Pull THIS Out of Your Oven Door and the Glass Will Never Look Dirty Again (The Mexican Way)

Bertha shows how the brown haze inside oven doors comes from grease baked between the glass panes, and walks through cleaning it with a sock-on-hanger tool, soap, baking soda, and vinegar.

Key Takeaways

Oven door haze is baked-on grease trapped between glass panes via the vent, and can be removed with a hanger and sock tool.
Regular wiping of the oven door vent edge prevents grease buildup.
Cleaning requires the oven to be cold and off, and careful handling of the heavy glass.

What the video covers

The brown fog on oven door glass is grease vapor that enters through a vent slot and bakes onto the inner faces of the air-gapped glass panes, not an issue of an old oven.
Oven cleaning should be done with the oven cold and off, using warm water with dish soap and a cloth on both faces of the door.
A wire coat hanger wrapped in a damp cotton sock, secured with rubber bands, is fed through the vent slot to reach the inside glass surfaces.
Hard baked-on drips are softened with dish soap and baking soda paste, while gray film haze is removed with a vinegar-dampened sock.
The video covers five locations where residue hides, from the outside glass to the inner panel and the top or bottom vent slot.
For doors with sealed vents, the video describes removing the door panel with screws, after photographing the setup, to clean the inner panels.
Safety warnings include keeping the oven off, handling heavy glass with two hands, and keeping children away during disassembly.
Preventive maintenance includes wiping the vent edge weekly after stovetop cleaning so crumbs and grease do not build up.
The presenter promotes her paid cleaning book and product recommendations, and criticizes expensive commercial oven glass cleaners.

Chapters

Why does the inside of my oven door look foggy or brown?

The presenter explains that the brown haze is grease vapor that enters the air gap between the glass panes through a vent slot and bakes onto the inner surfaces. It is not because the oven is old or the glass is ruined.

What tools does the video recommend for cleaning inside the oven door?

The video uses a wire coat hanger, an old thick cotton sock, two rubber bands, warm water with dish soap, and for stubborn spots, baking soda paste and white vinegar.

What precautions should be taken before cleaning the oven door?

The oven must be cold and turned off before starting. The door glass is heavy, so it should be handled with two hands, and children should be kept away, especially during any disassembly.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

Go and crouch at your oven, turn the little light on, and look through the window. There it is, a brown fog over the middle of the glass, darker in the corners, with two long drips frozen in it. You all sprayed that window. You all scrubbed it. You used the blue stuff, and then the razor blade, and the brown is still there, is it not?

Speaker A

scrubbed it, you used the blue stuff, and then the razor blade, and the brown is still there, is it not? And somebody in your house said the words I have heard in a hundred kitchens, "The oven is old." And you have started to believe

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And somebody in your house said the words I have heard in a hundred kitchens: "The oven is old." And you have started to believe it, have you not?

Speaker A

that same window is clear enough to watch the bread rise through it, and I will show you and that is only the first one, because that brown hides in five places on that door, from the one you already wiped to the one you have never

Speaker A

Now, here is what is going to happen today. A wire coat hanger, an old sock, two rubber bands, and a bowl of warm water with a squeeze of dish soap. And before we are done, that same window is clear enough to watch the bread rise through it. I will show you, and that is only the first one, because that brown hides in five places on that door, from the one you already wiped to the one you have never looked at. And I will show you the little mouth at the bottom of your door, where it all went in, and what comes out on the sock.

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And somewhere along the way, you decided that this is how the oven looks now, that the glass is ruined, and that the next stove will have a clear window the way this one used to. Meja, have a seat,

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And somewhere along the way, you decided that this is how the oven looks now, that the glass is ruined, and that the next stove will have a clear window the way this one used to. Mija, have a seat, because I have to tell you where that brown is. It is not because the oven is old. It is because it is not on the glass. It is inside the door. An oven door is two or three sheets of glass with air between them. Every rag you have ever used touched the outside sheet and the inside sheet, and the brown is living in the middle, where no rag has ever been. Nothing on that door is ruined, mija.

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with air between them. And every rag you have ever used touched the outside sheet and the inside sheet, and the brown is living in the middle, where no rag has ever been. Nothing on that door is ruined, Meja. My name is Bertha, and the

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My name is Bertha, and the old ways of keeping the house are what I share here. It is the plain knowing that used to pass from a mother to a daughter, and it has quietly gotten lost. Quick, while I have you, my mother made me promise to write it all down before it was lost. So I did. Every measure and method, all in one place.

