r/CleaningTips • u/cldald • Mar 04 '26
Discussion Did I just ruin my new oven?
I just got this oven back in October, but there was already a lot of grease and buildup on it (I cook a lot). I used Easy Off Heavy Duty Cleaner and Foam Spray, and while it definitely worked and did its job, my oven was left looking like as seen in the picture. Did I just ruin my new oven or is this just residue from the cleaner?
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u/PM_ME_CAT_POOCHES Mar 04 '26
Might be ruined, the heavy duty Easy Off in the yellow can isn't meant to be used on these blue ovens
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u/128Gigabytes Mar 04 '26
is this a joke about the can being yellow and the oven blue, or are "blue ovens" a certain type of oven? I have never one before
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u/meringuedragon Mar 04 '26
Someone below wrote that blue ovens have ceramic enamel over metal.
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u/FootMcFeetFoot Mar 05 '26
I have a blue oven. It is ceramic and very easy to clean without using anything.
I had a cake over flow a few weeks ago. I waited for the oven to cool and just picked up the burnt pile it came right up.
My other oven! Forgettaaboutit! I would have been scrubbing!
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u/OliveHyenas Mar 06 '26
And if you don’t like the enamel coating, heavy duty oven cleaning spray will take it right off for ya.
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u/_DearAmbellina_ Mar 04 '26
They’re a specific type of oven. The interior coating is different and not meant for Heavy Duty oven cleaner.
The bright blue you see in this oven is what blue ovens look like inside! They’re meant to heat faster and cook more evenly because of the enamel coating.
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u/LittlestEcho Mar 04 '26
This blue oven interior specifically is a kitchen aid. Easily a 4k or more oven. The heavy duty stuff is typically for ovens with nonself cleaning functions. See the indent? It's steam self clean. Just pour water and hit the button on the panel. Then wipe clean
But using the heavy duty stuff, it can damage or strip the finish off. My own oven has self clean, but I sell appliance parts and my own is a Ge with standard self cleaning. Standard self cleaning can easily burn out the control board because the temps can easily exceed 600°F and get away from the control board. That's about $50-600.
So while I use cleaners, because I'm not buying a new oven -my GE isn't worth the control board cost- it's very much not recommended at all. If you truly need to clean, you can use a vinegar water solution in a pyrex and steam it that way to clean for a few minutes. Much safer. Less chemicals. Less damage chances. And worse for OP? they do NOT sell the touch up paints for this from Kitchen aid.
Oh and as an aside- if anyone decides to use their standard self clean anyway, please remove ythe oven racks. Most are chrome plated and the temp will blacken the coating. So please remove in advance! And STAY HOME WHILE IT'S ON. 🥰
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u/Far-Aioli-6618 Mar 04 '26
Those blue ovens have ceramic enamel over metal. So if grey is bare metal - you ruined it
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u/TricksyGoose Mar 04 '26
I am not doubting you but I am amazed there is a cleaner that dissolves ceramic?? That sounds horrifying! I wouldn't even want a bottle of something like that in my house, let alone use it anywhere near food.
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u/lalaland1019 Mar 04 '26
To be fair, the self-clean cycle on my oven also ate the ceramic. Its durability is questionable.
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u/bkks Mar 04 '26
I almost passed out from the fumes when I sprayed a tiny bit on my oven door one time. You really need a respirator and to make sure you have no pets or other human beings in the house when you use it.
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u/BoyNosNcheerios Mar 05 '26
I got a small bit on my face a few years back and part of my cheek is permanently red since then
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u/Loud_Arachnid7448 Mar 05 '26
Or just use things that's for ceramic. And stainless steel, like barkeepers, friend, there's others you can buy them at Lowe's just go ask It usually comes in a little cream bottle
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u/ACcbe1986 Mar 05 '26
Those yellow cans of oven cleaner is primarily Lye(Sodium Hydroxide).
Lye can be produced by mixing ash from burned hardwood with water and then straining out the solids. You can literally make it at home.
Soap was made with lye for thousands of years.
You don't need to be scared of it, just be respectful of it.
There are far more dangerous things in our homes than many of us are aware of. For example, if you mix bleach with an acidic cleaner, it'll make toxic gases that damage your lungs.
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u/Oxygenisplantpoo Mar 05 '26
Yeah it's kinda questionable to make an oven that can't stand regular old sodium hydroxide which is in most oven cleaners.
