How to Clean a Pizza Oven?

By Kitchen Warrior | Pizza Tools Advice

It is almost certain that your pizza will lose a few crumbs or pieces of cheese when you slide it into your pizza oven - over time, these will become charred and infuse your food with a burnt taste. This is why it is essential that we maintain and clean our ovens in order to avoid our food taking on weird flavors and smells.

However, cleaning a pizza oven is a lot more complicated than it may seem. We will be discussing how you should go about this task and some tips that will make the process much easier.

What Tools Are Needed?

If you want to clean your oven perfectly, you will need specific tools. We have made a list of equipment that you can not go without when trying to clean your pizza oven perfectly:

  • A shovel
  • A copper wire brush
  • Water
  • Vinegar
  • A large brass wire brush
  • A cloth
  • A sponge
  • Bellows

How Often Should The Oven Be Cleaned?

If it is possible, you should clean your oven after you use it, as this will prevent ash and debris from building up. Your cleaning jobs would be much quicker and easier as there will be very little work for you to do.

However, we know that it is not convenient or likely that you will have the time to clean your pizza oven every day. As a general rule, you should aim to follow this cleaning process at least once every two weeks.

Wait For The Oven To Cool Down

If you have recently used the oven, you need to wait for it to cool down before you can begin cleaning it. Brick pizza ovens take especially long to lose heat, so make sure that you are careful.

Scrape The Debris

As we have mentioned, your pizza is very likely to lose crumbs or pieces of food while it is cooking in the oven. To begin cleaning, you need to scrape all of this debris away with the large brass brush. It is very important that you are careful while doing this as you will not want to damage the oven floor.

Once you have removed all of the debris, you can use the bellows or the copper wire brush to clear and scrape the oven floor. If you have a very large pizza oven and notice that you have heaps of ash on the oven floor, it would be more suitable to go in with the shovel in order to remove it.

The roof of the oven is also likely to be dirty because of the smoke and ash. To clean this, you can simply use a damp cloth. We recommend that you wipe the roof down at least twice.

Clean The Grease And Oil Stains

You will notice stains on the floor of your pizza oven. These are most likely from grease and oil dripping off of your food and burning into the oven floor.

Start by warming up the pizza oven. The heat will dissolve some of the fat and make it much easier for you to clean. After turning the oven off again, simply take a damp sponge to the oven floor, making sure to pay extra attention to the stains.

However, this will not remove all of the grease. You will need to go in again with a sponge that is soaked in vinegar. Be sure to wipe down the entire oven floor.

It is important that you stay away from detergents when cleaning your pizza oven as they can alter the flavor and taste of your food. More so, the chemicals from the detergents might react dangerously when exposed to fire.

Look Out For Cracks

It is always a smart idea to check your pizza oven for any cracks. It is important to note that hairline cracks are common - the problem occurs when they become bigger. This is because soot and ash can be deposited in these cracks, making it very hard to clean.

You can now purchase steel pizza ovens that do not have this problem. Additionally, they are more energy-efficient, lose less heat, and are much easier to clean and maintain than brick models.

Clean Out The Exhaust Stacks

Many people forget about exhaust stacks when cleaning out their pizza oven. However, this is very important as they can build up with soot. It can lead to safety issues if the stacks become blocked. More so, smoke will be trapped in the pizza oven, which will affect the taste and flavor of your food.

If you have a large pizza oven, it is a better idea to hire a professional chimney sweep. This is because it requires specific tools and equipment to get the job done right. If you do not clean the stacks properly, a chimney fire might occur when you try to use the oven again.

Conclusion

It is very important that we clean your pizza ovens properly in order to avoid food being infused with weird tastes and flavors. In order to do this, you will need a shovel, a copper wire brush, water, vinegar, a large brass wire brush, a cloth, a sponge, and bellows.

You should never try to clean the oven when it is still hot as you risk burning yourself. Start by scraping any ash and debris using the large brass wire brush. You can use the bellows or the copper wire brush to remove this from the oven.

If you notice grease and oil stains, heat up the oven until they dissolve. Then, once you have turned the oven off again, tape a damp cloth to the stains. You will need to go over them again with a sponge that is soaked in vinegar. Do not forget to wipe down the roof of the oven as well.

It is very important that you hire a professional chimney sweep to clear out the oven exhaust stacks. You should also look for any cracks in the roof of the oven as soot and ash often get trapped there.