How to clean a toaster oven: crumb tray, racks, glass and inside

Step by step: how to clean a toaster oven

Safety first. Unplug the toaster oven and let it cool completely before cleaning. Do not spray anything onto the heating elements, and do not use standard oven cleaner inside a countertop oven; Breville warns it damages the interior. Never immerse the oven body in water.

1. 1

   Unplug and cool

   Pull the plug and wait until the oven, door and racks are cool to the touch, which takes about 30 minutes after use. Set the oven on a sheet of newspaper or a towel to catch crumbs.

2. 2

   Take out the crumb tray, racks and pan

   Slide out the crumb tray and shake the crumbs into the trash. Remove the wire rack, baking pan, broil rack and any air fry basket. Fill the sink with hot water and a squirt of dish soap and put them all in to soak.

3. 3

   Let the parts soak

   Leave them for at least 30 minutes, or overnight if grease has baked on. The soak does most of the work, so you can wipe instead of scrub. Consumer Reports’ cleaning advice also suggests an overnight soak for stubborn stains.

4. 4

   Wipe the inside walls

   Mix warm water, a splash of white vinegar and a drop of dish soap. Dampen a soft sponge with it, not the oven, and wipe the walls, ceiling and floor. Keep the sponge off the heating elements and wring it well so nothing drips.

5. 5

   Wipe the elements only if needed

   Elements burn off most splatter on their own. If something is stuck to one, wait until it is completely cool, then gently run a soft, damp cloth along its length with no cleaner at all. Quartz elements are fragile, so do not press or scrape.

6. 6

   Clean the glass door

   Wipe the inside of the glass with a mild detergent or glass cleaner sprayed onto a soft sponge or plastic scrub pad. For a brown film, use a paste of baking soda and water on the glass, leave it 15 minutes, then wipe off and buff dry.

7. 7

   Scrub and dry the soaked parts

   Scrub the racks, pan and crumb tray with a non-scratch pad, using a baking soda paste on spots that will not budge. Rinse and dry everything completely. Breville advises against the dishwasher for its accessories, so check your manual.

8. 8

   Wipe the outside and reassemble

   Wipe the exterior and control panel with a damp cloth, applying any cleaner to the cloth, not the oven. Put the crumb tray back first, then the racks. Plug the oven in only when everything is dry.

What should you not use inside a toaster oven?

Skip oven cleaner, metal scouring pads and foil. Countertop ovens have thinner walls, nonstick coatings and exposed elements, so the methods you use on a full-size oven can ruin them.

• Oven cleaner: the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer manual says not to use any standard oven cleaner inside, because it deteriorates the metal surface.
• Steel wool and metal scouring pads: they scratch the nonstick interior, the glass and the racks. Use a soft sponge or soft plastic pad.
• Foil on the crumb tray or walls: the same manual says covering the crumb tray or any part of the oven with foil causes overheating.
• Cleaner sprayed straight into the oven: apply it to the sponge so none lands on the elements or seeps into the controls.
• Baking soda paste on the elements: Breville’s toaster oven guide says to use no cleaning agents on the heating elements at all.

How to clean each part of a toaster oven

Each part has its own best method; the interior coating is the one to be gentle with.

KitchenAid’s guide recommends a baking soda and water paste for baked-on stains in toaster ovens and a nylon or polyester mesh pad for heavy spatter on nonstick walls. Consumer Reports suggests a mix of vinegar, warm water and dish soap for the interior, kept away from the elements.

How often should you clean a toaster oven?

Empty the crumb tray after every use, wipe the inside weekly, and do the full soak-and-scrub about once a month. Breville suggests a light weekly clean to stay ahead of buildup, because spills bake on harder each time you use the oven.

Clean sooner if the oven smokes when it heats up, smells of old food, or the glass is too brown to see through. If you also air fry in it, clean the basket after each use as described in how to clean an air fryer. For a plain pop-up toaster, see how to clean a toaster.

Mistakes to avoid

• Spraying oven cleaner inside a countertop oven.
• Lining the crumb tray with foil, which can make the oven overheat.
• Scrubbing the nonstick walls with steel wool.
• Wiping the elements while they are still warm, or with cleaner on the cloth.
• Plugging the oven back in before the inside and tray are dry.
• Forgetting the crumb tray for weeks, so it smokes every time you toast.