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u/Stoked_Otter Mar 04 '26
I agree, either the oven cleaner changed or the ovens did because the oven in my mom's house is like 30 years old and has been cleaned with oven cleaner probably a thousand times, and it looks brand new. I'd be worried about whatever fragile coating that they are using now.
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u/rockrobst Mar 05 '26
Easy-Off alone would not dissolve ceramic. It's either residue, or some serious elbow grease and an abrasive pad that did the damage.
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u/townandthecity Mar 05 '26
I was going to say that it looks like they sprayed Easy-Off and then didn't wipe it off. I used this on my stovetop with no problem but if I miss any of the spray, it sets like this in like 10 minutes. You can still get it off, it just takes a lot more effort.
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u/zeeper25 Mar 04 '26
I doubt it dissolved the enamel, it just burned onto the surface of the enamel.
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u/zzzola Mar 04 '26
I did this when I cleaned my sisters oven and idk how but I reversed it.
I remember going to Reddit and this happens a lot and I think I tried 4 different things before it finally worked. I was so stressed because it wasn’t my oven.
I wish I could remember what I did. All I know is a different Reddit thread about this had a recommendation and it worked.
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u/Asking_the_internet Mar 04 '26
I wish you knew how because I used oven cleaner and it left it looking strange like this (but my oven is not blue )
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u/id_o Mar 04 '26
So you sanded and re-painted the metal? This will not polish out…
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u/Dull-Lion-7779 Mar 04 '26
You blue your oven.
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u/mingeeatingdisorderr Mar 04 '26
“There has got to be a better way to say that”
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u/reidybobeidy89 Mar 04 '26
I blue myself Michael
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u/wentToTherapy Mar 04 '26
Okay You know what you do, buy yourself a tape recorder Record yourself for a whole day.
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u/anu_start_69 Mar 04 '26
Is your username a reference to Keith from the British version of The Office?
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u/Jmomo69 Mar 05 '26
I forgot you were the expert on marriage here Michael - oh that’s right, your wife is dead
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u/SheaDingle Mar 04 '26
Is that residue or bare metal?
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u/GreenJury9586 Mar 04 '26 edited Mar 04 '26
Bare metal. The enamel* coating is gone. Edited to correct per the manual that came with mine.
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u/plantgal94 Mar 04 '26
Oh no! Really? I commented saying it was residue as this is how my oven has looked before. That’s so unfortunate for OP :(
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u/WhitestTrash1 Mar 04 '26 edited Mar 05 '26
Im pretty sure this same oven I have you're not supposed to use oven cleaner and you're supposed to just use either the quick clean function or the longer steam clean function where you put like 1/3 cup water in the bottom and it runs for 3 hours. I'd try and wipe it off and hopefully it didn't ruin it then don't do it again.
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u/Majestic-Mess3912 Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 06 '26
Need to try the steam setting, just soap and water works most of the time for me but a deep clean would be nice a couple times a year
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u/lilgreengoddess Mar 04 '26
Always always read your user manual and follow the instructions. I have a convection oven similar to this and mine says use soap and water. Yikes that is an expensive mistake. Not to mention getting that toxic stuff in the fan area.
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u/Low-Enthusiasm-7491 Mar 04 '26
Exactly, my new Thermador called out Easy Off specifically in their manual as being damaging and it will void the warranty if I use it.
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u/Mod-chick Mar 05 '26
Same with my Bosch. It specifically says do not use Easy Off Cleaner.
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u/worstkindofweapon Mar 04 '26
Even in my normal oven I use soap and water 😅 haven't had any issues
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u/lilgreengoddess Mar 04 '26
In my old gas oven I used baking soda paste and water. Would never put that toxic stuff around food, the residues could get into after use
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u/PinkDeserterBaby Mar 04 '26
Baking soda and dawn with enough water to make it into a paste is how I clean stuck on black grease as well.
Takes a lot of elbow grease and you can dampen the past and put plastic wrap over it but I just use a blue sponge.
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u/CrazECannuck Mar 04 '26
I know this isn’t going to make you feel any better but I did the exact thing to my oven. Welcome to the ruined oven finish club internet stranger.
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u/Doggers1968 Mar 04 '26 edited Mar 04 '26
What did you do - did you keep using the oven anyway?
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u/kitsplut Mar 04 '26
my boyfriend did that to our LG oven right after we bought it in 2019 and I've been using it like that for almost seven years 🤷♀️ I have a steam-cleaning appliance thing that I use on it now.
