What is the best way to clean the oven?

The way in which you clean your oven will depend on exactly what kind of oven you have. But no matter what kind of oven, with some simple advice and some oven cleaning supplies, cleaning your oven should be nice and easy.

If you have a self-cleaning function on your oven, you're in luck because the oven will pretty much clean itself for you. But even with this setting, there are still a few things you must do. First, remove the racks from your oven and soak them in soapy water- in your sink or even your bathtub. Make sure you clean oven racks and that there are no food particles on them.

Turn your oven to the self-cleaning setting, making sure the oven is in a locked position. And the oven will start cleaning itself! It does this by getting extremely hot (usually about 900 degrees Fahrenheit), so it can burn the food away. The self-cleaning option allows your oven to get a lot hotter than you can actually set it yourself. That's part of the reason your oven must be locked to self-clean.

It can take several hours for the self-cleaning to complete the cycle, so make sure you plan to not use your oven in that time. Also, it might be a good idea to crack a window since your kitchen could get a bit smokey and it may get quite warm.

When the cycle is complete, all of the food particles in the oven should now be ash and will be easy to simply wipe out with a wet sponge or clothes.

If you don't have a self-cleaning oven, you can still successfully clean your oven (though it takes a bit more work!).

You'll probably want to purchase a heavy-duty oven cleaner. Simply spray the cleaner in your oven and use an abrasive sponge or scrub brush to loosen all the hardened food particles. Most of them will probably be at the bottom of your oven, so make sure you pay close attention to that area. Then use a damp cloth to wipe away all the debris. You may make a bit of a mess on your kitchen floor, so make sure to have your vacuum cleaner ready.

If you're looking for a non-toxic solution and don't want to use a heavy-duty oven cleaner, baking soda should be just as effective. Sprinkle a healthy amount of baking soda around your oven and spray water over it. Let the baking soda sit for a couple hours and then spray again. This should loosen all the food particles in your oven and they should be ready for you to brush away with a wet sponge.

You will also want to use some window cleaner (or a soapy water solution) on your oven's window. And while you're cleaning your oven, you may as well clean the stove too. Again, use a heavy-duty cleaner or even the baking soda/water combination and scrub away all the food particles.

It is recommended that you clean your oven every six months if you cook in it often. If you use it less often, once a year should be fine. However, if you bake a lot of pies and other dishes that have the potential to get messy, you may have to clean it more often.