Despite how often we use our oven to keep our families fed with the tastiest roasts, pasta bakes and homemade pizzas, ovens are among the least frequently cleaned appliances in the home. This is likely due to a combination of not seeing the mess when the door is closed, giving the illusion of a sparkling clean kitchen, and how difficult and time-consuming it is to get down in there and scrub.
Unfortunately, a dirty oven can lead to more problems than just an unsightly kitchen. Dirty ovens are a magnet for pests like roaches and mice, and burning char produces smoke that can build up in your lungs.
Worst case scenario, old baked-on spills can catch and create a dangerous grease fire in your kitchen, but even in the best case scenario, all those old smells and char-smoke are seeping into your meals every time you cook.
A dirty oven will affect the taste of everything you cook, despite your culinary talents, and will also affect the oven power and consumption.
Happily, these days we have better oven cleaners than ever, for cleaning your oven of grime and smells without the back-breaking effort and noxious fumes our parents struggled with when we were kids.
The best oven cleaners are effective, safe, and easy to use, but each product has a different idea of what to prioritise, making the easy choice not so simple. We’ve gone ahead and done all the dirty work for you to find the best oven cleaners in Australia, and what makes them so great.
Best For Baked On Grease
1. Easy Off Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner
A popular speedy aerosol oven cleaner to cut through grease
★★★ Efficacy
★★☆ Easy to use
★☆☆ Safety
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Easy Off Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner is undoubtedly the most popular and our top choice for the best oven cleaner available in the Australian market. The 5-minute power clean can is the go-to option for most ovens, as it swiftly cuts through grease with minimal effort.
The specialty of this cleaning product is definitely in grease and grime rather than baked-on char, so for best results you’d want to avoid being too lazy with this cleaner and get to the job often enough to avoid char building up. Monthly is recommended, but bi-monthly might be preferable if you bake a lot.
But cleaning frequently is no problem when the job is so easy and fast. Easy-Off is the best oven cleaner for baked on grease, and the 5-minute clean they advertise is exactly what it says on the tin, as long as you don’t include the time it takes to preheat the oven before you clean it down.
For that extra-speedy extra-effective clean inside the oven, heat the oven to 90ºC first, then turn it off and apply the cleaner. In just 5 minutes you can wipe the solution with all the gunk away, no scrubbing required.
Of course, a cold oven is less preparation, and still effective, but will need to be left longer, at least 30 minutes. Since preheating will take 20 minutes anyway, we recommend trying it that way if the warm oven doesn’t concern you.
Please note that this cleaner is potent and may not be suitable for those who prefer eco-friendly options. It emits strong fumes, so it is essential to work in a well-ventilated area when using it, wear gloves to avoid direct contact with the skin, and consider using protective eyewear to shield your eyes.
Best For BBQ
2. Selleys BBQ Tough Grease and Grime Cleaner
The best oven cleaner for bbq that eats oven filth for breakfast
★★☆ Efficacy
★★☆ Easy to use
★★☆ Safety
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Following the success of their Selleys Oven Clean, Selleys have developed a whole range of cleaners to focus on their strongest suit, cutting through grease and grime. One of the best products to come out of this range has to be their BBQ Tough Grease and Grime Cleaner.
This is the best non-caustic low-fumes bbq cleaner that money can buy. It’s not the cheapest cleaner, but you’re getting your money’s worth. If you have years-old caked-on grease cooked right into the very metal of your barbeque, this is the tough stuff you need to cut through with muscle.
One less-than-ideal aspect however, is removing the foam after it’s done the job. If you’re using this on a barbeque outside, stick your hose on high-pressure under your thumb to make this job take a few minutes! Otherwise, you’re going to be taking a while with hot water to remove all the residue.
Although the power of the product is great, the difficulty of removing this foam somewhat dampens how excited we can be about the clean. To make it easier on yourself, use plenty of paper towel for taking out the majority of the foam before switching to a saturated cloth to rinse off the leftovers, alternating wet cloths and paper towel as needed to remove the residue.
3. Northfork Oven & Grill Cleaner
A spray-on cleaner that works best on warm surfaces
★★☆ Efficacy
★★☆ Easy to use
★★★ Safety
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This dark-horse spray-on cleaner by Northfork is great for tackling baked-on grease, on grills, ovens, oven racks and barbeques.
Northfork is non-caustic, biodegradable and phosphate-free, perfectly safe to use on most metallic cookware. Deep fryers, hotplates, grills and ovens will all see repeated use of this cleaner, making it a valuable buy for your kitchen in general.
While it does work cold, there’s a big difference in efficacy between spraying it on hot surfaces rather than cool surfaces, This can be a bit tricky to manage, because to get the most noticeable effect with the least manual effort, you’ll need to be certain the oven or barbie has cooled down enough you can safely touch it, and then work fast at that temperature before it cools completely.
Cold or hot, this oven cleaner is one of the better ones out there. Unfortunately, it’s not the easiest product to find on shelves, so you’ll need to order it online for now.
