How To Clean Oven Toaster With Baking Soda

How to Clean a Toaster Oven

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how to clean a toaster oven — Credit: Joe Lingeman

Ahh, toaster ovens, those cute little multi-purpose mini-ovens we use to bake a personal pizza on movie night or toast the chopped pecans we'll sprinkle atop the banana bread muffins.

Toaster ovens offer us the option to not start up our regular-sized ovens for small jobs—and they eliminate the need for another small but single-use appliance, the toaster. But toaster ovens are subject to the same kinds of crumbs and grease splatters that a full-sized oven is.

Cleaning up these messes isn't only a matter of cleanliness, but of safety. Though the risks are low with proper safety precautions (easy safeguards like keeping at least two inches of clear space all around the toaster oven and keeping the unit on a surface that can withstand heat), making sure your toaster oven is clean is important.

How often should you clean your toaster oven?

Check your toaster oven after each time you use it to make sure no food has dropped onto or near the heating element. Wait until the heating element is completely cool before attempting to remove anything, and never use metal utensils inside your unit.

This visual inspection after every use (and taking action on these light cleanings as soon as it's safe to do so) will help make sure food doesn't come into contact with the heating element and catch fire. This simple habit also keeps grease from baking on to the interior of your toaster oven, which makes deep-cleaning it a more arduous task than it has to be.

In addition to cleaning your toaster oven lightly after every use, you should plan a deep cleaning weekly if you're a daily user (or clean your toaster oven less often if it gets less use). Tying the task to your kitchen maintenance chores will ensure you don't forget to do it.

Credit: Joe Lingeman/Apartment Therapy

How to Deep Clean a Toaster Oven, Step by Step with Photos

Even if you're good about emptying crumbs from your toaster oven and wiping up new splatters, your unit needs a regular, thorough cleaning. You'll need a few rags, dish soap, and a pastry brush or small cleaning brush (such as an old toothbrush).

1. Unplug your toaster oven and make sure it's cool before you begin cleaning.

You'll want to place your toaster oven unit in a place where cleaning is convenient, such as near the sink or garbage can and at a comfortable height, like on the counter top. Keep in mind that you should never immerse your unit in water, and never spray cleaning solution directly into your unit.

2. Remove all trays and racks and set them to soak in soapy water.

Fill your sink with warm water and a few squirts of dish soap, then place the oven's removable trays and racks inside. If your sink isn't large enough, try using a plastic storage bin or the bathtub instead.

3. Remove crumbs from all the surfaces of your toaster oven.

Wipe all the crumbs out of your toaster oven with a dry rag. Then use a pastry brush or small cleaning brush to loosen and dislodge any crumbs that are stuck in corners or seams.

4. Use a damp, soapy rag to wipe down the non-stick interior of your toaster oven.

Don't use any kind of abrasive scrubber as this will damage the non-stick coating, if your unit has it. Try not to get the heating elements wet.

You may be able to use a stronger scrubbing pad to scour metallic portions of your toaster oven that aren't covered in a nonstick coating. Refer to your unit's manual (which can be found online) if you're not sure what's nonstick and what's not.

5. Remove trays and racks from their soaking solution and scrub any remaining grime.

The soaking should make any stuck-on dirt or grime easy to dislodge with your detail brush. If they are particularly dirty, try soaking them overnight and repeating the scrubbing process the next day.

6. Place the trays and racks back into the toaster oven.

Dry each one thoroughly with a clean, dry rag before putting them back in your unit.

7. Clean the outside of your unit.

Use a rag dampened with all-purpose cleaner or a warm water and dish soap solution. Then buff dry with a dry rag.

How do you get baked-on grease out of a toaster oven?

Maintenance is key, but everyone has neglected their toaster ovens at one point or another and is faced with a mess of stubborn, caked-on grease. But it's not a hopeless situation.

Cleaning baked-on grease from a toaster oven is the same method you'd use for cleaning your main kitchen oven. Make a baking soda and water paste, spread it on the problem area, and leave overnight. Wipe off with a rag and, if any problem areas remain, spray them with a vinegar-water solution. The fizzing reaction will help loosen up the grease that's left.

How to Clean Toaster Oven Glass

The thing that makes toaster oven glass such a disaster is an accumulation of grease, which can be addressed with a baking soda and water paste, with the addition of a possible spritzing of vinegar. Let time do its work on your grease buildup and make sure to leave the paste sitting for at least a few hours (or overnight if you can). A Magic Eraser can help address any lingering trouble spots as well.

How to Clean Toaster Oven Heating Elements

Extra caution should be taken when cleaning the toaster oven heating elements. Check again to make sure the unit is unplugged and that everything is completely cool. Don't use any kind of cleaner on the elements, and don't scrub them too hard. Use a damp rag and gently wipe them. If there's any baked-on food, use a soft brush and a baking soda paste. Make sure to rinse it completely off and then dry thoroughly.

What is a self-cleaning toaster oven?

A self-cleaning toaster oven must sound appealing right about now—and there is such a thing, but it's not as exciting as it sounds at first. A self-cleaning toaster oven is one that has a nonstick coating on the inside, which definitely makes it easier to clean. However, your unit will still need to be emptied of crumbs and wiped down regularly.

Shifrah Combiths

Contributor

With five children, Shifrah is learning a thing or two about how to keep a fairly organized and pretty clean house with a grateful heart in a way that leaves plenty of time for the people who matter most. Shifrah grew up in San Francisco, but has come to appreciate smaller town life in Tallahassee, Florida, which she now calls home. She's been writing professionally for twenty years and she loves lifestyle photography, memory keeping, gardening, reading, and going to the beach with her husband and children.

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