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Best oven cleaners: tried and tested
Danny’s days consist of running hands-on tests. He once found the best lemon squeezer by wringing out more than 80 lemons and measuring the average juice.
The best oven cleaners cut through months of baked-on grease, are easy to remove and, ideally, work fast – so you can get back to doing something more fun.
We got down and dirty to find oven cleaners that can tackle baked-on batter, meat drippings, herbs, sticky jam and more.
The panel of testers spent hours cleaning and the results were assessed. So we can reveal the best oven cleaners that make it easy to tackle days, weeks or months of grime.
We put oven cleaner sprays, gels and pastes from popular brands such as Mr Muscle, Oven Pride and Cif through their paces. Two got our test oven sparkling in no time and earned our Best Buy recommendation.
How our tests find you the best
Cleaning performance
To find out which cleaners can tackle greasy racks and burnt-on food, we smear a concoction of cake batter, breadcrumbs, jam and more inside our test oven, then bake it.
Ease of use
Cleaning your oven shouldn't be back-breaking work. We reveal which cleaners require a lot of elbow grease and which are a total breeze.
Speed
Some oven cleaners claim to get the job done in a few minutes, others take hours - we let you know which really clean in a flash.
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We don't accept freebies from product manufacturers or retailers.
The oven cleaners we tested
Only logged-in Which? members can view the oven cleaner test results.
Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations.
| Oven cleaner | Price | Score | Cleaning time | Cleaning prowess | Ease of application |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sign up to reveal Get instant access to this and all our scores and recommendations Unlock tableDigital first month £5, then £8.99 per month, cancel at any time. Already a member? | 86% | ||||
| 85% | |||||
| 80% | |||||
| 79% | |||||
| 75% | |||||
| 75% | |||||
| 74% | |||||
| 66% |
Sign up to reveal
Get instant access to this and all our scores and recommendations
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Date tested: February 2024. Page last checked: March 2026. We're not able to show every retailer, and lower prices may be available.
All the oven cleaners we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.
Only logged-in Which? members can view the best oven cleaners from our tests.
Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations.
Astonish Specialist: Anti-bacterial Oven and Grill Cleaner
Amount 250g
Suggested time to leave cleaner Five minutes, reapply where necessary
Need to know Suitable to use on oven door; comes with double-sided sponge; product contains abrasive substance – care is needed on delicate or polished surfaces to avoid scratching; don't use on non-stick, Teflon, brushed or polished stainless steel or stickers
Cif Oven and Grill Specialist Cleaner Spray
Amount 435ml
Suggested time to leave cleaner Up to 30 minutes
Need to know Suitable to use on oven door; don't spray on oven trim, pilot light, heating or fan elements; don't use on aluminium, copper, brass, marble, painted wood or appliance lettering
Ecover Oven and Hob Cleaner Spray
Amount 500ml
Suggested time to leave cleaner One minute, longer for stubborn stains
Need to know Suitable to use on oven door; don't use on hot surfaces
Elbow Grease Oven Cleaning Kit
Amount 500ml
Suggested time to leave cleaner Four hours for oven, six hours for racks; for best results, leave overnight
Need to know Suitable to use on oven door; comes with disposable gloves and bag to put racks in to soak; don't use on oven door seals, trims, pilot light or heating and fan elements; don't use on aluminium, zinc, copper, tin, painted, damaged, self-cleaning ovens, non-tempered glasses or non-stick surfaces
Want to free yourself from cleaning your oven? A pyrolytic oven cleans itself. Find out more in our freestanding cooker and built-in oven reviews
HG Oven, Grill and Barbecue Cleaner Spray
Amount 500ml
Suggested time to leave cleaner 3-5 minutes, repeat two or three times on heavily marked areas
Need to know Suitable to use on oven door; for best results, warm up the oven until the bottom is lukewarm; don't use on untreated aluminium or the outside of the oven, grill or barbecue
Mr. Muscle Oven Cleaner
Amount 300ml
Suggested time to leave cleaner Up to 30 minutes; repeat for stubborn stains
Need to know Suitable to use on oven door; don't use on oven trim, pilot light or heating elements; don't use on self-cleaning ovens, microwave ovens, hot ovens or exterior surfaces; don't use on chrome, aluminium, zinc, copper, plastic or polished/lacquered surfaces
Oven Mate Oven Cleaning Gel
Amount 500ml
Suggested time to leave cleaner A few minutes, up to three hours
Need to know Suitable to use on oven door; comes with disposable gloves and arm protectors, and a scrubbing brush; don't use on self-cleaning ovens or hot ovens; don't use on aluminium, brass, copper, stainless steel, Teflon-coatings, painted enamel or anodised, cracked or painted surfaces
Oven Pride Complete Oven Cleaning Kit
Amount 500ml
Suggested time to leave cleaner 4 hours, ideally overnight
Need to know Not suitable for use on oven door; comes with disposable gloves and bag to put racks in to soak; don't use on oven trim, hinges, glass oven door, door seals, pilot light, heating or fan elements; don't use on aluminium, zinc, copper, tin, painted, damaged, self-cleaning or non-stick surfaces
How we test oven cleaners
We buy the bestselling oven cleaners and put them through our tough tests. We don't accept freebies from product manufacturers or retailers.