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before it was lost, So, I did. Every measure and method, all in one place.

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Bertha's Cleaning Book, bertacleans.com, links below. Back to it.

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pocket of air between them, so the outside stays cool enough to touch while the inside is at 400°. Well, and that pocket has to breathe. So, along the bottom edge of the door, and on some doors along the top, there is a slot, a

Speaker A

Now, you deserve to understand how it got in there, and not just take my word. The door of your oven is built like a window in a cold country: two panes with a pocket of air between them, so the outside stays cool enough to touch while the inside is at 400°. And that pocket has to breathe. So along the bottom edge of the door, and on some doors along the top, there is a slot, a thin mouth where the air moves in and out.

Speaker A

the hot, greasy air rolls up the inside of the door, and in through that mouth, and it cools on the glass in the pocket, and it stays. Then, the next roast bakes it, then the next, a thin, brown

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Now, think about your dinners. Enchiladas bubble over the edge of the pan, the pie drips, the chicken spits, and the fat turns to smoke, and the smoke rises. When you open the door, the hot, greasy air rolls up the inside of the door, and in through that mouth, and it cools on the glass in the pocket, and it stays. Then the next roast bakes it, then the next, a thin, brown varnish, mija, laid down one dinner at a time on the two faces of glass you cannot reach, and baked harder every time you turn the oven on. That is your cloud. It is not dirt on the window. It is a record of every dinner you ever made.

Speaker A

is a record of every dinner you ever made. In my mother's kitchen, there was no oven window to worry about because there was no oven. There was a comal and a brasero, and a tin box she set over

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In my mother's kitchen, there was no oven window to worry about, because there was no oven. There was a comal and a brasero, and a tin box she set over the coals to bake. The first thing she did with her first American stove was get down on her knees with a flashlight and find that slot, because she did not trust the door she could not see inside of.

Speaker A

hides, and we go from the one you already wiped to the one you have never looked at. Number five, the outside of the glass, and I know you wipe it.

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There are five places the brown hides, and we go from the one you already wiped to the one you have never looked at. Number five: the outside of the glass. And I know you wipe it. Today, you do it right, because today it is the proof. Oven cold, oven off, warm water with a drop of dish soap, a cloth. Wash the window on the outside, then open the door and wash the face on the inside, the side that looks at the food. For the baked-on brown on that inside face, you know the tablet from my tablet video. Dry both with a dry cloth, with the grain, until there is not one streak.

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When you wash the window on the outside, and then you open the door and you wash the face on the inside, the side that looks at the food. And for the baked-on brown on that inside face, you know the

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Now close the door, turn the light on, and look. The cloud is still there, is it not? Both faces are clean and the brown did not move. And now you know for certain: it is in the middle.

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move. And now you know for certain, it is in the middle. Number four, the mouth. Open your door all the way so it lies flat and run your gloved finger along the bottom edge, the edge farthest from the hinges.

Speaker A

Number four: the mouth. Open your door all the way so it lies flat and run your gloved finger along the bottom edge, the edge farthest from the hinges. There is a gap there between the outer glass and the inner panel, about the width of your finger, and it runs most of the way across. On some doors, the gap is at the top edge instead, up under the handle. So if the bottom is sealed, feel the top. Tap the door and watch the crumbs fall out of it. That is where everything went in, mija, and that is where your hanger goes in. Where the mouth sits on each kind of door is drawn in the book.

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the handle. So if the bottom is sealed, feel the top. Tap the door and watch the crumbs fall out of it. That is where everything went in, mija, and that is where your hanger goes in. Where the mouth sits on each kind of door is drawn

Speaker A

Number three: the sock on the hanger, and this is the one you came for. Take a wire coat hanger, untwist it at the neck, pull it out straight, and fold the hook flat against the wire so there is no point anywhere. Take an old cotton sock, a thick one, pull it over the end of the hanger, and wrap two rubber bands around it so it cannot come off in there. Dip the sock in the warm soapy water and wring it until it is damp and not dripping, because water that drips inside that door dries into spots you will have to go back for.

