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Question:
I wondered if you might be able to answer this question for me or at least point me in the right direction. Every time I broil or clean my oven, the top of the door turns a lovely shade of orange brown. This wouldn’t be so bad except for the fact that my oven is white. In the past, I have been able to dull the discoloration, but would like to totally remove it if possible. Any suggestions?
Answer:
I have a theory about this. I also have an electric oven/stove and have noticed some discoloration on my door as well. I think your main problem is that your heating element is dirty so when you are using your oven the dirty air is seeping out and leaving the residue on your door.
My recommendation is two things: #1-clean the discoloration on your door and #2-clean your heating element (the main problem).
Let’s start with #2. If you have a self cleaning setting on your oven I would start by running that. Run it at night and leave a couple windows cracked because it will really heat up your house and it stinks since it’s burning off all of the baked-on grime. If you don’t have a self-cleaning setting there are many ways to clean your oven. There are oven cleaners that you can purchase at stores like Target or if you prefer a natural method you can use a mixture of 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup baking soda, 3 cups water. Mix all the ingredients together and coat the entire inside of your oven with it. After 5 min scrub the mixture off and wipe clean with a damp cloth. Don’t forget to clean the heating element at the top!
Back to #1: To clean the discoloration on the door I use a kitchen spray that contains bleach but you could also use a Magic Eraser. If you want to use a natural method use the same mixture of vinegar and baking soda that you used for inside the oven.
I also have a suggestion for preventing future discoloration. Similar to what we did for our vents during Spring Cleaning, wax your oven door. I know this seems strange but applying a fine layer of wax to the top of your oven door (according to package directions) will prevent further discoloration from sticking to the top of the door.
Repeat the process of cleaning your heating element and waxing the top of your door every 6 months and your door should stay sparkly clean and white! Also remember to wipe down your oven inside and out if you cook something greasy or if anything splatters. This will help maintain food build-up so that it’s easier to clean at the 6 month mark. 🙂
*How to Clean a Self Cleaning Oven
*How to Clean BETWEEN Oven Window Glass
*How to get Oven Racks to Slide Easily
Anonymous says
May 19, 2011 at 8:23 pmThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous says
May 20, 2011 at 2:33 amThank you!! I have the problem too. Will try your tips to see what happen. It is embarrass. Thank you
At The Picket Fence says
May 20, 2011 at 3:32 amSo this was the first link up that I came over to read because I totally have this same problem and while I am usually able to clean it up pretty well I never thought about WHAT might be causing it and also the tip about the wax is awesome! I will so be trying this. Thanks Anna for sharing these great tips with us at Inspiration Friday!Heather
Belinda @ Wild Acre says
May 20, 2011 at 8:52 amGreat tips!
Anonymous says
May 20, 2011 at 6:57 pmYep! I have the same problem. Magic Eraser always does the trick for me. Now, can someone tell me how to clean inside the window of my oven? Kath
c.w.frosting says
May 24, 2011 at 5:49 amOh! I have this problem! Thanks for the tips!-caroline
To Sew With Love says
May 28, 2011 at 6:05 pmWhat a great advice! I have the same problem with my oven! Thanks Anna!
Sandy Jenney - Organize with Sandy says
June 7, 2011 at 12:43 amDid you find this remedy somewhere or did you come up with it on your own? I would never have thought of this!
Elaine says
June 26, 2018 at 1:35 pmNope. Tried magic eraser. Didn’t do the trick. Neither did vinegar or comet. Any other ideas?
Anonymous says
November 13, 2011 at 8:07 ammagic eraser takes it right off — no need to even use a cleaner
Anonymous says
November 13, 2011 at 8:08 amhttp://www.mrclean.com/en_US/magic-eraser.do
Chaos Queen says
December 29, 2011 at 8:29 amI have the same problem….but magic eraser doesn't work! Nothing has! Help!
Shuree says
July 27, 2012 at 8:50 pmHi Anna,
I can’t seem to find the post on how to clean the inside of the oven glass. Can you email it?
Anna says
July 27, 2012 at 11:16 pmHere you go: https://askannamoseley.com/2011/05/how-to-clean-the-oven-glass/.
Anna 🙂
Lorimae says
May 9, 2015 at 9:17 amPlease don’t go to bed with the self-cleaning oven feature on ! My neighbors house burned down. She is okay . Oven was less than 2 years old !
Blossom says
July 8, 2015 at 6:09 amAt my age of 82 it seems like magic to read the simple way you resolve so many problems that one imagines only a professional could solve!! Thank you for all your solutions!! Never stop!
Blossom
Anna says
July 8, 2015 at 9:46 pmAhhh, thank you. 🙂
Kate says
November 17, 2015 at 6:33 pmyou mentioned using turtle wax, is this on inside of oven door?
Thank you,
Kate
Anna says
November 19, 2015 at 7:32 amNo, on the top of the door, where the air flows out of the vent. 🙂
Irene says
June 16, 2018 at 2:59 amCooking my oven door and I noticed the grill door was going brown and now I cannot get it off it’s a brand-new oven from darling and it is white.
Can can p please give me some advice thank you how to take it off
Anna says
June 22, 2018 at 3:41 pmI would maybe try a Magic Eraser and if that doesn’t work try cleaning it with bleach. Sorry about your new oven! 🙁
BARBARA says
December 2, 2015 at 5:43 pmI have a stainless steel stove it has spots on it. How can I get them off.
Bethany Davis says
December 3, 2015 at 2:36 pmHi, Barbara! I’m Anna’s assistant, Bethany. There is a great post on the blog about how to clean stainless steel that I think might help you: https://askannamoseley.com/2013/10/the-best-way-to-clean-stainless-steel-appliances/ Please let me know if this isn’t what you were looking for and we’ll see if we can help you out. Thanks!
Carol says
May 11, 2016 at 3:22 pmI tried all the suggestions you have on your website to remove the stain on my oven door and nothing would touch it. It might have gotten a little lighter on the top of the handle, but nothing significant. Do you have anymore suggestions to clean the door?
Anna says
May 11, 2016 at 6:32 pmI don’t, I’m sorry. I would call an appliance shop and ask them, if nothing else worked.
Sally Foster says
May 15, 2016 at 7:18 amI have a self-cleaning convection oven that got some aluminum foil stuck to the bottom. It seems to have melted on to the bottom permanently. The stove is new so I’m unsure how to clean it whether to use the self cleaning a part of or if there is some other method I can use to get this silver parts of aluminum foil out of my stove, out of my oven. it’s not rough like you could peel it off it’s smooth like this become part of the bottom. Help,
Bethany Davis says
June 6, 2016 at 1:07 amHi, Sally. I’m Anna’s assistant, Bethany. Anna has had this happen to her before (although it was just a little piece of foil) and she cleaned the oven really well first by using this method: https://askannamoseley.com/2014/03/how-to-clean-a-self-cleaning-oven/ Then, she followed up by using the self-cleaning option on the oven, which essentially incinerated the foil and turned it to ash. But just make sure get your oven really clean first before trying the self-cleaning. Hope this helps!
Lacy says
January 20, 2017 at 10:47 amIn this post you recommend cleaning the oven with baking soda, white vinegar and water, but in your post about basic oven cleaning you recommend using just baking soda and water… Just wondering which is the better method?
Thanks!
Anna says
January 23, 2017 at 10:45 amOver the years I’ve used lots of different methods. I’d say use whichever you like best. 🙂