Best For Gas Oven
4. Easy-Off Fume Free Oven Cleaner
An effortless aerosol safe for most kinds of ovens
★★☆ Efficacy
★★☆ Easy to use
★★☆ Safety
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This convenient aerosol oven cleaner is extremely easy to use, simply shake and spray liberally, and close the door for several hours or overnight. It doesn’t require heat, it doesn’t emit fumes, and it’s even safe on self-cleaning pyrolytic ovens.
Easy Off Bam is also the best oven cleaner for gas ovens, since the fine mist won’t clog up the jets or catch flame if you accidentally manage to leave residue in the oven.
We’re giving this cleaner high marks for excellent effortless and safe cleaning for oven and oven racks, and reasonable marks on power. The main drawback is how long it takes to work. They suggest leaving it on for two hours, but we have found that it’s really best left a full day for best results. That leaves your oven out of commission for the day, and you would ideally do this fairly regularly.
Wiping away the residue the next day with a damp cloth is no trouble at all, and the aerosol itself is safe to work with. However, it’s worth noting that this cleaner has a strong fake lemon smell, which can be pleasant for some and unbearable for others. You likely already know if you’re the kind of person that can’t tolerate that smell, and if you can’t, it really is inescapable.
Despite the long working time, the lack of effort needed to clean the oven really makes it hard to go past. If you’re the lazy only-bake-on-Sundays type, this is the lazy only-takes-half-an-hour cleaner for you.
5. Magic Oven and Rangehood Cleaner
An oven cleaner that’s gentle on you but tough on your oven
★☆☆ Efficacy
★★★ Easy to use
★★★ Safety
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This cleaner is the most environmentally friendly on the list for home cleaning; a non-toxic, non-caustic, biodegradable cleaner free of animal testing and safe for septic and grey water. Safety is also for human skin, so if you have any sensitivity to detergents or fumes, this is the ideal oven cleaner for you.
The efficacy, considering the limits imposed by its strict safety standards, is impressively good. While it won’t cut through years of built-up oven grease, it’s great for fortnightly cleans of your oven and clean oven racks, cooktop, rangehood and grill.
The spray bottle is extremely easy to control, and cleaning is as simple as leaving the cleaner for an hour and wiping it off. This cleaner does work marginally better on a warm oven, but it’s no difference to write home about.
How to choose an oven cleaner
For a perpetually clean oven, you need to find the cleaning product that is most effective at handling tough baked-in stains, is the easiest to use to encourage you to clean more frequently, and safe enough that accidental spills and misuse won’t hurt you or your family. It’s a tricky trifecta to manage, because a priority in one will decrease the score of others by necessity.
Caustic vs non-caustic
All oven cleaners are reasonably safe when used according to the instructions, but some can still cause irritation to skin and eyes even when not misused. Check your instructions for advice regarding this, and if your product is caustic. Caustic cleaners are very powerful, but can create dangerous fumes, and should be used only in good ventilation.
The product instructions may also make some general safety recommendations about working in a ventilated areas, wearing rubber gloves or eye protection. These warnings should be taken seriously, even for non-caustic products.
Efficacy vs safety
Companies tend to hint at this by calling their product a “heavy-duty cleaner” or a “gentle cleanser”. Heavy-duty is better for tackling a job that hasn’t been done in a while, and can be easier on those that struggle to shift burnt-in stains manually.
Gentle oven cleaners tend to be safer and less irritating to sensitive skin and lungs. However, too gentle is ineffective, rendering the purchase a waste. If you need to be extra careful around someone with breathing issues, try using bicarb soda mixed with white vinegar first.
Problem areas
Sometimes having a specific issue you’re trying to handle will change the general oven cleaner you need. The common ones are grease baked onto the oven, stainless steel finishes that are perpetually streaked, and grime that has been caught between the glass of the oven door. Keep this in mind when looking for the best cleaner for you, because many products clearly label any specialty jobs right on the front label.
How to use an oven cleaner
Of course, the safest, most effective cleaner is one you’re using properly. Always check the instructions on your specific oven cleaner before using it for the first time to make sure you know how to use it safely. In general, these will be the cleaning tips and steps for proper use:
- Extinguish all pilot lights and ensure your oven is off before you start. Some cleaners work better when the oven is “warm”, and this generally means preheating to 90°C and then turning the oven off before starting.
- Lay down some paper towel in the bottom of the oven, to help catch any direct spray or product from seeping into the oven. Some seepage may be unavoidable, but this step will help avoid clogging gas or spark outlets.
- Remove oven racks and metal runners from the oven for best results. They can be left in, but this tends to allow grime to accumulate at the point where the runners make contact with the oven wall. Experienced oven users will tell you it’s usually faster and easier to take them out and wash in the sink anyway, either with the oven cleaner or a gentler detergent.
- Prepare your product for use. For aerosols and most sprays, shake well before use and spray liberally and evenly. Start with the roof and move downwards towards you, finishing with the oven door. By starting with areas furthest away from your face, you will avoid breathing in most of the product’s mist and/or fumes.
- Close the oven door and let it stand for as long as directed on the packet. Do not use the oven in any way until the entirety of the cleaning process is over, including heating the grill or lighting the pilot light.
- Wipe out all of the product with a damp cloth, then use saturated and dry cloths alternating until you feel comfortable that basically all residue has been removed.
- Heat up your oven and ventilate to make sure there’s no lingering residue before using your oven again.
