Oven cleaning advice

[Clutterbug2026]

Please explain to me like am I 5 year old how best to clean my oven and what I should use!

A wet pumice stone. Keep the glass and surfaces wet, too.

You should use Linda. She’s fabulous. She costs £50 and leaves my oven looking like it is brand new!

Get someone in to do it, then keep on top of it.

Get someone in. I've never cleaned mine and I'm late 60s.

Where abouts does Linda live/work?

It doesn’t think it’s awful. I cleaned it last year and it was a faff because the seal isn’t good I don’t use it very often. I need a new oven but I also need new kitchen flooring and really need a new kitchen but at the moment I can’t see when that will be possible.

She’s an oven cleaner near Edinburgh but it think most places have somewhere local. It’s the best £50 I spend every year. Cleaning an oven is just not on my agenda.

Just google 'oven cleaning service' and pick one near you.

1. you need a tub of Pink Stuff and some Brillo pads.
2. open oven and remove all racks and metal parts. Put in the dishwasher and turn it on. (If you don’t have a dishwasher, buy some Oven Pride and follow the instructions to put the metal racks soaking in the bag).
3. smear pink stuff all over the glass doors and leave for a bit (you can also use the spray on kind). Wipe off with cloth and hot water. Repeat if necessary. You may need to slide the glass panels out to clean them under hot water if you can bear the faff.
4. repeat for the interior of the oven. The pink stuff will take off the grease etc but to get the really burnt on bits you will need the Brillo pads. Test a small area first to make sure you won’t damage the surface. (If you haven’t cleaned your oven for a long time you may need to use ovenpride type chemicals to get the residue off)
5. when the dishwasher finishes, take out the metal grills one by one and inspect. They won’t be perfectly clean but the dishwasher softens all the burnt on bits so they slide off easily. I use a Brillo pad for this bit too.
6. re-assemble your oven with liners in the bottom to catch the dirt, or use tinfoil. Then next time you need to clean, you just lift that bit out and chuck it away.

Pink stuff liquid works a treat on the oven door and sides.*
Scrunched up foil to scrub the grills.
I line the bottom shelf/pan with foil to catch drips during use.
Each of these jobs is 15 minutes or less. No need to stress out or call an expert.

*also instant cleaner for shower doors.

We were going to get someone in but I tackled it myself yesterday. Only took 30 mins.

I took all shelves etc out and covered the whole interior with pink stuff paste on a dry soft cloth. Scrubbed some bits with soap pad. Wiped all down with damp cloth. Re-did door with glass cleaner.

Forgot shelves so will do another time, probably in those bags you can buy.

Was pleased with result - there’s still some burnt bits left on but it’s clean enough for us and I’m going to try to do it more regularly (or maybe get our cleaner to tho she’s being unreliable at the moment) to keep it up together/ cleaner generally.

How do you clean a metal rack that has a coating for the microwave combi?

Oven pride. Racks in the bag for a few hours then rinse off. Make sure your new oven has pyrolitic cleaning.

I tried to clean my own oven recently and it was a disaster. Didn’t make much of a difference and could smell the cleaning stuff for ages.
currently have a savings pot for a Linda !

I use a dishwasher tablet on the Glassdoor dip it in water and rub it on glass

how do we all avoid the cleaning smells inside the oven after? I really need to clean my oven but usually too scared to use the chemicals that I then need to heat up any residue on...