How to Clean the Grime Between Your Oven's Glass Doors

Deep cleaning typically involves scrubbing spaces that you rarely consider, and that can mean having no idea even how to clean them. Recently I began cleaning my own oven, and after scrubbing down the glass window it still looked pretty dirty. That’s when I realized the double-paned glass was dirty on the inside.

At that point I dismissed it as impossible and resigned myself to getting used to the foggy view through my oven door, but professional house cleaner Vanessa Amaro came to the rescue. Here’s how to get in between an oven’s glass door to restore your clear cooking view.

Start at the bottom of your oven

First things first, do you have a broiler or a drawer at the bottom of your oven? If you can pull the bottom section out, you have a storage drawer. If the door flips down as your oven does, you have a broiler. Let’s start with the ovens with a bottom drawer.

Open the bottom drawer

To get inside the two window panes of your oven’s glass door, you’ll need to remove the bottom drawer. Underneath the oven door, you will see a narrow opening that runs along the bottom edge of the door. Vanessa Amaro suggests using a store-bought dusting brush, one that is long and relatively thin. You can also wrap a washcloth around a yardstick with rubber bands to hold it in place.

Soak the cloth in your favorite cleaning solution (white vinegar and water work just fine), stick the cleaning brush inside the opening, and get scrubbing. When you’re done, rinse the cloth and do it one last time to rinse off the glass.

If you have a broiler, take off the oven door

If you have a broiler and not a drawer at the bottom of your oven, you’ll need to remove the door to get in between the window glass. It sounds like a job for a professional (you could hire someone), but doing it yourself isn’t as scary as it sounds. The oven door hinges are built for easy removal of the door, and they typically click back into place. The DIY site The Art of Doing Stuff gives detailed instructions for removing the oven door.

Stick your screwdriver into the back of the tab and push it forwards. This unlocks the hinge. Do it on both hinges of the oven door.

Now close the oven door to the point where it won’t close anymore and then lift it straight up. The door should pull out very easily.

Depending on your oven’s make and model, there may be a tab you can press that will release the hinge to remove the door. After removing the door, the two panes might separate for you to clean each side with a sponge and cleaning solution. Otherwise, you can grab your trusty yardstick with a cleaning cloth to slide in between the glass.

If there’s a metal covering over the opening at the bottom of the oven door, just remove the screws (putting them somewhere safe to reattach later), and follow the same cleaning instructions mentioned. You can watch it demonstrated by professionals on General Electric’s instructional YouTube video.

Cleaning in between the oven’s glass isn’t the most fun task, but hopefully you’ll see a little bit of inconvenience goes a long way.