How to Clean Melted Plastic from Inside an Oven

While most people know that plastic cannot go in the oven, a moment where you're not paying attention can leave you with a big, melted mess. Although plastic is very difficult to remove from the inside of an oven, it can be done with the right tools and some elbow grease.

Step 1: Remove any racks from the inside of the oven. If these racks have any melted plastic on them, stick them in the sink with warm water and dish washing liquid.

Step 2: Attempt to remove as much of the plastic as quickly as possible while wearing gloves using a putty knife. Deposit any plastic you are able to remove in a can for easily disposal. Once you have removed as much as possible, shut the oven door.

Step 3: Turn on the oven. Set it to the warming setting, or 250 degrees. Let the oven get to temperature, then shut it off once more.

Step 4: Immediately attempt to scrape away more of the warm, softened, melted plastic using your metal putty knife.

Step 5: Continue removing the melted plastic until most of it has been removed by the putty knife. You can heat the oven several times if necessary to soften all of the plastic.

Step 6: Use steel wool to remove the final bits of plastic from the interior surface of your oven.

Step 7: Let your oven cycle through the self cleaning setting to burn off the last remnants of the plastic. If you do not have a self cleaning oven, use oven cleaner to remove the last bits of the melted plastic from the surface of your oven.

TIP: Oven cleaner can give you serious chemical burns if you are not careful. Be sure to wear gloves and eye protection, follow all of the manufacturer's instructions, and work in a well ventilated area.

Step 8: Clean the racks using steel wool and oven cleaner if necessary. Dry the racks and slide them into place and into the oven.