Maid Tips: Oven Cleaning 101 how to clean it and keep it clean

Tips from a maid on how to clean your oven and keep it clean!

A common task people hire a maid service to do is cleaning the oven. Many people dread cleaning the oven. If your oven is coated in grease or baked on food, the task can seem daunting. However, a maid can tell you it is actually fairly simple to do and does not take much time at all to complete.

If it’s self cleaning…

The process you need to use to clean the oven depends on whether or not your oven is self-cleaning. For a self-cleaning oven, it is basically a two-step process.

Lock the oven door and select the option for “clean.”

Let the oven do its thing.

When the cleaning cycle is complete, any food in the bottom of the oven should be removed, baked off at a high temperature. Be sure to keep children and pets away from the oven during the cleaning cycle. It can get very hot and it may not smell too pleasant. You may want to stay away too. Also, it is not advised to use the self-cleaning feature if you have pet birds as the fumes could harm them. If you do not want to use the self cleaning option a home cleaning service may be able to help.

If it’s not self cleaning…

Your oven still has a reliable cleaning mechanism. This would be elbow grease (you) and a healthy oven cleaner. First, remove any loose crumbs from the oven using a cloth or paper towel. If you wipe the crumbs directly into a garbage can or dust pan, you will avoid unnecessary clean-up later.

Next, apply a healthy oven cleaner to the oven. We recommend pre-soaped brillo pads or bonami. You can also ask an appliance store employee or call the company that manufactured your oven to find one that meets your needs and specifications.

Apply your cleaner of choice to any rough spots on the bottom or sides of the oven and let it sit for about 30 minutes. (You may wish to wear rubber gloves depending on the cleaner you choose to use)

When the 30 minutes is up, simply wipe out the rest of the oven with water. Make sure any cleaning residue is rinsed thoroughly, unless you’d like this aroma added to your food in the future.

Prevent oven cleaning in the future

One way to avoid frequent oven cleanings is to prevent spills from happening. Use pans that are large enough to accommodate the food that’s in them. Also, clean up spills as they happen if they are on the stovetop. This is not recommended if they occur inside the hot oven of course. But try to wipe those up same day. If you do use a home cleaning service your maid will thank you.

Of course we would be happy to help you clean your oven and keep it clean. Just give us a call or email us to let us know you would like oven service on your next visit.