But what makes cleaning a particular oven so difficult? I had a feeling that the ongoing damage in the oven had something to do with polymerization, a chemical process in which small molecules combine to form more complex structures called polymers. In cooking, polymerization is known by the more familiar name "seasoning." This is the process of heating thin layers of fat to give cast iron cookware a non-stick coating . I followed this theory from Daniel Gritzer, the editorial director of Serious Eats , who has long been my cast iron expert, and wondered if he was right.
"I think you're right," he said. "The problem is that grease splatters can polymerize on the surface of the oven and it's essentially like searing the inside of the oven like a cast iron skillet. Except it's not intentional.
Bikramjit Singh, head of research and development at Reckitt, the maker of the Easy-Off Oven Cleaner, confirms this. "After cooking, the food and fat cooked and burned in the oven become a hard polymer with varying hardness, which is very difficult to clean."
Leave the viral sensations to the influencers
Smart advice abounds on social media , where influencers sell the latest must-have cleaning products and tools . Unfortunately, what you see online does not reflect reality. "I think it gives people false expectations about how easy or effective it is," Hoffman says of typical CleanTok content. "Let's be transparent about this. »
In 2024, I tested three viral cleaning products: Pink Stuff, a highly alkaline abrasive paste; the Bissell Steam Shot, a handheld steam cleaner with scrubbing and scrubbing attachments; and motorized scrub brushes in various sizes designed to provide powerful mechanical action during demanding cleaning jobs; I've tested them on everything from stained concrete to my oven. While each has its notable uses, all three failed spectacularly when it came to oven cleaning.
Pink Stuff did virtually nothing to break down the polymerized grease, leaving a chalky film that took a while to disappear. The Steam Shot, which produces an impressive cloud of steam that was a revelation on dirty grout lines, failed to clean the oven at all. And the electric brushes made a huge mess, leaving the oven splattered with cleaning products that were completely unable to penetrate and remove embedded dirt.
Hoffman tested a viral steam cleaning method that involves placing a pot of water in the oven and heating it to create steam. The idea is that the steam will loosen burnt-on food so you can easily clean the oven once it's cool enough to handle. That's a good idea, but in Hoffman's experience, it doesn't work in reality. "I don't know that it was necessarily much more effective than just heating things until they burned and then cleaning them."
Forget baking soda and vinegar: they don't work.
Hoffman mentions using a baking soda paste to scrub a dirty oven, which she says is "pretty effective," adding, "I don't think the baking soda itself adds that much cleaning power." Honestly, rubbing your elbows with a scouring pad is probably just as effective.
Even adding vinegar to the mixture does not change the situation. Once the fun fizzing effect created by the combination of baking soda and vinegar wears off, you're essentially left with a saline solution, and a saline solution will do absolutely nothing to penetrate the polymerized fat. This is why kosher salt is often recommended for scrubbing cast iron pans: the salt removes food stuck to the cooking surface without removing the layer of seasoning from the pan.
So yes, you can scrub with a sponge and baking soda to avoid harsh cleaners, but as cleaning experts we can tell you something about this choice. "I want people to be honest about how much work homemade products really require," Hoffman says. "You sacrifice efficiency." On the other hand, he emphasizes: "And if you choose commercial vehicles, you come at the expense of safety." »
Don't even think about using the self-cleaning option
Self-cleaning ovens use high heat or steam to clean the interior. Although the flame cleaning method sounds great in theory, the self-cleaning feature has some major drawbacks. The self-cleaning cycle, which typically lasts one and a half to three hours and can last up to six hours, produces strong, harmful fumes. There is also the risk of costly damage to oven components and a fire: Thermal cleaning uses temperatures of 800 to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (426-537 °C) to convert residue into cleanable ash. Exposure to such intense heat places severe stress on the interior of the oven and electrical parts, weakening the oven door seals, hinges and the accuracy of the internal thermostat.
It's also worth noting, says Gritzer, that the term "self-cleaning" is a misnomer. "By cleaning your oven yourself, you don't save yourself any cleaning, you still have to deal with everything that happens," he says. "This thing can be removed, but it still needs to be removed. It's like one of the basic laws of physics: If there's trash in the oven, trash will stay in the oven even after the cleaning cycle.
Experts agree: packaged products are the best, and we feel that too.
Now you've guessed our dirty secret: we clean our ovens with Easy-Off. So that? "Easy-Off works," admits Gritzer.
Unfortunately, harsh chemical cleaners are required once the oven grime has hardened. "Everyday cleaning products are simply not enough to remove this hardened grease," says Singh. "Traditional degreasing methods do not work on this type of grease and therefore require alternative chemistry. »
Oven cleaners like Easy-Off typically contain sodium hydroxide, also known as lye or lye, an alkali that can penetrate organic materials and oil-based ingredients like ether that help break down grease. Sodium hydroxide, in particular, is highly irritating and corrosive and can cause severe burns to tissues it comes into contact with, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC also warns that it can cause immediate respiratory irritation if inhaled.
But given what Gritzer calls "a disgusting oven," there's little way to avoid using canned food.
Its corrosiveness is what makes it so effective at removing polymerized dirt in an oven. "When fats, oils and food molecules are exposed to high temperatures, reactions such as dehydration and oxidation occur," explains Singh, "which lead to cross-links between these molecules." The larger the cross-link, the stiffer it becomes and the more difficult it is. removed by conventional degreasing processes. The active ingredients in oven cleaners, he says, "penetrate this polymerized fat, causing saponification and making cleaning easier."
To avoid tin, clean it regularly (unfortunately too)
"Here's the truth," Gritzer says, with the deeply recognizable sigh of someone who has something unpopular but completely right to say. "The best way to clean an oven is not to get it dirty. It's 100% easier if you can have a maintenance strategy instead of a recovery strategy .
Therefore, regular spot cleaning is the solution to avoid tin. If you spill something in the oven or after cooking a grease-splattering dish like bacon or fried chicken, clean the interior with a mild detergent and a non-scratch sponge. This type of routine cleaning prevents the polymerization effect from occurring or at least keeps it away in the worst case scenario. But once a spill or oil has cooled and reheated and polymerized on the surface of the oven like the lining of a cast iron skillet, you need the can.
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