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so there is no point anywhere. Take an old cotton sock, a thick one, and pull it over the end of the hanger and wrap two rubber bands around it so it cannot come off in there. Dip the sock in the

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Now feed it up through the mouth, flat against the glass, slowly, until it stops moving freely. Then wipe both sides up as far as the brown goes, with the hanger bent a little so the sock presses on the glass. Pull it out and look. Brown. That is the enchiladas from three Easters ago, mija. Rinse the sock in the bowl, wring it, and go again and again until the sock comes out the color it went in. Then a clean dry sock on the same hanger, up through the mouth, side to side, to dry the glass so nothing spots.

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Now you feed it up through the mouth, flat against the glass, slowly until it stops moving freely, and then you wipe both to side up as far as the brown goes with the hanger bent a little so the

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The hanger never touches the glass bare. The sock is always over the end, and you never push past where it moves freely. If it stops, you do not shove. You wiggle it back down and go in flatter. And if your door has a narrow mouth and the hanger will not go, the old wooden ruler from the junk drawer, with a cloth rubber-banded over the end, does the same job, straighter. The hanger, the ruler, and how far up to go in each kind of door are on the oven page in the book.

Speaker A

on the same hanger up through the mouth side to side to dry the glass so nothing spots. The hanger never touches the glass bare. The sock is always over the end and you never push past where it moves freely. If it stops, you do not

Speaker A

Number two: the streaks that will not move. Most of the cloud comes off with the soapy sock, and then there are two kinds of marks left. The first is a hard drip, something that boiled over and baked into a line. For that one, a drop of dish soap straight onto the sock, and you hold it against the drip for a minute before you wipe, so the soap has time to soften it. Then a little paste of baking soda on the sock, gently, and the wet sock again.

Speaker A

does the same job, straighter. The hanger, the ruler, and how far up to go in each kind of door is on the oven page in the book. Number two, the streaks that will not move. Most of the cloud

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The second is a haze, a gray film across a whole glass that the soap leaves behind. For that one, a clean sock with a splash of white vinegar up through the mouth, and then the dry sock.

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the drip for a minute before you wipe so the soap has time to soften it.

Speaker A

And now, two things that never go in there, mija. Never a razor blade between the panes. On the outside of the glass, flat on glass only, yes, but never inside, because you cannot see what you are cutting. And never oven cleaner inside the door. Not the spray, not the foam, because it runs down into the hinges and eats the grease that lets them move, and it leaves a white stain on the glass that no soap takes off. Soap, water, and vinegar. The two marks and what each one takes are on the same page in the book.

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The second is a haze, a gray film across a whole glass but the soap leaves behind. For that one, a clean sock with a splash of white vinegar up through the mouth and then the dry sock. And now,

Speaker A

Number one, the one you have never looked at, and this one is for the door with no mouth. Some doors are sealed, and some have the brown up at the top where no soap reaches. And for those, the door comes off. Hear me first. If what I am about to say scares you, you stop at number two, and you get most of it. There is no shame in that. If you keep going, here is the way. Open the door all the way and look at the two bottom corners where it meets the oven. There is a little metal tab on each hinge, a lock, and yo

Speaker A

On the outside of the glass, flat on glass only, yes, but never inside because you cannot see what you are cutting.

Speaker A

And never oven cleaner inside the door. Not the spray, not the foam, because it runs down into the hinges and eats the grease that lets them move, and it leaves a white stain on the glass that no soap takes off. Soap, water, and

Speaker A

vinegar. The two marks and what each one takes are on the same page in the book.

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And number one, the one you have never looked at, and this one is for the door with no mouth. Some doors are sealed, and some have the brown up at the top where no soap reaches. And for those,

Speaker A

the door comes off. Hear me first. If what I am about to say is scares you, you stop at number two, and you get most of it. And there is no shame in that. If you keep going, here is the way. Open

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the door all the way and look at the two bottom corners where it meets the oven.

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There is a little metal tab on each hinge, a lock, and you flip both of them toward you. Now close the door slowly until it stops on its own, about a hand's width open. Put two hands on the

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sides of the door near the top and lift straight up, and it comes off the hinges. It is heavy, mija, heavier than you think. So your towel is already on the floor, and you lay the door on it

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with the handle facing down. Take a picture of it with your phone before you touch a screw. On the inside panel, there are screws, two at the top corners and sometimes three along the bottom, and they go into a cup, not onto the

Speaker A

floor. The inner panel lifts off, and the glass slides out, and on many doors, there is a third panel loose inside, and that one you lift like an egg. Wash each pane in the sink with the soapy water,

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dry it with a dry cloth, and from this moment, you hold the glass by the edges because a fingerprint sealed inside a door is a fingerprint for 10 years. Back together by your picture, screws snug, not tight, and then the door goes back

Speaker A

on at the same angle it came off. The two arms into the two slots, you feel them seat, and you flip the locks back.

