How to clean an oven: pyrolytic, catalytic and manual cleaning

How you clean an oven depends on its surface. A pyrolytic oven cleans itself with a programme, after which you only need to wipe away the ash with a damp cloth. Catalytic walls are cleaned by heating and must not come into contact with any cleaning product. An enamel interior and base are cleaned manually, ideally when cool, with an oven cleaner used according to its label and with gloves.

First, find out what type of oven you have

The cleaning method differs substantially between ovens, and what helps one may damage another. You can find the type in the instruction manual, on the appliance's rating plate or by the model name on the manufacturer's website.

• A pyrolytic oven has a self-cleaning programme in which the interior is heated to a very high temperature and food residue burns to ash.
• An oven with catalytic walls has a special porous coating on some of the walls (on some models only on the back wall), which absorbs and breaks down grease during cooking.
• An oven with an enamel interior and no self-cleaning function is cleaned manually.
• Some ovens also have a cleaning programme using water or steam that softens the dirt; you will find the procedure, the amount of water and the duration in the manual.

Pyrolytic cleaning

Pyrolysis is the most convenient method, but it needs to be prepared properly. In its description of pyrolytic cleaning, Bosch states that the temperature inside the oven reaches 485 °C and recommends this programme as a deep clean roughly once every 6 to 12 months. In its pyrolytic cleaning guide, Electrolux describes preparation and safety as follows:

1. Remove all accessories and removable side racks from the oven. The oven must be cold.
2. Use a soft cloth to wipe coarse dirt from the interior and the inner glass of the door.
3. Start the programme only when the door is fully closed. For safety reasons, it locks during cleaning.
4. Select the programme. According to Electrolux, it takes roughly one to three hours, depending on the intensity selected.
5. Ventilate the kitchen well during and after cleaning.
6. Once the oven has cooled, wipe away the remaining ash with a damp cloth and put the accessories back.

Think about safety, especially where children and animals are concerned. Electrolux recommends keeping children away from the appliance during the programme, because it gets very hot and hot air comes out of the front vents. According to the manufacturer, pets, especially birds, should be moved away from the oven to a well-ventilated room during and after cleaning, because some birds and reptiles are very sensitive to the fumes. Bosch also warns that the door glass may be hot during pyrolysis and that you should not touch it.

Catalytic walls

A catalytic coating is cleaned with heat, not chemicals. In its catalytic cleaning guide, Electrolux states that grease is released from the coating at 250 °C and advises that, if the oven has no special programme, you let it run at this temperature for roughly an hour. Remove the accessories and removable racks beforehand.

What matters most is what you must not put on catalytic walls. Electrolux expressly states that the catalytic surface must not be cleaned with oven sprays, abrasive products, soap or other cleaning agents, as this would damage it. Stains or discolouration may remain on the coating, which, according to the manufacturer, do not harm the oven.

According to the same guide, parts without a catalytic coating, typically the base and the door, are cleaned in the traditional way, that is, with oven cleaner and wiping with warm water. Take care that no cleaner reaches the catalytic walls, even as overspray.

Manually cleaning an enamel oven

Manual cleaning is more laborious, but anyone can do it. In its guide to manual cleaning, Electrolux begins by saying that you should switch the oven off and clean it only once it has cooled.

• chemical-resistant gloves and protective goggles, if you use an oven cleaner,
• an oven cleaner or a gentle enamel cleaner, according to the oven manufacturer's instructions,
• a sponge without an abrasive side and soft cloths,
• a plastic scraper for baked-on residue, unless the manufacturer rules it out,
• a bucket of warm water for wiping.

1. Switch the oven off and let it cool.
2. Remove the trays, racks and side guide rails.
3. Vacuum or sweep up loose dirt.
4. Apply the cleaning product according to the label and leave it to work for the prescribed time. Keep a window open.
5. Wipe the whole interior and the inner glass of the door, then wipe with warm water until no cleaner residue remains.
6. Wipe dry and put the rails and trays back.

On many models the door can be removed, which makes cleaning the glass easier. Electrolux describes releasing the catches on the bottom edge and recommends placing the removed door on a flat, soft surface so that it does not get scratched. You will find the specific procedure for your model, including how to take the glass panels apart, in the instruction manual.

Trays, racks and side rails

Clean the accessories outside the oven. Soak trays and racks in warm water with washing-up liquid, let baked-on residue soften and then wipe it off with a sponge without an abrasive side. Put only those parts in the dishwasher that the manufacturer permits in the manual. Accessories do not belong in the pyrolytic programme unless the manufacturer expressly states that they are suitable.

Overview by oven type

Whatever type you have, do not use metal scouring pads or abrasive sponges on the oven interior or the door glass, unless the manufacturer expressly permits them in the manual.

Safety: oven cleaners are corrosive

Oven and grill cleaners contain lye. In its overview of commercial products, the Toxicological Information Centre (Toxikologické informační středisko) states that the active substance is most often sodium hydroxide and that such products can irritate or burn the mucous membranes. Therefore:

• read the label and observe the contact time,
• wear gloves and goggles and work with a window open,
• do not spray the product on hot surfaces, heating elements or door seals unless the label allows it,
• do not combine it with other cleaning products; in general, never mix products containing chlorine with acids or ammonia (more in the article on dangerous combinations of cleaning products),
• store the product out of the reach of children.

If the product gets into the eye, TIS recommends rinsing the eye with water for at least 5 to 10 minutes. If it is swallowed, do not induce vomiting, give water to drink and call the Toxicological Information Centre on 224 919 293 or 224 915 402.

How to keep your oven cleaner

• Wipe up spilled fat and burnt sugar as soon as the oven has cooled, before it bakes on during the next use.
• Roast juicy dishes covered or in a roasting tin with higher sides.
• Run pyrolysis or catalytic cleaning regularly, not only when the oven is heavily soiled.
• When cleaning the whole kitchen, do not forget the cooker hood, whose cleaning is described in the article on how to clean a cooker hood filter.

The oven is a typical item in larger cleans, such as a pre-Christmas clean or a deep clean of a flat, where it is dealt with together with other appliances.