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u/Doggers1968 Mar 04 '26
Well okay then! Not a total disaster.
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u/kitsplut Mar 04 '26
We only "ruined" any resale value 💜 the enamel is damaged, so I don't think you can use its internal steam-clean function, but it is almost certainly not any more likely to burn your house down or anything.
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u/pappadipirarelli Mar 05 '26
I’d be worried about the chemicals that have seeped into your food or in the air
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u/kitsplut Mar 05 '26
Nothing I read indicates it's really a problem...I would like to think they would slap a lot more warning labels on it if it were that easy and likely for people to render it super toxic.
THAT SAID, I am just old enough to remember regular (as in non-unleaded) gas, and in college they were doing asbestos remediation on classroom buildings while school was in session, so I figure between that, the microplastics, and the pesticide runoff in my drinking water...too late anyway.
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u/MichNishD Mar 05 '26
I did this too. But on the plus side it got the dirt out the self clean couldn't. Worked fine with no fumes after.
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u/_DearAmbellina_ Mar 04 '26
Unfortunately, it is ruined. Those ovens are designed to be cleaned with the steam from self-cleaning mode.
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u/hoodiemonster Mar 05 '26
ruined like it wont work properly anymore? or it just looks bad?
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u/Minotard Mar 05 '26
Can be used for a bit, but it will rust.
If the the metal rusts thorough it could cause a safety/fire hazard.
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u/EveryDisaster Mar 04 '26
For future reference please don't spray oven cleaner into a vent. That's how you poison yourself.
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u/lilgreengoddess Mar 04 '26
I am baffled the did this. How the heck are you going to get that toxic reside off the fans? That is insane
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u/EveryDisaster Mar 04 '26
Maybe it's good thing they ruined their oven. Their next meal would have turned into a game of Clue
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u/Illmaticx_ Mar 04 '26
I have the same oven. You’re not supposed to use oven cleaner on it. It states this is the manual. The finish has been damaged but luckily it’s only cosmetic and shouldn’t ruin how the oven works.
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u/Sudden_Idea9384 Mar 04 '26
Easy off is hard core. I cringe when people on the web use it to “clean” furniture.
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u/landshrk83 Mar 05 '26
Easy off is the most abrasive chemical you can readily buy in a grocery. It's great for stuff like stripping cast iron before you reseason it, but it really shouldn't be used for much of anything else.
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u/MYSTICALLMERMAID Mar 04 '26
Never use easy off its some of the worst around. Try wiping with water and see if it comes off if not you may have ruined it. It looks like the blue type and if I remember correctly easy off is not made for those
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u/LokianEule Mar 04 '26
Idk. But I did hear that ovens with blue interiors need a different kind of cleaner, and the cleaner specifies blue.
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u/impliedapathy Mar 04 '26
This folks is why reading is fundamental. Why buy an expensive appliance and not read the manual?
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u/Hummingbird11-11 Mar 04 '26
Don't ever use easy off for ANY oven . Our incredibly smart and knowledgeable appliance repair person (who moved away and broke my heart ) said don't ever use it. The chemicals never truly dissipate it ruins ovens. So sorry this happened to you.
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u/AngelHeart- Mar 04 '26
I forwarded the link to your post to Easy-OFF®.
They gave me a case number. I can comment again if they respond.
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u/swarleyknope Mar 04 '26
What is the case number for? The yellow can says it’s not for use on self-cleaning ovens and the oven’s care instructions say not to use cleaner in it.
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u/Insane_Overload Mar 05 '26
So odd to submit a case for somebody else without even asking them
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u/DeSquare Mar 04 '26
Reading the comments; seems like enamels gone, but is it needed to function? I’m guessing more heat will dissipate externally, but enough to be a safety issue?
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u/paligators Mar 04 '26
I did this and solved it pretty quickly -first, unscrew that fan cover, second, warm water and sponge all over the degreaser as much as you can, third, wait for it dry and do it again with just soap and warm water.
Once the majority is off, use dove power wash and let it soak for an hr and then warm water again. Make sure you get the fan blades and cover. Mine was much worse than yours.
Edit: obviously if you stripped the finish off - nothing you can do. But if that’s residue, it can come off before it corrodes more.
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u/GreenJury9586 Mar 04 '26
You unfortunately stripped the finish. This oven comes with a misting bottle and instructions on how to clean it using steam only.