Ask Anna

How to Clean Oven Glass

A really easy, all-natural solution for cleaning oven glass | Ask Anna
I have never found a good solution to removing the cooked-on grime on my oven glass.  However last week after posting about Discoloration on the Oven a reader asked me the dreaded question: “How do I clean oven glass?”
A really easy, all-natural solution for cleaning oven glass | Ask Anna
So of course I had to find a solution!  Because having oven glass that looks like this, is just not acceptable.  I needed to find a solution for my reader but also for me! So today I’m giving you a quick tutorial for how to clean oven glass!

Here’s what you need:

How to clean oven glass - Ask Anna
Step 1: Pour about 1/2 cup of baking soda into a dish and slowly add water to it until it becomes a thin paste.  You don’t want it to be too thick because you want the mixture to be easy to spread, it should be about the consistency of pancake batter.
How to clean oven glass - Ask Anna
You can see mine is a little runny but it was perfect.
How to clean oven glass - Ask Anna

Step 2: Spread the baking soda mixture all over the oven glass.  I ran out of baking soda so I didn’t have enough to do the entire glass surface so I just spread it over the dirtiest areas.
A really easy, all-natural solution for cleaning oven glass | Ask Anna
Step 3: Set the timer for 15 minutes.  If your oven is REALLY dirty you can set it for 20 minutes to give the baking soda a little extra time to work.
How to clean oven glass - Ask Anna
Step 4: When 15 minutes has expired use a clean, damp microfiber cloth and wipe up the baking soda mixture.  You will be amazed at how easily the grime just wipes right off!
A really easy, all-natural solution for cleaning oven glass | Ask Anna
I have to admit I was very skeptical about this process but it was amazing how well it worked to remove the grime cooked onto the glass!
How to clean oven glass - Ask Anna
I think the pictures speak for themselves.
How to clean oven glass - Ask Anna
What do you think?  I know you want to try it now, especially because it’s SO easy!  If you have a super dirty oven door I’d love it if you’d email me your before and after pictures!

About Anna

"Hi, I'm Anna! Wife, mother, child of God, and the founder of Ask Anna. I have always enjoyed cleaning, organizing, decorating and helping people, so I've put that all together on the pages of this blog. I truly hope my tips help you in your home and make sure to contact me if you have a question!"

Comments

  1. Jayna Rae says

    Awesome. I have used water and steal wool before. Very gently, of course. This reminds me of a book my mom was just tell me she has; I think it is called the Baking Soda Book. Something like that. The gist is, it is EVERYTHING baking soda can do.

  2. Anonymous says

    Thanks for answering my question Anna! I will be giving this a try this weekend. Also, I did a web search and, I found a way to clean in between the glass. If you pull out the bottom drawer and look up the bottom of the door (I am thinking you will need to be laying on the floor unless there is an easy way to get the door off) you will see a couple of hole slats. Take a coat hanger or long ruler and, with duct tape, attach a cloth or paper towel dampened with glass cleaner or other cleaner of choice and stick it up one of the slats. I found this tip here http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cleaning/msg092300439422.htmlI will also be giving this a try this weekend. Who knows! I may end up with a new looking stove after 8 years of heavy use!! Thanks for your awesome tips!Kath

  3. Sallie says

    My husband owns an appliance repair business, and he never told me this. I'll have to ask him if he's heard of using baking soda. Baking soda is great for so many things!

  4. Samantha says

    I'm so sceptical of this I've been downstairs and put the soda on now…..I'll let you know in 20 mins if it's worked…..my oven's very dirty….!

  5. Samantha says

    40 mins and there's a small improvement. It appears my oven door is dirtier than I realised! I'll keep checking it and let you know as soon as it's worked.

  6. Samantha says

    A couple of hours later and having brought out the big guns (white vinegar), I'm amazed……ok, totally non toxic! I might even have to blog about it!

  7. Anna says

    Samantha–That's awesome. I'm glad it came clean. Did you try wiping it up after 20 min? Mine still looked dirty after 15 minutes but when I wiped it off the grime came right up. I'm just curious if you were eying it or if you actually wiped it up and it hadn't come clean yet.Anna

  8. Rosario says

    I am heading to the kitchen thanks for the info. I have tried all kinds of cleaner and they still leave behind some traces of grime. Lets see what happens.

