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Chores, cleaning and home care

Oven cleaning

Removing baked-on grease and food from inside an oven, by hand or with the oven's own cleaning cycle, which KitchenAid suggests once or twice a year for most homes.

What It Means

Oven cleaning is removing the grease, spills and burned-on food that build up inside an oven. It's done by hand with a cleaner, or in many ovens with a built-in cleaning cycle. KitchenAid suggests once or twice a year for most households that wipe up big spills as they happen, and four to five times a year when the oven is used daily or more than average.

Try It: How Often Should Your Oven Get Cleaned?

Pick how hard your oven works. The yearly counts are KitchenAid's; the months between are that count spread over a year.

Cleanings a year

1 to 2

Roughly every

6 to 12 months

Wiping big spills once the oven cools is what keeps the lower count realistic.

How It Sounds at Home

  • "Something's smoking every time I preheat, the oven needs a clean."
  • "Leave the oven cleaner on overnight?"
  • "I'll do the oven before everyone comes for the holidays."

The Breakdown

How often, per KitchenAid

How you use the ovenClean it
Average use, big spills wiped as they happenOnce or twice a year
Daily cooking, or more than averageFour to five times a year

Cleaning a standard oven by hand

  1. Check the oven's manual for which cleaners and tools it allows.
  2. Take out the racks and anything stored inside.
  3. Wear rubber gloves when applying a cleaner, as Whirlpool's manual recommends.
  4. Apply the cleaner exactly as its label directs, including any ventilation and waiting time it gives.
  5. Rinse off every trace of cleaner with a damp, not soaked, cloth or sponge, as GE Appliances advises.

Make it last between cleanings. KitchenAid ties the lower count to wiping up big spills as they happen, so a quick wipe once the oven has cooled saves a harder job later.

Good to Know

Match the method to the oven. GE Appliances says no commercial oven cleaner, including ones labeled safe for self-clean models, should be used in or around any part of a self-cleaning ovenSelf-cleaning ovenAn oven with a built-in, high-temperature cleaning cycle that breaks down baked-on food so it can be wiped out once the oven cools. See more; use its own cycle and manual instead. Whirlpool's manual lists sodium hydroxide, or lye, among cleaners that can stain some finishes, so keep oven cleaner off surfaces the manual warns about. Follow the cleaner's label for gloves, ventilation and contact time, and use it on its own; as our chlorine bleachChlorine bleachHousehold bleach made with sodium hypochlorite that whitens, removes stains and disinfects, but can fade colors and damage some fibers. See more page explains, some cleaners give off toxic gas when they meet another product.

FAQ

How often should you clean your oven?

KitchenAid suggests once or twice a year for most families who wipe up big spills as they happen. If you cook daily or use the oven more than average, it suggests four to five times a year.

Can you use oven cleaner in a self-cleaning oven?

GE Appliances says no. Commercial oven cleaner of any kind, even one labeled for self-clean models, shouldn't be used in or around any part of a self-cleaning oven.

Do I need to wear gloves to clean an oven?

Whirlpool's manual recommends rubber gloves when applying a cleaner, unless you're allergic to latex or rubber. The oven cleaner's own label lists any other protection it needs.

Do It in Buhata

Maintenance and Tasks with a repeat

Add "Clean the oven" to Maintenance (Household X add-on) or to Tasks with a repeat every six months, and bring it forward if you cook daily.

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Related Terms and Categories

  • Self-cleaning oven

    An oven with a built-in, high-temperature cleaning cycle that breaks down baked-on food so it can be wiped out once the oven cools.

  • Stovetop cleaning

    Keeping a cooktop free of spills and burned-on food, with a quick clean after each use and a deeper clean with a cooktop cleaner every few weeks.

  • Degreasing

    Removing built-up cooking grease from cabinets, stovetops and range hoods, usually with dish soap and warm water or a cleaner labeled as a degreaser.

  • Range hood filter

    The screen in a kitchen range hood that traps grease, and in ductless hoods a charcoal filter too. Grease filters get washed; charcoal filters get replaced.

  • Microwave steam cleaning

    Cleaning a microwave by heating a bowl of water, often with vinegar or lemon juice, so the steam softens splatters before you wipe them away.

  • Mixing cleaning products

    Combining two or more cleaners in one bottle, bucket or bowl. Some pairs, such as bleach with ammonia or with an acid, give off toxic gas.

Chores, cleaning and home care

Sources

KitchenAid, "How Often Should You Clean Your Oven?"; GE Appliances, "Range & Wall Oven: Use of Commercial Oven Cleaner in Self-Cleaning Oven"; GE Appliances, "Range: Cleaning a Manual or Standard Clean Oven"; Whirlpool, "How to Clean an Oven Inside and Out"; Whirlpool, owner's manual W11333073

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