how to clean INSIDE your oven door

So. This is where I get all house-wifey on you. :) Because when you have your own home, it becomes actual fun to take care of things and keep it tidy!

This post was borne out of one of those moments when my oven needed to be cleaned. And so I did. Because, anyone who cooks and bakes on a daily basis knows that your oven gets so dirty. And so I cleaned it. And the inside looked great! Oven cleaner is amazing stuff, ya’ll.

But it was AFTER I cleaned it all up, closed the door, and stood back, that I realized that, “What in the world. My door looks terrible! Inside. How does stuff get INSIDE my oven door anyway? Between the glass?”

And so. I googled (Google is my best friend) and searched and figured out how to get between the glass.

And what do you know, but it’s not even rocket science. It’s super easy, and all it takes is a screwdriver. I wondered why I haven’t been doing this for years! (Those who have been doing this all your life, don’t judge. Or at least please tell me why you didn’t let the world know how to do it! We’ve been waiting! :) )

So, just in case anyone else is wanting to not only have a clean oven interior but also an oven door, here you go!

Be glad you can do this in your own home without a blog watching. I am blushing beet red as I show you the interior state of my oven. Before. It wasn’t pretty, you guys.

Entitled: The Embarrassing Oven

A serious cleaning happened and the oven interior was shiny and lovely. Whew. At this point we will by-pass the oven-cleaning instructions, and go directly to the door.

See those big screws on the side?

 Yes, those. There were three per side on my oven, so six total. Each pair was slightly different in size, so you’ll want to separate them and remember which goes where. Unscrew and remove, and it will come apart like so:

The door will hinge into two pieces, and the handle will probably come off (mine did). Now get busy and start cleaning both of the inside pieces of glass! This is the fun part. :) I just used Windex and a soft cleaning cloth, but you can use any cleaner of your preference. Get that baby sparkly and make sure there are no streaks or smudges!

Re-attach the door, holding the sides and pieces together, then place the screws back in place. It worked best when I held the door against my knees, and held it tightly together. This takes a bit of concentration but it’s not very difficult.

And it’s back together.

 It looked brand new. BRAND NEW. If I’d be emotional over household things I might have cried with happiness at this point. But instead, I stood back and just BEAMED. And felt like the Queen of Kitchen Duties.

Time frame: 1/2 hour, at the most.

I just want to sit in a chair, prop up my feet, drink a coke – er, I mean a pink drink – and gaze at my oven. I MEAN, FOR REAL.  Except I better sweep up the crumbs from the floor first. Oops.

I’ve done this twice now, because it is super easy, and because when you know it can be clean, why let it be dirty?!

Happy oven-cleaning!

(And if you’ve already doing this forever, just rejoice with those who rejoice :))