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How to Keep Oven Cleaner off the Heating Element in Your Electric Range

James Clark

You may want to take precautions against getting oven cleaner on the heating elements inside your electric range. Oven cleaners by design are caustic in order to eat away baked-on spills inside the range. The smell of most oven cleaners is already unpleasant without the added odor of baking it if you get cleaner on the elements. The sure-fire way to keep oven cleaner off the range elements is to remove them before cleaning the range. This takes only a few minutes using a screwdriver.

Remove the heating elements from your range before using oven cleaner.
  1. Shut off the power to the range, unplug the power cord and wait for the appliance to cool completely.

  2. Open the range door and take out the wire racks to make room for you to work.

  3. Remove the screws at the two connection points in the back wall of the range for the top and bottom heating elements. Pull gently on each element to disconnect it from the range.

  4. Place a square of duct tape over the connection sockets for the heating elements to prevent oven cleaner from getting inside.

  5. Spray oven cleaner inside the range as you normally would in preparation for scrubbing the interior.

  6. Remove the duct tape to reconnect the range heating elements when you are finished cleaning.