  14. ginger says

    I so needed this. Thanks! Saw you over on Sugar Bee Crafts link up. New follower. :)Just started my own link up party over at gingersnapcrafts.blogspot.com.Would love to have you link up. A giveaway is involved. :)Ginger gingersnapcrafts.blogspot.com

  15. Chris says

    Great tip! Baking soda is one of my favorite go-tos for cleaning. I'd never thought of a paste like this. I will be trying this soon!

  17. Amy Bowman says

    You are featured at New Nostalgia's Anti-Procrastination Tuesday! Thanks for linking up!! You BY FAR got the most clicks:) Again!

  18. Shirley says

    My stove is only a year old and already has splatters on the door glass. I'm going to try this and clean it before it ever gets really bad. (Even though it is self clean, I don't know if I'd ever use that!!!)

  19. Anonymous says

    It sounds like the question is not about spatters on the inside (oven) side of the door, but about spatters in the space between the inner and outer glass panels. Right?There are openings at the top of the oven door which permit boiled-over food, etc, to leak through, but no way to open the oven door structure for cleaning.

  22. barb says

    If you have a fireplace, wet a paper towel and put some of the cold ash on it. Rub it on your glass and everything wipes right off. I have used this tip for years to clean my fireplace glass and it works on oven doors too. It has something to do with the lime (I think) in the burnt wood residue.

  23. cathyohler@yahoo.com says

    OK, first time at your blog….and thought wow I need the oven door cleaned…well I am already going into 40 minutes and no cigar…yet…

  24. Anonymous says

    Almost anything that is alkaline will work fine. I personally would not use anything acidic. Baking soda, OxiClean are both alkaline. As long as you let it sit for at least 15 minutes and use some elbow grease everything cleans great for the oven window. Most people who probably said it did not work did not leave it on long enough.

  25. Bree says

    Great post. I love using baking soda to clean. Hands down best cleaner for pretty much everything. I had gone some time without cleaning my oven since I was pregnant and the utter smell of grease made me sick. I did the same thing you posted above but since mine was worse, I added some hot vinegar and lemon juice after the water and baking soda mixed. It cut right through all the grease and the baking soda got rid of all the hard to scrub area.

  28. Anonymous says

    The baking soda paste is also great for cleaning up aluminum baking pans/glassware that seem beyond repair from burnt-on cooking spray and such! It's amazing how much one simple little product can do.

  29. Burnell Carstens. says

    Hi; After washing the house windows. Use auto paste wax.It will keep the dirt from clinging to the glass.If when building homes The builder would tilt the bottom of the window in toward the inside of the home. the windows would stay cleaner longer also we could see out side better. S/Burnell Carstens U.S. Coast Guard Ret. Chief.Look at the bridge windows ships at sea.

  30. Idle Wife says

    My oven is only a year old, so I thought I'd try this on my toaster oven (which was covered in two years of *really* disgusting grime I could never get off). It worked amazingly well, but not as put on/wipe off as you make it sound! At least not for 2 years worth of splatters! I did two applications and the second is when I discovered it really helps to use the cakes of baking soda (that build up when you're wiping it off) to really scrub those areas that are extra bad. Although, the scrubbing wasn't as bad as I've done in the past (with little to no results) so overall, this is super great and I'm so glad I've got a way to *maintain* the clean now that I know how to manage it. Thanks for the tip!

  32. Anonymous says

    Hi, I will definitely be trying this!!I was wondering would this work also on the inside of the stove where there's droppings that are stuck on the bottom of the stove?Thanks!starshine101@live.ca

  33. Julie says

    Worked perfect! Had to leave on a little longer, but not much. I used an older dish brush to scrub without touching the baking soda. Thank you!

  34. Rachel says

    I saw this on Pinterest and had to try it. We bought a used oven and I have tried to clean it several times, with no luck. Someone said this worked and I figured the worse that would happen for me is that it wouldn't work. Well, it took 40 minutes and some elbow grease, but my oven glass is now clean! Some of the less dirty places did get clean in 2o minutes with minimal wiping effort, but the rest of the glass was REALLY dirty and took more effort. Thanks for sharing!

  35. p laporte says

    when i spray the oven with oven cleaner i just spray the door too…always have…then 'shine' it after with windex and a soft cloth…

  36. Vicky says

    The inside of my sisters oven needs cleaned, she self-cleaned it caught on fire, will the baking soda mixture work, is it to strong it won't harm the interior surface will it? Or do you have a better idea? Thanks!!!!

