Kitchens
Clean between the panes of an oven door
The brown haze inside the oven door is not on either surface you can reach. Here is how to get to it without a single tool you do not already own.
4 min read Job time: 25 minutes
Most oven doors are two or three panes of glass with a gap between them. Fat vapour gets into that gap through the vents at the top and bakes onto the inside faces, which is why the door can look filthy after you have scrubbed both sides.
Before you start
Let the oven cool completely. Find your oven’s manual or model number: most doors either lift off their hinges or have an inner pane that slides out once two screws or clips are released. If yours does neither, skip to the last section.
Taking the inner pane out
- Open the door fully and flip the small hinge locks up on both sides.
- Close the door to about 30 degrees and lift it off. Lay it flat on a towel on the floor, handle down.
- Release the clips or screws along the top edge and slide the inner pane out. Note which way round it came out.
Cleaning the glass
Make a paste of bicarbonate of soda and a little water, spread it thinly over the brown film and leave it for fifteen minutes. Wipe it off with a damp microfibre cloth, then use a flat plastic scraper for anything stubborn. Never use a metal blade on oven glass; a scratch weakens it.
Finish with a vinegar-and-water spray and a dry cloth for a streak-free finish, and let everything dry before reassembling.
When the door does not come apart
Some doors are sealed. You can still reach much of the gap by sliding a microfibre cloth wrapped around a thin wooden spoon handle through the vent at the top. It will not be perfect, and that is the one job we add as an extra rather than promise inside a standard oven clean.