We regularly revisit the oven cleaners on sale to see if there are any more popular products that need testing. When we find them, we do.
Cleaning performance
- We bake a mixture including cake batter, beef dripping, rosemary, breadcrumbs, jam in the oven and on the wire racks.
- We follow the instructions on each oven cleaner to apply it to the oven and racks, leaving it for the minimum length of time suggested to test each cleaner on its own terms.
- We remove the cleaner as per the instructions and apply it a second time if the packaging says you may need to.
- A panel independently assesses the finish, to rank each of the oven cleaners on their cleaning ability.
The best oven cleaners do a brilliant job in the minimum time, while others need to be left longer, or used multiple times to get better results.
Ease of use
- We rate each oven cleaner on how easy it is to use.
- We factor in clarity of instructions, whether necessary equipment such as gloves and brushes is included, the minimum time the cleaner is recommended to be applied and how easy the oven cleaner is to apply and remove.
While none of the cleaners was hard to use, the best oven cleaners are easy to evenly apply and require little elbow grease to do so.
Why you can trust us: at Which? we're free from manufacturer and retailer influence. Find out more about our impartiality and how your support helps us to stay editorially independent
How do homemade oven cleaners compare?
We've tested some of the most popular homemade oven cleaners to see how they compare to store-bought ones, and we've highlighted the pros and cons of each method.
Join Which? to get instant access to our test results.
Bicarbonate of soda
How to do it Mix equal parts bicarbonate of soda and water in a bowl to form a paste. Apply to the oven and work it into the dirt with a sponge.
Leave for at least one hour, or a few hours if there are stubborn areas of burnt-on food.
Use a scrubbing brush or scourer to lift and remove the dirt. Apply water as needed for lubricant, and avoid using it on a glass door, as this can introduce tiny scratches to the glass surface.
Wipe clean with a damp sponge, and remove residue with a kitchen towel or cloth. Repeat this if needed to get all the residue off.
Join Which? to see the pros and cons of using bicarbonate soda.
Bicarbonate of soda with water vinegar solution
How to do it Mix equal parts bicarbonate of soda and water in a bowl to form a paste. Apply to the oven and work it into the dirt with a sponge.
Mix three parts water with one part white vinegar. Decant into a spray bottle and apply to the oven. The vinegar will react with the bicarbonate of soda, making it fizz and bubble.
Leave for at least one hour, or a few hours if there are stubborn areas of burnt-on food.
Use a scrubbing brush or scourer to lift and remove the dirt. Apply water as needed for lubricant. Avoid using it on a glass door as this can introduce tiny scratches to the glass surface.
Wipe clean with a damp sponge, and remove residue with kitchen towel or cloth. Repeat this if needed to get all the residue off.
Join Which? to see the pros and cons of using bicarbonate soda with water vinegar solution.
Dishwasher tablet
How to do it Fill a bowl with water. Remove the casing from a dishwasher tablet, and add any loose parts (like the red Powerball on a Finish dishwasher tablet) to the water.
Dip the bottom of the tablet into the water for a few seconds. Then rub the tablet over the inside of your oven. Apply water as needed for lubricant.
Repeat this until the burnt-on food is all lifted. Use another tablet if your current one crumbles apart.
Wipe clean with a damp sponge and remove residue with a kitchen towel or cloth.
Repeat this if needed to get all the residue off.
Join Which? to see the pros and cons of using a dishwasher tablet.
For more cleaning tips, see how to clean a dishwasher and how to clean a smelly washing machine
How to clean an oven with oven cleaner?
If burnt-on food has been left in your oven for a while, you may want to start by using a spatula or oven scraper to lift off the heavy dirt.
Oven grease can be difficult to shift, so you'll get the best results using a dedicated oven cleaner.
These often contain strong chemicals, so make sure you wear gloves and long sleeves, and open the window to allow fresh air into your kitchen.
We also found the best oven cleaners for cleaning really dirty oven racks to be the ones that provide you with a bag that lets you soak the wire racks.
They take longer (typically recommending you leave the racks for at least four hours), but by soaking in the cleaner, it gets into all those hard-to-reach joins of a wire rack. So afterwards, you can just remove the racks and rinse off the cleaner.
Like the sound of a self-cleaning oven? Find out how pyrolytic ovens work