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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

How to clean in between your oven door windows

Have you ever accidentally spilled food down the front of your oven door? Nice, huh? Or all over the inside of your oven door? Don't you love how it gets caked on baked on? UGH! It takes some muscle to get clean, but it's do-able, right?

Well, that is nothing! Have you ever demonstrated the amazing dexterity and skill that I did shortly after we moved in to this house (3 years ago!!) and not only spilled on the outside of the door... AND the inside of the door... but the IN BETWEEN part of the door too? Yeah, I did. Ain't this pretty?

Spillage in between the glass panels of the oven door - greeeeeaaaaat.


Yes, somehow I managed to spill something {A LOT of something} right into the small vent that is right behind the oven door handle. You can't see it in the photo above, but there is an open vent hiding behind the oven door handle. Frankly, I'm not sure why there is an opening in the door right there, but I am sure it serves some sort of important technical baking need. Regardless of why it is there, I spilled a whole bunch of liquid right down in between those two glass panels. What a mess!

So I could clean all I wanted on the inside of the door... and I could clean all I wanted on the outside of the door... but that mess was still there {in between} the glass windows with no way to get to it. Mocking me. Argh! So I considered trying to take apart the door, but something told me that was probably a bad idea. With my luck, I'd never get it put back together properly or I'd break something or ruin the heat seal or whatnot. So I continued to look all around that darn door for a clue as to how I could get inside to clean in between those glass panels.

Then suddenly... while feeling around the bottom of the door with my fingers, I felt a hole... a long gap of a hole. It wasn't very wide, but it was fairly long {That's What She Said}... hmmmmmmmm. So I removed the storage drawer from the bottom of the oven, laid down on the ever-so-comfortable tile floor and looked up... and LO AND BEHOLD... an opening... hmmmmmm...

Opening in the bottom of the oven door

It is kind of hard to visualize, but the photo above is a picture taken from the angle of lying on the floor and looking up into the bottom of the oven door (while it is closed). First I considered taking off the screws you see there thinking I could just pop the front panel off the door, but again, I was too nervous to take anything apart. But then I got the bright idea... what if I could stick something up there through that gap and wipe ~in between~ those glass panels??? Yes, that is it! Unfortunately, the gap really is quite small {TWSS} (I could only just put my fingers up there - not even the palm of my hand) {TWSS} so I would have to use something fairly skinny {TWSS}. Hmmmm...

OK, this post is just filled with way too many opportunities for a "That's what she said" moment! LOL! Sorry, I will try to refrain! ;)

I decided to create my cleaning weapon of choice using a wire hanger, a match-less toddler's sock and some duct tape.

Just call me MacGyver!

{As a side note, I am terribly ashamed to admit that I found that child's sock under the oven when I removed the bottom drawer. Seriously?? How the heck does a toddler's sock end up under the stove??? Hmmmm... maybe that is the end of the worm hole for all the socks that seem to magically disappear from my dryer?? Eureka! Then again, maybe we're just slobs with fire hazards and sockless children. Sorry, I mean half-sockless children. *sigh*}

Anyway, I became MacGyver and created this...

A beautiful wire toddler sock rose! LOL

You can't tell in the picture, but I also stuffed a small piece of paper towel into the sock before I taped it all up to try and give it a little more depth. I then sprayed the sock with some cleaner (Shaklee Basic H - degreaser formula) and stuck my sock-tool up into that gap at the bottom of the door. It took a lot of awkward maneuvering because the gap is so narrow and my sock-tool was pretty flat (because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get it up in there in the first place) {TWSS} but I did my best to rub that sock-tool back and forth along the messy spillage inside there. 

It didn't do a perfect job by any means, but all things considered, it worked fairly well and I was quite proud of myself. {sorry I don't have any pics of the sock-tool in action, but I couldn't manage it all by myself}. Here is the finished result...

Much better looking! A nice clean in-between oven window!

As I said, it isn't perfect by any means, but it certainly looks better than it did before! Let's look at a before and after comparison...


How much better it looks now that in-between the oven door windows is a bit more clean!

Not perfect, but much better! Not too bad for an amateur! :) And that's how you clean between the glass of your oven door!

