How to Clean Your Pizza Oven

A pizza oven is just like any appliance, it requires some cleaning and maintenance to maintain longevity and stellar performance. Luckily pizza oven maintenance and pizza oven cleaning doesn’t require too much time and effort as long as they are done with some frequency. This guide will break down everything you need to know about pizza oven cleaning from how to clean a gas pizza oven to how to clean a wood-fired pizza oven.

Prep Before You Clean

Before you start to clean your oven you’ll want to gather all of the tools and materials you’ll need to do so. This will depend on if you are working with a wood-fired or gas oven. For wood-fired ovens you may want to have a brush or vacuum on hand to clean up any soot. For the face of the oven, you’ll want to have liquid Bar Keepers friend and a microfiber cloth. For the powder coated roof, you’ll just want to use a damp rag. We also have an organic oven cleaning kit that is non-abrasive and great for the exterior of the oven and includes both a cleaner and a protectant.

How to Clean a Wood-Fired Pizza Oven

Cleaning your wood-fired pizza oven is easy with just a few simple steps.

1. You’ll want to build a fire like you would when making pizza.

2. Close the chamber door and let the fire burn for 20-30 minutes. For really bad stains you can build the fire directly over the stains you want to remove.

3. Once everything has burned off you’ll want to turn off your oven and let it cool. You can even return to it the next day or day after.

4. Once it’s cool, you’ll want to take your brush and shovel and clean up all of the soot and ash. The stain should have burned off in the process. 

How to Clean a Gas Pizza Oven

The best way to clean a pizza oven is to let the pizza oven clean itself. Just like your home oven has a self-cleaning mode, our pizza ovens are designed to clean themselves.

1. Turn the pizza oven to a temperature between 700-900 degrees. If you have a lot to burn off, the higher temperature is better.

2. Let the fire burn for 20-30 minutes. It should incinerate any leftover toppings or whatever else may have fallen on the stones.

3. When the oven cools down, take a brush and brush out anything that’s left on the stones.

4. Your oven is now clean and ready to use again.

Cleaning Your Pizza Stones

Cleaning your pizza stones is easy, even if you happen to spill a little cheese or splash a little grease. For a gas oven you’ll want to turn the temperature of the oven way up, between 700-900 degrees and let whatever is on the stones burn off. It’ll generally take around 20-30 minutes. With a wood-fired oven the concept is the same. Build a fire (if the stain is bad, build it right over the stain) and simply burn it away. Once everything has cooled down a bit you’ll use your brush to sweep up any remnants. The brush we have has a scraper on the back for any really pesky toppings. This is the same method for both our standard stones and Saputo stones.

Cleaning underneath the stones is a lot like cleaning underneath your couch, you are sure to find crumbs you didn’t know were there. If you'd like to use a shop vac with a brush attachment to clean any debris that may have fallen underneath the stones, this is fine to do, just make sure to remove the stones gently.

How Often Should You Clean Your Pizza Oven?

Outside of the oven

You likely don’t need to really scrub the outside of your oven every day but depending on the elements around you, you may want to clean it once a week or every few times you use it. If you are in a salt water environment, you’ll want to get in the habit of wiping down your oven each time (and keeping a cover on) so the salt water doesn’t erode the stainless steel. If you don’t, it’s up to you how you’d like your oven to look and if it’s collecting a lot of dirt.

Inside of the oven

The inside of your oven should be cleaned after each use.

Mistakes to Avoid When Cleaning Your Pizza Oven

 One of the most common mistakes people make when cleaning the outside of the oven is not paying attention to the direction they are going in. When cleaning the outside you’ll want to follow the grain of the stainless steel from left to right. If you go in a circular pattern, you’ll scratch swirls or circles into the front of your oven. 

Do NOT use any cleaner inside your oven. Again, our ovens are pretty much self-cleaning and putting any chemicals near a fire is a dangerous idea.

FAQs

Q: How to clean a pizza oven?

A: You can clean your pizza oven in a few simple steps. Start by burning a fire inside your pizza oven for 20-30 minutes to burn off any stains on the stones, then brush away or vacuum any debris once cool. Our guide gives plenty of pizza oven cleaning tips from how to best clean your stones to how to clean out the exterior of the oven. 

Q: What if I live by salt water?

A: For those that live by salt water, you’ll want to make sure to use our  Pizza Oven Cleaning Kit and invest in a cover. Salt water can erode and rust stainless steel so you’ll want to both wipe down your oven often and apply the protectant. You’ll want to make sure to put on your cover when the oven is not in use.

Q: How do I remove burnt food from my pizza stones?

A: Removing burnt food from your pizza stones is easy. Simply turn up your gas oven or build a fire in your wood-fired oven to burn off the remnants stuck on your stones. This should take about 20-30 minutes. Once it turns to ash and cools simply brush out the remains and your clean stones are ready for use again. The video below shows how easy it is to get rid of burnt food.

Q: What do I need to clean my pizza oven?

A: A metal bristle brush with a scraper on the back is a great tool to have to clean your pizza oven. It allows you to brush away any ash or scrape off any burnt food from your stones. This video demonstrates how to use your brush.

About Fontana Forni Pizza Ovens

Fontana Forni outdoor pizza ovens offer you the best of both worlds; all of our hybrid, gas and wood-fired pizza ovens feature modern materials and 100% Italian construction. Discover the benefits of our pizza ovens online or call 877-223-8056.

Our Oven Cleaning Kit contains two bottles, a cleaner and a protectant. This kit is to be used on the exterior of the oven. We also sell a great brass bristle brush for the inside of your oven and a shovel to easily clean up ash from the wood-fired ovens.