How To Keep Oven Clean When Cooking

4 Things People with Impossibly-Clean Ovens Always Do

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Cleaning the oven may top the list of cringiest household chores — and we get it: There are lots of parts involved: the stovetop, the burners, the knobs, the control panel, the handles, the glass window, the cavernous inside, and don't forget the racks. (See, lots of parts!)

So, how do you avoid dedicating hours to oven scrubbing and stovetop scraping? Well, we hate to say it, but the very best way to be that person who always has an impossibly-clean oven is to get your oven squeaky clean… and keep it almost completely clean… all the time.

Start with a Clean Oven

But you already knew that. After all, it's pretty much the number one rule of cleaning. That's why we rounded up these smart tricks you may not have heard of, but will definitely keep your oven enviably sparkly.

1. Use a splatter guard.

It's true what they say about an ounce of prevention. If you can keep grease from splattering all over your stovetop and oven knobs, you save yourself from having to wipe down a tricky mess that can take several rounds of wiping to get clean. This highly rated and reviewed splatter guard costs less than $15.

2. Keep a wet rag near the stove top while you cook.

Not every spill and splatter can be prevented. What makes them hard to clean is the element of time (read: when they're left until later). Wiping up spills when they're fresh and wet saves much scrubbing later. A wet rag kept near the stove while you're cooking makes the practice a habit.

3. Place a wooden spoon across a pot of boiling water.

While the wooden spoon trick won't prevent spill-overs entirely, they will slow them down (the handle helps pop the bubbles) so you have more time to turn down the heat before that starchy pasta water covers your stovetop.

4. Use something to catch spills in the oven.

Prevention is also key when it comes to in-oven spills. Try storing your roasting pan or baking sheet on the bottom rack of your oven — to catch spills and just to have a place to store that gigantic thing! You can line it with foil to make cleaning up the pan itself easier.

What are your best tips for keeping your oven immaculate?

Shifrah Combiths

Contributor

With five children, Shifrah is learning a thing or two about how to keep a fairly organized and pretty clean house with a grateful heart in a way that leaves plenty of time for the people who matter most. Shifrah grew up in San Francisco, but has come to appreciate smaller town life in Tallahassee, Florida, which she now calls home. She's been writing professionally for twenty years and she loves lifestyle photography, memory keeping, gardening, reading, and going to the beach with her husband and children.

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