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And one more honest word about a shortcut you will see. There is a trick where you take only the two top screws out and the door splits open in your hands.

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I do not teach it. The back half of that door is on a spring and it wants to slam shut and the little tabs at the bottom bend, and then you have a door that will not close for your dinner. Either the

Speaker A

sock or the whole door off, nothing in between. The door, the locks, and the screws with a drawing are on the oven page in the book. And now the proof because I do not want you to take my

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word. The door is back, the oven is on, and there is a tray of bolillos in it.

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And I crouch down with the light on the way you crouched this morning, and I can see them the cuts opening through a window that 2 hours ago looked like somebody breathed on it and the breath never dried.

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Nothing on that door was ruined, mija. The brown was in the middle and it came out the same mouth it went in. And now the honest words because I will not oversell you and that is the whole reason you can trust this channel.

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First, the oven is cold and the oven is off before anything. Before the sock, before the door, before you so much as open it. Second, the door is re-enforced glass and it is heavy. Two hands always, the towel always, and nobody under 16

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lifts it. Third, if your oven is gas, nothing I showed you touches gas. And if the door does not want to lift off its hinges the normal way, you leave it on, you do the sock, and you are done. Fourth, and this

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is the one I need you to hear, a door that has baked for 30 years comes out clear. It does not always come out like the day it was sold. But, if there is a mark burned into the glass itself, a

Speaker A

dull patch that the vinegar sock goes over and nothing changes, that one stays me ha and now you know it is not dirt and you stop scrubbing at it. And fifth, if your oven is new and still under its

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warranty, the sock is yours to do and the door coming off is a question for the little book that came with the stove. Now, let me say the quiet word about who profits from you not knowing this. Nobody in that dial is lying to

Speaker A

you, me ha. You would look at what they sold you for a stain that was never on the glass. The oven glass cleaner, $20 a bottle for the two faces that were already clean. And when the bottle did

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not work, the man with the van, $120 to come and look at your door.

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Hey, there sends a trap the slot in 5 minutes and charges you for the hour or he tells you the glass needs replacing.

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And when the family is tired of looking at a brown window, the store sells them a new range, $800 for an oven that had nothing wrong with it but a dirty pocket of air. Nobody screamed it in a dark room. It is

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quieter and sadder than that. There is no money in a coat hanger and a sock.

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There is a great deal of money in a window you cannot see through and a woman who believes it is the oven. My mother found that slot on her first day with a stove because she knew the one

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law no company will ever pay to teach you. El que busca encuentra. Whatever looks finds.

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They counted on you never getting down on your knees with a flashlight. So, here are the habits and they are small and the first one is the whole secret.

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You put a sheet pan under anything that can bubble over. The pie, the enchiladas, the casserole, every time.

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So, nothing ever runs down the inside of that door toward the mouth. Second, the day something does boil over, the sock goes up the slot that night when the oven is cold while the brown is still soft and comes off in one pass because

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what you leave until spring is varnish. Third, when you wipe your stovetop on Sunday, you open the door and wipe the bottom edge and the mouth with a damp cloth. 10 seconds. So, the crumbs never build a dam for the grease to sit

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behind. And the whole door, the sock, all the way up once a season when the clocks change. The season page in the book has it beside the dryer. So, here is what I would ask of you. Tonight when

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the oven is cold, straighten a hanger, put the sock on it, and send it up through the mouth once. And come back and tell me in the comments what color the sock came out because I know some of

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you are going to pull out something the color of coffee. Well, and tell me whether your mouth is at the bottom or the top and your county. I read every one. Next time, the thing I promise you, the one in your bathroom that touches

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your mouth every morning and the place it lives that you have never once cleaned. Well, tonight you start with the window, you wash both faces, and you prove the brown is in the middle. You find the mouth, you send the sock up,

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and again, and again, and then the dry one, the vinegar sock for the haze. And then you turn the light on and you look, the women who kept their homes with their own two hands got down on their

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knees and found where the dirt went before they ever bought a bottle to chase it.

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And that is a thing we are only just starting to remember.

Topics:oven door cleaningoven glass cleanerDIY cleaning hackbaked-on greasecoat hanger sock toolhome cleaning tipsoven maintenancevinegar and baking soda cleaning

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