How to Quickly Clean Your Oven

A regular wipe-down prevents grime from building up.

Compared to something like your gunk-covered microwave, the inside of your oven might seem less pressing to keep sparkling. After all, most people only look inside this appliance once a day, if that. But we're here to tell you that the moment you see a spill or a splatter is when you should tackle it.

"The longer stuff bakes on, the tougher it is to remove," says Carolyn Forte, director of the Good Housekeeping Institute Cleaning Lab. Follow Forte's advice for every part of your oven to prevent a bigger mess later on.

Cleaning inside the oven

Wipe down loose bits of food on the inside with a damp sponge or cloth. Then, if your machine has a self-cleaning cycle, run it to make sure every nook and cranny is touched. If something spills over while baking, pour table salt on it, and wipe it up when the oven is cool.

Soaking the racks

First, remove them from your oven. It's easier to give them a thorough cleaning this way. In your kitchen sink, wash them in warm, sudsy water and tackle burned-on gunk with a non-abrasive scrubber, like Scrub-It Scouring Pads ($9 for a 24-pack, amazon.com) as needed. Rinse them, let dry and slide them back into place.

Wiping off the oven door

This galvanized or stainless steel surface can be cleaned the same way as the interior, or you can use a Good Housekeeping Seal holder Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. For the glass, Forte recommends spritzing on a glass or grease-cutting multi-purpose cleaner, like Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner and scrubbing it with a non-abrasive scrubbing pad. Rinse with a clean cloth or sponge and let dry. And whatever you do, don't try the Pinterest hack that suggests you take apart your door. You'll void your warranty — or worse, break it!

Now that your oven is ready to be used to bake food again, try this easy oven-cooked bacon for breakfast. You deserve it.