How to clean your oven door window

Oven door glass is built to withstand high temperatures and allows us to easily take a peek to see how our food is coming along – unfortunately, over time this window can collect grime and grease stains, which can render it all but useless. Whilst it might be tempting to work around a small stain, this can get baked onto the glass after each use, making it more difficult to clean in the long run.

Take a look at some DIY techniques for cleaning oven door glass, each one requires a differing amount of elbow grease and tools.

For a broad overview of oven cleaning, see our ultimate guide on how to clean your oven.

Can I use bicarbonate of soda to clean glass oven doors?

It is perfectly safe to use bicarbonate soda to clean glass oven doors. However, it is crucial that you ensure that all remaining bicarbonate of soda is cleaned off your glass before you heat the oven up again. This is because the excess bicardbonate of soda will begin to smoke if subjected to heat.

How to Clean a Dirty Oven Glass Door

Best way to clean oven glass of any baked-on grease

As accredited cleaning experts, we think the best cleaner to have for glass oven doors is a natural cleaning solution of equal parts cleaning vinegar and water with a dash of baking soda, this has the effect regular cleaners have on grease without the harsh chemical cleaners. If your oven door glass is dirty with baked-on grease and grime, spray your oven door with some glass or all-purpose cleaner and use a damp cloth to wipe away excess dirt and grease. Put your natural cleaning solution in a spray bottle and spray your glass oven door before cleaning with a damp cloth.

If your oven door glass still has baked-on dirt, streaks or fog, sprinkle baking soda onto affected areas, respray the glass door with your vinegar cleaning solution or all-purpose cleaner and clean off with a damp microfibre cloth until all baked on dirt and grease is removed from the door.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of exactly how to clean a dirty oven glass door of baked on grease:

1. To clean baked-on grease off your dirty oven glass door, gather: a microfibre cloth, vinegar, baking soda, an empty spray bottle, paper towel and a tea towel.
2. Open your oven glass door and wipe off any loose dirt and grease from your glass door with a paper towel
3. Make a cleaning paste – slowly mix 65g baking soda with water until it forms a wet paste.
4. Wet your microfibre cloth with hot soapy water and wipe off any further excess baked on grease and dirt
5. Spread your cleaning solution product on the inside of your oven glass door window
6. Allow the product to sit on the oven glass door for at least 15 to 20 minutes
7. Rinse your microfibre cloth and moisten it with more hot soapy water and wipe off the paste
8. Fill your spray bottle with vinegar and lightly spray your oven door, the residual paste will foam when it comes into contact with the vinegar
9. Wipe away all excess paste and foam from your oven door
10. To cleanse the oven door of baked on grease and long stubborn long-standing dirt, use a razor blade to carefully scrape it away. Use the flat edge of the blade, ensuring you don’t use the corner as this can result in the oven glass door being heavily scratched
11. If needed, repeat steps 2 to 8. This can often be required for oven glass doors with thoroughly baked on grease
12. Rinse your microfibre cloth of any dirty water
13. Buff up your oven glass door with a clean slightly damp cloth
14. Thoroughly dry your oven door with a tea towel

How to clean inside your glass oven door

1. Open your oven glass door and clean the inside of any excess grime and dirt with a damp microfibre cloth
2. Create a cleaning paste by mixing 115g (half a cup) of baking soda with water until it forms a thick paste
3. Carefully spread the cleaning paste on the inside of the glass oven door
4. Allow the cleaning paste to sit on the inside of the oven door for between 20 and 30 minutes
5. Dampen a clean microfibre cloth with hot soapy water
6. Wipe the cleaning paste off the inside of your oven door with your microfibre cloth
7. If dirt remains, spray your oven glass door with a mix of cleaning vinegar and water, the remaining baking soda will foam.
8. Clean off the excess paste and dirt with a damp microfibre cloth
9. If baked on dirt is still present, carefully scrape away with a razor blade – ensuring you use the flat edge of the blade and not the corner. This will protect your glass oven door from scratches.
10. If grime and dirt remains, repeat steps 1-9 until the inside of your oven glass door is clean of dirt
11. Dry the inside of your oven glass door with a paper towel
12. Buff your oven door with a dry microfibre cloth to remove streaks on the glass

If your oven door glass has just a few stains and patches on it, then you may be able to get away with cleaning it without removing the door. This is particularly useful for people who don’t have an extra set of hands to help them out or the necessary tools to get the job done in the first place.

How to clean the oven glass door using self-cleaning mode

Many modern ovens come complete with a self-cleaning mode, these work by heating the oven to its highest possible temperature and is intended to burn off any spills, stains or burnt on debris. The effectiveness of this method varies from appliance to appliance and uniformly leads to smoke billowing out from your oven.