  38. Virginia says

    A littele elbow grease and a brillo pad will do the trick and doesn’t take but a few minutes.

  39. Maybelle says

    This really works!. I had been looking for a long time to find something that would work for me and believe me this does! Thanks a lot.

  40. Caitlin says

    So this gets in between? I mean if you just do it on the inside how does it work on the middle?

  41. Dorthy says

    This worked so well for my oven door glass. It was not even clean when I bought this house, which was . . . . I won’t tell how long I’ve lived here. I did use a “heavy duty scour pad” (those green scouring pads) after leaving the baking soda & white vinegar paste on the window for 20 minutes.

    THANKS!

  42. Debbie Wightman says

    Hi Anna, I too read the suggestion of water and baking soda paste and I tried it too ways. the first 1/2 hour I made the paste and left it on. When I wipe it off it was better but still had stuff I could feel on the glass and see. Later I heated the oven to 200 and put another batch of the baking soda and and water and left it on for 30 minutes. A little better but the cooking grime is still on my 2 year old oven. I want to get it clean by New Years Day…… what next might I try? and I also tried dish soap and water….:(

    thanks,
    Debbie in Oregon

    • Anna says

      Dang, I’m not sure! Have you tried using an Arm & Hammer toothpaste and a sponge? I know it sounds weird but that’s what I use to get tough spots off my stovetop. Put a little toothpaste on the burned spots and scrub it with a sponge or a hard toothbrush, it should break up the spot.

  44. Dawn says

    I cleaned my oven today following advice I saw on pinterest which said to mix baking soda, water and washing up liquid (I think you call it dish soap in USA). Although I must admit that my after pic is worse than your before pic! But compared to other chemicals I have tried it was brilliant. I used the oven afterwards with no need to wait for the smell to disappear as there wasn’t any. I think I will be tempted to clean my oven more often now I have found an easy, safe, non toxic method. I think after a few more tries with it I will soon have a sparkly oven like yours. Also my oven door opens out not down so the washing up liquid helps the solution to stick to the door. I left the mix on for an hour or 2.

  45. Margaret Minor says

    I will do this. My oven door is not too bad yet but want to catch it before it does get bad. Funny thing tho. My stove is EXACTLY the same as yours. Have had it since 2005 and have been very happy with it! How about you?

  46. Stephen Kitzul says

    Well now, I tried it exactly as you said, and it did not work. I tried it again, and still, nothing came off of the glass. <>

  48. Alice @ Mums Make Lists says

    Have to confess my oven door was seriously gunky and so the baking soda on it’s own didn’t get most of the grime and splatters off but after a bit of experimentation I found a foamy paste of 3 tablespoons of baking soda, 1 of dish washing liquid and a teaspoon or so of citric acid, left on for a good hour did the trick. It still needed some elbow grease but only about 5 minutes or scrubbing with a microfibre cloth.

  49. cindy says

    Can you also use that baking soda ingredients on the inside of a self-cleaning stove??? I don’t like how hot it gets to use it.

  50. Fabienne says

    Thanks for the wonderful advice on all things. I had tried the baking soda, but my oven door was so covered in dried on grease that this didn’t work. I opened the oven door and poured coke on it,let it sit for 20 minutes, and was able to remove all the built-on grime using a blade. The grease came off in strips kind of like caramel, but most of it came off.

  51. ruby cretsinger says

    I clean my oven door glass with one of those single edged razor blades. I use it to scrape off all the baked on stuff and then wipe it with vinegar.

  52. Barbara says

    I had read that the only way to clean my oven door was to take it apart and then clean it. Well, I was not about to do that. Now I see this, and I will try it. Thank you so much for posting this!!!

  53. Michele says

    I tried this method on my old oven glass and it ruined it. Every time I cooked something in it, I would get white streaks down the glass because the baking soda mixture got under the seals around the glass. Then that was impossible to get off because it had baked it on in the process. I wish there was an easy way to clean it without using baking soda!

  54. Floss says

    My glass oven door was so dirty from grease and baked goods getting on it. I had the oven on yesterday and waited until the oven was still somewhat hot and used a brillo pad on it and guess what? It all came off. It needs to be warm to hot. Just be careful. It works. I am so happy.