How to Clean an Oven for Bond Inspections

One of the most dreaded areas to clean for most people is the oven.

It’s one of those household appliances that never really gets a full clean until you move out and have to either pass a bond inspection, or pass on a clean home as part of the settlement agreement. In Australia we don’t tend to use the oven all that often so at cleaning time there can be years of grime in there.

Luckily there are plenty of ways to make this cleaning job relatively easy, either with cleaning chemicals, natural products or even some impressive cleaning life hacks.

Self-Cleaning Ovens

Believe it or not there are ovens out there with a self-clean mode. These miraculous products will heat at a high temperature for 2-6 hours (higher than standard cooking temperatures), turning all grease and grime into a light grey ash.

Once the oven has cooled down all you have to do is brush out the ash and wipe the interior clean.

Check the user manual to see if your oven does this. If not, you will need to follow one of the below cleaning guides.

Oven Cleaning with Cleaning Products

Obviously when it comes to cleaning your oven the standard Spray ’n’ Wipe bottle just isn’t going to cut it. But there are plenty of strong cleaning products out there designed for ovens, hotplates and other cooking areas.

Some of the better products on the market are Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner, Gumption All Purpose Cleaner, Selleys Oven Plus Gel and Oven Pride to name a few.

Firstly, remove the oven trays and soak them in hot water and dishwashing liquid. Usually you will only need standard cleaners for the trays, but if they’re in bad condition you can use the oven cleaning chemicals on them too.

Follow the instructions on your cleaner, but most will have you apply an appropriate coating, then close the oven and leave for at least half an hour.

Once the cleaners have soaked into the dirt and grime, wipe it away with a damp cloth. You may need to do this a number of times if the grime is particularly thick.

Chemical Free Oven Cleaning

You don’t have to use industrial strength cleaning chemicals to get your oven looking shiny and new. It is possible to remove all of that baked on grime with water, baking soda and vinegar.

Firstly, scrape as much of the debris as you can with a spatula.
Sprinkle a cup or more of baking soda throughout the oven and spray vinegar (with a squirt bottle) all over the soda, close the door and let it sit. Alternatively, you can mix baking soda and vinegar to form a past and then spread that throughout the oven. Either way, the point is to lay it on thick.
Depending on how dirty your oven is will determine how long you let this sit. If it’s not too bad you can start wiping away after half an hour, or leave overnight to work away at tougher dirt.
For cleaning just use a wet rag and wipe away all the grime and baking soda until clean.

Easy Oven Cleaning Hack

You can make cleaning your oven even easier with this simply trick. Heating a pot of water allows the steam to loosen any grime to the point it just wipes away.

Place a large oven pot full of water on the lowest rack of the oven.
Turn the oven on to the highest temperature and bake for 20-30 minutes.
Leave the oven door closed, but allow it to cool for around 30-45 minutes.
Use a damp cloth and wipe down the inside of the oven. You’ll find most of the grime just wipes away easily.

If you don’t have the time or cleaning just isn’t your area of expertise, the team at Top Notch Cleaning are there to help you. We provide experienced bond cleaners, giving you the best chance at getting your rental bond back.