How to Clean an Oven

Deep clean it when spills have burned onto the floor or the oven smokes as it preheats, rather than on a calendar. Between deep cleans, wipe up spills as soon as the oven cools, because fresh spills wipe right off and burned ones need the full baking soda treatment. To catch drips, set a sheet pan on the rack below the dish instead of lining the oven, since GE advises against lining the oven floor or racks with aluminum foil.

You can, but there are trade-offs. The self-clean cycle burns food residue into ash at extreme heat. GE says its ovens reach up to 885°F during the cycle. It works well but produces smoke, strong odors, and intense heat, and it can trip smoke detectors. Do three things before you start it. GE tells you to remove the oven racks unless they are labeled self-clean, take everything else out of the cavity including foil, probes, and stored pans, and ventilate the kitchen with a window or the exhaust fan. And if anyone in the house keeps a bird, do not run it while the bird is home. The Merck Veterinary Manual lists some self-cleaning ovens among the sources of PTFE gas, says the poisoning happens commonly in birds housed in or near kitchens, and notes that small birds often die suddenly after minimal exposure. For heavy, baked-on soil in a self-clean oven, GE recommends the cycle over hand cleaning, so use it for that job when no bird is in the house. For routine cleaning, the baking soda method avoids the heat, smoke, and fumes at the cost of an overnight wait.

They are effective but contain strong chemicals like sodium hydroxide (lye). Use them in a well-ventilated area, wear gloves and eye protection, and follow the label directions exactly. Avoid getting the spray on heating elements, gaskets, or exterior surfaces. The fumes can irritate your lungs and eyes. If you have children, pets, or chemical sensitivities, use the baking soda method instead, at the cost of more waiting and more scrubbing. If your oven has a self-clean cycle, keep commercial oven cleaner out of it entirely. GE says not to use it, even cleaners labeled for self-clean ovens, because repeated use etches and discolors the liner and keeps the cycle from cleaning well. GE's hand-cleaning advice for those ovens is a mild soap solution, a plastic pad, and a thorough rinse, so rinse thoroughly after the paste, as step 5 describes.

On a range or wall oven with a pull-down door, lift the door off and clean between the panes without taking the glass apart. GE's method is to open the door fully, pull the hinge locks in the lower corners down toward the door frame, close the door to its removal position, and lift it up and off the hinges. The door is heavy, so lay it handle side down on a towel. Wrap a cloth around the end of a yardstick, soak it in mild dish soap and warm water, and slide it into the opening at the bottom of the door without forcing it between the panes. Let the solution soak into the streaks for 2 to 3 minutes, scrub, rinse with a clean wet cloth until no soap is left, and dry with a lint-free cloth before you rehang the door. Hinge designs vary, so follow your owner's manual for the removal steps. GE says side-swing doors cannot be removed by the owner, not to clean between the glass on side-swing doors or doors with a camera, and that taking the door apart to reach the glass is a job for service.