Now... I am sure there is at least one of you out there with a spill issue in-between their oven glass panels! Thanksgiving drippings anyone?? ;)

{Note: as mentioned, I may have been able to just take off that front panel, but I didn't want to risk messing with all that dis-assembly and whatnot so this worked just fine for me. Do whatever feels safest for you!}


**UPDATE** - A few months ago, I did a DEEEEEP cleaning of the oven, taking the door of the hinges and crawling in there to scrub and everything. Since I had the door off the hinges, I decided to see if I could, in fact, get that frong panel off so I could more easily access the glass. As you can see in that one photo above, there were some screws along the bottom of that front panel so I decided to try those. I unscrewed them in the hopes the stainless steel panel would just lift off, but it seemed to still be attached somehow at the top of the door. There were no visible screws up there and the panel wouldn't easily just pop off so I decided not to force it. However, I was able to lift the bottom edge up (while the top edge was still attached) and create a gap big enough to allow me to more easily get in there and wipe those glass panels clean. It was definitely more easy to clean them than going the wire hanger/toddler sock route, but if you don't have panel screws on your door or are too nervous to mess with your door, just continue to enjoy the hanger trick! :)

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39 comments:

  1. for real?? i never knew you could do that!

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  2. wow! I just thought I was stuck with it! We have a stain that has been there since we bought our home so excited to try this!

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  3. I'm sorry but after the second TWSS I couldn't concentrate on the great information, I just kept giggling, and Hubby just looked at me with that "your" weird look. So I got mature and read it again, and what a great cleaning tutorial. TWSS;p

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  4. Thanks for the great post. I almost burned myself with hot chocolate laughing so hard.
    -Breakfast For Dinner-

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  5. Ooh, I don't think I ever knew that! So glad you discovered it.:)

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  6. I never knew there was a way to remove those, thanks!

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  7. What a great idea! Consider, if you will, sharing it with my readers at http://sassafrassalvation.blogspot.com/2011/11/although-i-must-say-that-link-response.html
    Christmas Blessings!

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  8. That is awesome! I have that same problem and I hate it!!! I saw on line that someone took their door apart and cleaned it; I thought I might try that...after all the holiday. I would hate to mess up and be without my oven. I cam going to check out my door and see if I can do what you did! Thanks. :)

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  9. Yes not bad for an amateur (that's what she said) hahahaha!!!

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  10. Love this! Thank you! We bought a beautiful new stove last year and I have been so disappointed with how the inside of the door tends to look dirty. Maybe some oven designer/engineers will read this post and figure out a way to make a more conveniently located whole and include a handy cleaning brush.

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  11. This is great! I definitely need to do this. It does make me wonder though, why was it you were feeling around under it to begin with? (TWSS) ;)

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  12. Great! And just in times for the holidays with all the cooking and the guests :)
    Anesa
    astuteinfo.blogspot.com

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  13. I've been mad at my dirty in-between-the-glass oven door forever! Guess I need to get my MacGuiver skills ready... Thanks for sharing! (TWSS)

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  14. First I have to tell you I laughed so hard I cried and I have to thank you for that because today hasn't been a real comic relief day !
    Second because I really don't have time to be shamed and I don't feel it's fair for you to take the hit alone, " I have that same liquid streak or streaks running down the interior of my oven door". I'm not ruining my oven for something I could stand in front of if someone came into the kitchen. I'm married to a man and have kids no chance of anyone nearing the stove(whew safe).
    Third I am missing so many single socks that tomorrow morning I'm moving that stove just to see if that's where they really go ! While I'm there I guess I'll give cleaning that door a try. Not because I feel the least bit bad about it, but who could resist building a sock on stick. Just recreating it will make me laugh again, and that's worth the work. Besides I can't wait to hear Serenity's (4 year old with missing socks)comments on how we aren't allowed to plat with sticks. 4=40 ! Thank you so much for the laugh Jamie

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  15. Thank you! This had my whole family laughing and DH got down on the floor and fingered the crack...LOLOLOL! He then went to the garage and made me my very own crack tool...LOLOLOLOLOLOL! Again, Thank you!

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  16. This is genious! I'm definitely going to try this! Also I'm your newest follower, thanks for the info!!

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  17. I was cleaning my oven door with a baking soda water mix and it went down inside between the glass panels. According to the Kitchenaid website (I did this tonight so am finding it ironic I found your post afterwards) there is a way to pop off the oven door then it comes apart with screws and I can clean inside. I am going to reconfirm this, however with the furniture appliance sales store before I try it. I hate how it looks and hubby is none too impressed either....clearly this was designed by a Man.

