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My oven has a convenient window on it. It is very old and covered in soot. I tried what many recommendations say and used water and baking soda together, but it did not cut through the grime. Does anyone know how to get rid of this mess?

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Oven cleaner will take that right off. If you're sensitive to nasty harmful fumes you can get the fume free kind.

Make sure you follow the manufacturer's instructions to the letter, and make sure no kids or pets are around.

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  • I will report back on this. I think I tried it a few years ago.
    – Naomi Campbell
    Dec 10, 2010 at 20:35
  • EASY OFF! It's what I used to use on the window of the pizza oven and it worked great.
    – sarge_smith
    Dec 11, 2010 at 0:06
  • I used some easy off over the weekend. I would like to say two things. First, I spilled some and it burned a hole in my wood floor. I spent the rest of the weekend on the phone to see how much it will cost me to repair the floor. Second, I can now see through the window, but it is now tinted a yellowish-greenish color. It is almost impossible to see through as it is now. I know that when I purchased the oven, the glass was perfectly clear, not tinted.
    – Naomi Campbell
    Dec 13, 2010 at 18:37
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    @Naomi: One of those instructions that you were supposed to follow to the letter is to put newspaper down on your floor around your stove. Sorry about your floor :(
    – hobodave
    Dec 14, 2010 at 0:28
  • I'm going to mark this as the best answer, but I would still like to know if anyone has a solution to the yellow tint on the glass. It bothers me just enough to feel as if I should replace it, but I'd rather not.
    – Naomi Campbell
    Dec 14, 2010 at 19:36
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Oven windows generally have three or four layers of glass. If you want to clean stuff in between the inside and outside, you must have an appliance repair service come out and tear the door apart.

If you just want to simply clean the inside glass, you can use a thick paste made up of baking soda and water, a non-scratching rag or scouring pad, and some elbow grease This post explains it all very well:

How To Clean Your Oven Window

Also, just about every oven glass has a tinting on it. Thisis the main reason you shouldn't use a scouring pad to clean it. Scouring pads will scratch the tint. I don't think oven cleaner is responsible for discoloring the glass. One way to know for sure, is to find and oven like yours, and look at it.

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Does your oven have a cleaning cycle? I've had both good and bad experiences with cleaning cycles, but on some ovens they work quite well. Even if they don't remove all the grime, they make it much easier to remove with water and gentle cleaners.

Then again, I've used ovens where the self-cleaning cycle didn't do anything. It depends.

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    just remember to take any oven thermometers out before running the cleaning cycle ... they don't always survive. (but, if you've got some cast iron that need to be re-seasoned, they can stay in to help stripping 'em down.)
    – Joe
    Dec 10, 2010 at 22:04
  • I've tried the cleaning cycle. I saw no visual change in the window. I was still unable to wipe off the mess.
    – Naomi Campbell
    Dec 13, 2010 at 18:33
  • @Naomi - sounds like your oven is one with an ineffective cleaning cycle. Sorry to hear that - I've dealt with that pain in an old cheap oven in a rental. In that case I used standard spray oven cleaner to partially address that problem.
    – justkt
    Dec 13, 2010 at 18:41
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Depending on how dirty or modern your oven is, you'll have to balance the trade-offs of whether or not it's worth it to try cleaning it when you can buy a relatively inexpensive new oven instead. Figure out how much your time is worth, and if it's more than the cost of a new oven you probably shouldn't bother.

Now, this sounds extreme, but if you're having a lot of trouble cleaning it, this option is worth keeping in mind. New ovens are also generally more performant by providing even heating and superior self-cleaning cycles (so you won't have to worry about this ever again!)

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    You can replace the glass, somewhat cheaper than buying a new oven.
    – Bruce Alderson
    Dec 11, 2010 at 1:18
  • I think your answer is pretty far-fetched. Why would I replace an oven just because I can't see through the window? Also, I will look into Bruce's answer to replacing the glass and see how much it might cost me.
    – Naomi Campbell
    Dec 13, 2010 at 18:34

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