Wipe one way once. Rinse. Wipe back again. Rinse. Repeat. Continue until you reach the halfway mark. Start again with the cleaning from halfway down to the oven floor. Go back and rinse again. Now take an entirely new cloth, soak it and squeeze it once. Wipe down the entire wall. Move on to the other side wall. Clean the same way.

Cleaning Tip

I find it easier to sit close to the oven wall I’m working with and use my opposite hand. I use my right hand for the left side and my left hand for the right side. When I am working on the back wall, I work half of it with one hand and the other half with the other hand, moving around the door to get in closer.

Scraping Tool

As you work the back wall, you may see a lot of grease stains. Some look like they’re baked right into the wall. Clean them as best you can. Some like to linger; these are old stains and will take extra work. Avoid using sharp knives or any other sharp instrument to scrape the oven walls. If you must scrape, use a soup spoon as your scraping tool.

Station #3: Oven Ceiling

I generally don’t spend a lot of time on the ceiling, unless I’ve baked something greasy or saucy in the oven (and I heard it spitting during the baking time). Working upside down can be straining, so I save the ceiling for when it really needs to be cleaned. Cleaning the ceiling may take 10-15 minutes.

To clean the oven ceiling, with a wet cloth, dab into your baking soda cleaning mix with a wet cloth and coat the back quarter ceiling with circular motions. Then take your wet steel scrubbie and start working from back to the front of that quarter. Add pressure while you scrub stains. Rinse with a new cloth. Work the next quarter (halfway to the door) before you move to the other side of the oven. Rinse the entire ceiling with that new cloth.

Station #4: Oven Floor

Propane ovens usually have floors that come out. It makes it easier to clean than being stooped over on your knees. However, if your oven’s floor is permanent, take a 20-minute break before kneeling down to do some more scrubbing. Work on one rack and then come back to the oven floor.

Take a damp cloth (can be a used one) and wipe the bottom surface, collecting anything that may have fallen from your cleaning, or old crispy debris still left on the floor. You’ll want to have a cleared surface for your scrutiny as you scrub. The oven floor may take about 30-40 minutes, depending on the number of stains. If it is mostly clean, then expect 15-20 minutes of cleaning.

You’ll follow the same pattern as the oven walls and ceiling, but you will be able to see your work. Start in the front this time and work in quarters, the same as the ceiling. Rinse well each time. If you must scrape at an old charred stain, use the edge of the soup spoon (opposite of the handle). Keep the scraping area small, working from the edge of the stain. Add pressure to help “dig” up the stain and alternate with the steel scrubbie.

Station #5: Inside Oven Door

As you replenish your cleaning mix on the door, set it up to one side and work on the other. Work the same as the oven floor, in quarters, starting closest to you. The door is satisfying to watch the process from dirty to clean. Some stains are more stubborn than others. Use the soup spoon to scrape, then the steel scrubbie for the finer scraping.

If you have a window, use a little more dish soap first and as it suds up brown, add some baking soda. Then wipe it down really well before continuing. When you rinse, make sure you don’t leave a small pool of water behind. The water dilutes the effectiveness of the dish soap.

Station #6: Outside Oven Face

This is a small part that meets the door. It may or may not need cleaning, but it is always good to check, especially where the door hinges. Sometimes food gets caught there. If you can’t pick it out with your fingers, then try pushing it down with the soup spoon handle.

Station #7: Stove Drawer

In some ovens, there is a drawer at the very bottom. It holds the baking pans. You may not need to clean it often, but if this is the stove’s first clean, then empty the drawer and wipe it out with a damp cloth only.?If the drawer comes all the way out and dislodges from the stove, vacuum the area underneath. Spiders sometimes like to lodge there if the oven isn’t used frequently.

Note: Once you have finished cleaning the inside of the oven, take a new clean cloth and saturate it with warm to hot water. Wipe the entire oven, rinsing every 4-5 wipes. The idea here is to make sure all the baking soda residue is gone.

Station #8: Outside Oven Door

This is the last cleaning area. Wipe the door with a wet cloth and a dab of dish soap. Wipe the handle. You’re done!

Cleaning Schedule

Ovens can take a lot of baking before they ever need cleaning. Sometimes I have had to clean an oven once every two months, other times, once a year. It depends on how much neglect there is between greasy or saucy baking. If you can deal with fresh stains the next day (or a few days), then you may be able to distance the cleaning schedule to twice a year. On the other hand, if you use your oven a lot for greasy or saucy baking, then expect to thoroughly clean it at least once every two months, with regular partial clean-ups in-between.