Cooking can often lead to messy, spills and stains. Tomato stains on anything white, oil splotches on your suede shoes, and food cooked onto your stovetop. But, did you expect your cooking ware to work against you?
Well, aluminum foil can prove to be nasty if it ends up melting in the oven. It might have just fallen off your oven tray, or maybe you left it behind when unwrapping some food you were desperate to eat, either way, it can be a pain.
Its shiny surface is really eye-catching and can make your oven look like a low-rent disco ball.
Luckily, there are a bunch of methods to use to remove this shiny mess from the inside of your oven, some using things you can find in your cupboard!
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Is Melted Aluminum Foil Toxic?
We’ve all come close to consuming a flake or two of aluminum foil. Halfway through a meal, you discover a few pieces of it in your food. It’s not exactly like finding treasure, but it’s not a disaster either.
Obviously, it’s best to avoid consuming it, but if a tiny piece made its way onto your fork, you’re probably okay.
Aluminum foil hasn’t been found to cause any health issues in adults, and although it shouldn’t be confused, cooking with it and even chunks of melted foil in your oven are perfectly fine.
However, removing aluminum foil from your oven is important because it can trap grease, which burns, and chars.
This smoke can taint your food, create a cloud of smoke and it will probably set your fire alarm off. So it’s best to just deal with it when it happens and get to cleaning.
The Steam Method
Let’s begin with a simple and natural method. Steam is a great cleaner of all things sticky and gross, and your oven is no exception.
This method requires a few ingredients and for you to not use your oven for 12 hours. So make sure everyone in your house knows that midnight pizza rolls are off the menu!
What You Will Need:
- Water.
- Baking soda.
- White vinegar.
- A cotton towel.
How to Remove Foil from Oven Using Steam:
- In a bowl, combine a few tablespoons of baking soda and a dash of white vinegar. Don’t worry, the fizzing is natural! It’s the chemical reaction of the ingredients neutralizing each other, and it will slow and eventually stop.
- Once the fizzing slows, continue adding small amounts of the vinegar, stirring as you go.
- Stop adding vinegar once a thick, peanut butter-like paste is formed.
- Apply the paste to the foil and leave overnight.
- In the morning, wipe away the paste.
- Soak a cotton towel with water. Make sure it’s very wet, as you don’t want it to catch fire in the next step. Use a cotton towel, as it’s less likely to catch fire than a synthetic fiber towel.
- Place the towel over the foiled area of the oven.
- Set the oven to 200 degrees F, shut the door, and leave it for 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it to ensure everything is safe and not on fire!
- After 30 minutes, turn the oven off, wait for it to cool, and remove the towel and foil. It should easily peel away.
- Clean the oven with some warm water and a cloth.
There are quite a few steps, but the whole process mainly requires waiting. Less time spent scrubbing away at the area, and more time letting the paste will get to work whilst you sleep.
How nice! Stick with the process and you should be left with a fresh, foil-free oven.
The Over Cleaner Method
When you think about cleaning your oven, the phrase ‘oven cleaner’ comes to mind.
It’s a little obvious, but if you have some in your cupboards, it may just do the trick. You can use things like Easy Off, despite the labels warning.
You Will Need:
- A razor blade.
- Over cleaner, (one that is sodium hydroxide-based).
Steps to Remove Melted Foil Using an Over Cleaner:
- Make sure the oven is off and cooled. Open a window and/or turn on the extractor fan for some ventilation.
- Very carefully scrape off the majority of the foil using a razor blade.
- Spray the oven cleaner over the affected area.
- Let sit for 20-30 minutes, then wipe clean.
- Repeat these steps if necessary.
- Make sure to wash the area thoroughly at the end of the process to remove any excess chemicals that certainly aren’t delicious to ingest.
This method is usually pretty effective, but if your foil residue is particularly stubborn, check out some of the following methods.
The Lemon and Vinegar Method
This gentle method works best if the foil accident happened recently. If you noticed some foil making its way to your shiny, clean oven floor, follow these steps.
What You Will Need:
- Paper towels.
- Steel wool.
- Lemon juice.
- White vinegar.
- Baking soda.
Steps to Remove Foil Using Lemon and Vinegar:
- Stop the oven as soon as you notice the foil has landed on the oven floor.
- Turn off the oven, and pick off the pieces of foil that haven’t yet melted.
- Grab a paper towel and attempt to remove the semi-melted foil.
- Liberally squeeze lemon over the area, and add a dash of white vinegar.
- Set the oven to its highest high temperature, and wait 20 minutes. Then turn off the oven, and let it cool.
- Now, wipe away the lemon and vinegar solution, sprinkle over some baking soda, and begin gently scrubbing the area with some steel wool. Be careful with this step, as the wool can erode the enamel coating of the oven.
The Naval Jelly Rust Dissolver Method
This method is best left as a last resort as it has been said by some users to have left small, dark marks on the bottom of the oven. But these marks are probably more aesthetically pleasing than lumps of aluminum foil, so if you’re okay with the potential side effects, this method could one for you. This method should also be avoided if your oven has a blue interior, as it may remove the bluing from the steel.
Again, pizza rolls may be off the menu. This method means your oven is out of action for 24 hours, so plan ahead and maybe order take-out.
What You Will Need:
- A razor blade.
- Naval jelly rust dissolver.
- A cloth.
How to Remove Melted Foil with Naval Jelly.
- Make sure the oven is off and cooled. Crank open a window and turn on the extractor fan to ventilate the area.
- Scrape as much of the foil off as possible using a razor blade. Be careful.
- Liberally apply the naval jelly to the remaining foil areas.
- Let the naval jelly get to work for 24 hours. Ideally, leave the oven door open for as much of this time as possible, the jelly will work better.
- Wipe off the naval jelly and clean the area with a wet cloth.
- Repeat the process if necessary, or simply remove the small amounts of remaining foil with a razor again.
How Do I Remove Melted Aluminum Foil from a Glass Stove Top?
The steps are similar to the oven cleaner method. Grab a razor blade, and scrape off as much foil as possible. Proceed with caution to avoid scratching the stovetop.
Then, liberally spray some oven cleaner over the area, and let sit for 20-30 minutes. Wipe away the solution, and the stovetop should be back to its gleaming self!
To Summarize
Foil is a kitchen staple, and has a plethora of uses. But if you’re not careful, it can become a permanent fixture in your oven. Cleaning the melted aluminum foil as soon as it happens will make every method easier. Hopefully, you have at least a few of the ingredients listed to help you tackle the accident, and you don’t immediately need to make a massive thanksgiving meal. These methods are tried and tested and don’t cost the earth.