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  18. Lmao lived reading your post! New follower here. I have the same mind with "TWSS". I don't have spills yet but I have dust in-betwteen that I can't stand. Thanks for the tip!

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  19. OhioMomPatriot........you are too much, you had me laughing out loud!! Not that Kyra wasn't funny too, she was, but you are the icing on the crack-between-the-glass cake....
    TWSS inserted into your post, just about sent me to the ladies room...but then I wonder if laughing like that disqualifies me as a lady ???!!!

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  20. I realize you cant see me bowing to you right now but I so am! I'm having guest this weekend and they probably wouldn't have noticed but I do thanks !!!

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  21. Brilliant! I have the same problem and so does a friend. We didn't know what to do...I'll be sharing this with her!

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  22. Following you from thrifty decor chick-stop by for a visit!!

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  23. I can't wait to try this. It happened once before and my husband took the door off and unscrewed all the screws-BIG MISTAKE! Had to call service to get it all back together again--$125 later , it took the technician about 3 minutes to get it all beack together. It helps when you know what you are doing! Your way is much better and cheaper!

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  24. I'll be trying this move. Thank you!

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  25. wow i am totally going to try this! thanks!

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  26. This is an awesome tip!! I have visible dust in between the glass and even called the place where we bought the oven to see if they knew a secret to getting into it. They said the only way was to take the door completely apart. But I just checked after reading your post, and mine has that long crack at the bottom too. Awesome!! thank you! I'm pinnng this! Little Bit from DecorateWithaLittleBit.com

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  27. OMG!!! Thank you for being smarter than me. I just hung a kitchen towel on the handle and pretended the gravy stripes weren't really there!! And this happened the very first time I used the brand new stove I wanted so badly!! Will be going home tonight and crawling around on the floor to see what I can do!!

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  28. Thanks you are awesome for posting this. Thank you Thanks you

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  29. Forgive me but I just needed to point out that their are screws in the picture of the vent... It appears that on your oven, like on mine, you can take the door apart to clean that inside section, much easier then trying to clean with cloth on a coat hanger.

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    1. Hi Jennifer - You are correct. There are screws at the base of the door and, at the time, I did consider trying to unscrew them to remove that front panel However, as I stated at the end of my post, "I may have been able to just take off that front panel, but I didn't want to risk messing with all that dis-assembly and whatnot so this worked just fine for me. Do whatever feels safest for you!". I had read many horror stories about problems with that and didn't want to risk it. But I have since tried that approach and have updated my post above.

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  30. Love it!!! Thank you so much for the great step by step pictures.... Going to be trying this today!!

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  31. Hi folks. We are in the process of choosing a new stove and I have read about that issue happening. Yes, you could have spilled something down the front, or used a spray bottle of cleaner on the outside of the glass door that allowed seepage down the front between the panes of glass (if you do in fact have the vents at the top of the door, some ovens don't) But I read that using the self-cleaning feature can create a steam or vapor inside the oven that will leak between the panes of glass. Because of that, I have considered that when I get my new stove I will only clean the interior by hand and not use the self-cleaning feature. Ugh, is right...to pay for a feature and not use it! Anyway, a tech told my sister-in-law that also has the problem that you just have to call a tech to disassemble the door for you (yeah, who wants to spend that money?)

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  32. Brilliant! I tried it and it worked beautifully thanks for posting!

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  33. genius! Did this this morning after years of looking at whatever got it there! mine was a little more then a sock could do so I attached a mr. clean magic eraser to the end (wet it just a bit) of the wire hanger, then after that it was clean but a little streaked, so attached a swiffer duster (the throw away kind) to another hanger, sprayed it with windex and like magic it was nice and clean. Is it perfect? NO. but it looks tons better! thank you! i never laughed once. Like I said genius!

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  34. You ARE a genius. My oven door has been bothering me for years!! I cook ALOT so it takes a lot of wear & tear. Today it looks brand new!!

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  35. I tried it today but used a wooden paint mixing stick with a rag and paper towels inside. Held it together with a rubber band. It worked like a charm. Thanks for the great advise. I was thinking of taking the door apart.

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  36. Thanks for the geat tip i was looking up how to remove my oven door to clean a big drip stain that happend while i was cleaning my oven. Cane across your great tip and now my stain is gone.

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  37. the last time I had my oven repaired, I asked the repairman about cleaning between the glass. He took it apart and was able to clean it. Wish I had watched how he did it.

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