What you will need:

• An oven with a self-cleaning mode
• Glass cleaner
• Microfiber cloth

1. Make sure the oven is empty of any grill trays or food. You can also try wiping away any loose debris now to reduce the amount of smoke produced by the oven.
2. Open up windows and close doors, depending on your home layout. You’ll want to avoid channelling smoke through areas of the house with soft furnishings.
3. Set your oven to the self-cleaning mode and let it run. This can take anywhere between 2-4 hours, depending on your appliance.
4. Allow the oven time to cool down once the cycle has finished, and then wipe away any debris that has collected.
5. Inspect the results, you may need to try a different approach if some stains or burnt-on food still remains.
6. Use a glass cleaner and microfiber cloth to buff up any surfaces.

How to clean the outside of your oven door?

1. Spray your oven glass with your favourite glass cleaner. To help you with this, we’ve previously outlined the best oven glass cleaners.
2. Wipe your glass with a moist microfibre cloth in a circular motion to clean the excess grime and dirt.
3. Mix your baking soda with equal parts water until it forms a thick cleaning paste.
4. Spread a thin layer of your cleaning paste on your oven glass door.
5. Let the paste sit on your glass door for 20-30 minutes.
6. Lightly spray your oven glass door with your vinegar or lemon juice cleaning solution, this will cause the paste to foam.
7. Clean off all foam, dirt and grime with a damp microfibre cloth.
8. Dry off any excess with a paper towel and buff your glass with a dry microfibre cloth.

How to clean your oven glass on the inside

In order to keep your oven door in tip-top condition, we recommend using a DIY scrub as part of your routine cleaning schedule. Using a baking soda scrub is the best way to clean your oven door and it is quick, simple and cheap to make.

What you will need:

• Baking Soda
• A bowl or container
• Rubber gloves
• Non-scratch cleaning sponge
• Dry cloth
• Glass cleaner
• Paper towel

1. Start by mixing baking soda with water in a shallow container or bowl. Use three parts baking soda to one part liquid and mix until you have a loose paste and the baking soda has dissolved.
2. Open your oven door and spread the paste all over the glass. We think that using your fingers to do this is best as it means that you can cover every little bit of the glass.
3. Wait for the paste to do its work for 15 minutes. During this time, the baking soda will set to work on loosening stuck-on grime that is marring the appearance of your oven door.
4. After a quarter of an hour, it’s your turn to do a little work. Use the scrubbing side of a non-scratch cleaning sponge to loosen any stuck-on foods and then start to rinse using just plain water.
5. Rinse your cleaning sponge and then work from one side of the glass to the other as you clean the baking soda paste off. Make sure that you rinse your sponge regularly and keep going until all traces of the baking soda have been washed away.
6. Next, you should dry off the glass using a dry, clean cloth. If you find any traces of the baking soda, wipe them off with a damp sponge and re-dry the area.
7. Finally, get a streak-free shine by polishing your door using a good-quality glass-cleaning product. We have found that using a paper towel and a side-to-side motion is the best way to clean your oven door.

How to clean oven door glass by removing it

If the above methods don’t achieve the results that you were looking for, then you’ll likely need to detach the oven door entirely to access the sections of your oven that you’re unable to reach. In order to do this properly is a more labour intensive job which also requires some basic DIY skills.

How to clean between the glass on your oven door?

You may find after you’ve cleaned the inside and outside of the oven glass that there’s still some grimy residue that has collected in between the glass. This can be cleaned, but doing so will require another set of helping hands, as well as a few tools.

What you will need:

• Water
• Baking soda
• A bowl or container
• Microfiber cloth
• Old towels or sheets
• Non-scratch cleaning sponge
• Screwdriver suited for your oven door

1. Lay down your old towels and sheets in front of the oven.
2. Use your screwdriver to loosen the screws between the door and the oven.
3. Once the door is ready to be removed, seek assistance so that you can unscrew the door completely and they can carry its weight before lying it down on your towels or sheets.
4. Remove the screws from the door and put them in a safe place.
5. Take the door apart and lie both sides next to each other, with the dirty sides facing up.
6. Use the water and baking soda to create a paste, spread across both glass surface and leave to work for at least 15 minutes.
7. Use a non-scratch cleaning sponge to wipe away the grim, repeat if necessary, then use the microfiber cloth to buff up the glass.
8. Reassemble and replace the door, making sure to seek assistance.

DIY oven cleaning resources

If the above methods haven’t quite done the trick, or you’re looking to get other parts of your oven cleaned then you might find the following resources useful:

How To Clean Your Oven Using Vinegar 

How To Clean An Oven With Baking Soda

How To Clean Oven Trays [Guide]

Six Ways Of Cleaning Your Oven Racks Yourself

How to Keep Your Electric or Gas Oven

If you don’t have the time or skills to give your oven a proper clean, then you can always book one of our local oven cleaning service technicians to do the job for you.

All Ovenu technicians have the experience and tools to safely dismantle your oven and clean it inside out. Get in touch online, or call us on 0800 140 9800.

Rik Hellewell

Rik Hellewell is the Founder & Managing Director of Ovenu and a member of the Approved Franchise Association. He established Ovenu in 1993, cleaning 4,000 ovens and proving his concept over five years before starting the franchise business. Since then he has helped over 200 franchisees achieve their dreams of running successful businesses of their own. Established for over 25 years, the Ovenu concept has proven successful across the UK, New Zealand, Australia and the USA.

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