This Easy Way To Clean Your Glass Oven Door Works Like Magic

No matter how frequently (or infrequently) you use your oven, the outside needs a cleaning once in a while, too. The glass on the oven door gets dirty and dusty, just like any other window or glass surface in the home. Forget the store-bought glass cleaners for this simple chore, though. Diluted white vinegar does the trick. Vinegar comes in handy for all sorts of cleaning tasks around the home, and it only makes sense that this kitchen staple could be used in, well, the kitchen. You can adjust the vinegar-to-water ratio for cleaning depending upon how dirty that oven-door glass is, but a fairly watered-down mixture is enough for basic cleaning and dust removal.

For glass oven doors, vinegar is a safe alternative to harsh cleaning substances that include ammonia; GE notes that ammonia may even discolor black glass. Besides vinegar and water, you'll also need a spray bottle and a non-abrasive, lint-free cloth, like a microfiber cloth. Plastic scrub pads, steel wool, and abrasive cleaning products could scratch the oven door.

Make a cleaner that's safe for oven doors and other glass surfaces by mixing ⅛ cup of vinegar into 1 quart of water and pouring it into a spray bottle. This mixture is pretty diluted, but you can go up to a 1-to-1 mixture for stubborn messes. Equal parts vinegar and water is also a standard recipe for a homemade vinegar cleaning solution. When the oven is cold, spray the mixture onto the glass door, then wipe it off with a microfiber cloth. Though regular paper towels may be tempting, they leave lint-like debris behind.

The liquid can be used to clean the top and side edges of the oven door, too. Avoid spraying the vinegar into vent holes on the top edge of the door. If it's difficult to spray vinegar accurately, apply it to your cleaning cloth instead of spraying it on, then wipe the door down with the cloth. If the oven door still seems wet after wiping it down, use a clean cloth to dry if off. The vinegar oven-door cleaning solution also works on other glass appliance doors, like those on a pizza oven. If you enjoy using all-natural cleaners around the kitchen, vinegar comes in handy for steam-cleaning your oven, too.