A few weeks ago, after making burger patties and bringing them outside to the grill, I realized we were completely out of propane. I brought them back inside and broiled the burgers on a baking sheet in the oven. When it came time to pull them out, I burned my hand on the sheet, dropped it onto the oven, and hamburger grease spilled all over the oven glass. Yay!
Cleaning the oven glass is a task I delay . . . delay more . . . and then delay again. 🙂 To be honest, the condition of the oven glass is not something I normally even notice (as is probably obvious from the disgusting photo below…haha). But after spilling burger grease all over it, I decided it was definitely time to give the oven a much-needed clean. And since it had been so long, it was almost at impossible-to-clean status. I present to you, the nearly impossible to clean oven glass:
You might be able to see from the photo above that there is a small area in the middle where some of the grease and grime has been removed. I initially started to clean the oven with a rag and dish soap. But after many minutes and lots of heavy scrubbing, I realized that there was a much better way.
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SUPPLIES to CLEAN OVEN GLASS
- The secret weapon to cleaning oven glass is Bar Keepers Friend. If you haven’t used this stuff yet, be prepared to be amazed. I normally use Bar Keepers Friend a couple of times a year to clean my cookie sheets and cooking pans, and it works SO WELL. I thought I’d give it a try on my oven glass, and I’m glad I did. It did not disappoint!
- I also used a microfiber cleaning cloth. Microfiber cloths are non-abrasive so they won’t scratch surfaces.
- Cleaning gloves aren’t a bad idea to protect your hands, but I didn’t use any. The instructions on the back of bar keepers friend recommends using gloves if you’ll be exposed to it for an extended amount of time.
HOW TO CLEAN OVEN GLASS
Wet the SURFACE AND ADD BAR Keepers Friend
Begin by getting the surface of the oven glass slightly wet with warm water. Bar Keepers Friend is a powder, but it needs to form a paste with water in order to work. I squeezed some water from my cleaning cloth onto the oven, then sprinkled the cleanser onto the glass. Leave it alone for about a minute so it can start working its magic.
Wipe OFF CLEANER WITH MICROFIBER CLOTH
Use your cloth or rag to wipe off the water/powder paste. You’ll need to do a little scrubbing to remove the grease, but you won’t be exerting nearly as much effort as you would if you were just using soap and water.
REPEAT AS NEEDED
I repeated the process above a total of three times. I think it’s partly because I used a small amount of Bar Keepers Friend each time. Next time I do this I’ll probably try using more, to see if that reduces the number of times I repeat.
Here’s what it looked like after the first round:
Sometimes the cleaning powder would land in an area that seemed a little too dry. If this happens to you, squeeze some clean water from your cloth onto the powder until it looks “pasty.” Let it sit for a minute before wiping off.
Rinse with Water
Once you’re satisfied with the way it looks, be sure to give the oven a thorough rinse with clean warm water to be sure all cleaning residue has been removed.
Difficult to Clean Oven Glass : Before and After
And that’s it! There were a few “specks” remaining when I threw in the towel, but I’d say not bad for about 15 minutes worth of work. Here’s the side by side before and after:
How do you clean your oven? Do you have a favorite cleaner? I’d love to hear your tips in the comments!
