How To Clean And Remove Gross Melted Plastic From Your Oven

Plastic and high heat certainly don't mix. So while the inside of the oven may seem like a convenient storage spot when you're short on shelf space, you will want to take caution not to preheat while any plastic is on the racks. Accidents do happen, though. If you open your oven door and find a plastic bowl has melted and dripped down to the bottom, don't panic. Though the bowl may be beyond repair, you can still clean your oven out.

The cleaning method you use will depend on which type of oven you have. Cleaning an electric oven is fairly simple, so long as the appliance has a porcelain finish on the inside. You'll first want to let the oven cool down completely to room temperature. Then, fill a resealable plastic bag with ice cubes, and lay the bag over the melted plastic. After about 10 minutes, it should harden, and you can simply scrape it up piece by piece using a spatula or butter knife. Just be cautious not to scrape the oven panel and damage the coating.

Gas ovens, on the other hand, may require a little extra work to get clean.

If you're cleaning melted plastic out of a gas oven, you'll first want to make sure that the gas is completely turned off. Then, locate the screws on the bottom panel. Some ovens allow this panel to be removed from the oven entirely. If your freezer is large enough, the entire panel can be frozen until the plastic hardens. If you're tight on space, or if the panel can't be removed, simply lay the panel on a stable surface like a kitchen counter and place ice bags over the melted plastic. Then, carefully scrape it off, being careful to keep the panel flat so it won't warp.

If your oven has a self-cleaning function, however, the process may be a little bit easier. Rather than cool things down, you'll actually want to turn the heat on as low as possible. Carefully peel the plastic away with a wooden utensil, being careful not to scratch the surface.

To cleanup the inside of the oven once all the plastic has been removed, gently wipe it down with a damp sponge or rag and some dish soap. You can also run the oven's self-cleaning function, so long as you don't rely on self-cleaning too often.

If the plastic has melted onto the oven racks, you can use the ice bag method to remove the drips, too. Remove the racks from the oven once cooled, and lay them out on the counter. Place the ice bags over the melted plastic and wait for it to harden. Then, simply scrape the plastic off until the racks are completely clear. Oven racks don't have a protective coating like most oven panels do, so you don't need to worry about ruining the racks as you scrape. You can then give them a quick clean with dishwashing detergent to sanitize.

If you left a plastic bowl on top of your oven's stovetop burner, there is an easy way to remove that residue, too. Once the heat is completely shut off, carefully scrape up the melted plastic pieces using a butter knife.

While melted plastic can be cleaned out of your oven if an accident does occur, it may be best to avoid the possibility altogether. Instead of storing your plastic bowls and plates inside the oven, limit it to only oven-safe glass and metal items.