How to Clean Your Pizza Oven
Whether you’re hosting a pizza party, experimenting with new recipes, or making dinner, your Ooni oven is simple to use and easy to look after. Check out these tips for cleaning your oven and keeping it in tip-top condition all year round.
Built for the outdoors
The first thing to know is that Ooni ovens are built to live outdoors. Tested in the harsh winters of Scotland, and used everywhere from the sunny Amalfi Coast to snow-covered Norway, our ovens can withstand the elements. However, they’re not indestructible. That’s why we created waterproof covers for when the weather gets wet. In the case of a blizzard or hurricane though, it’s best to bring your oven inside. This advice applies to all Ooni ovens, from the oldest (like the out-of-production Ooni Pro and Ooni 3) to our newest, the Ooni Volt 12.
Ooni ovens aren’t just tough, we design them to be fairly hassle-free. They’re largely self-cleaning, particularly when it comes to the inside of your oven. To be safe though, we always recommend wearing protective gloves when handling and cleaning your oven. If you’ve got food debris on your baking stone or elsewhere inside your oven, simply turn it on and run it at top temperatures for 30 minutes.
Brush, brush baby
Most of the debris will burn right off as you’re cooking. Use your Ooni Pizza Oven Brush to remove anything left over. For best results, use a sideways motion as well as a back-and-forth scrub to loosen any hardened or burnt bits, and then sweep the debris to the sides and out the front of the oven. If you want a super-clean finish, wipe out the inside of the oven with a dry cloth or paper towel once it’s completely cool.
Once your oven cools completely, and you still have stubborn bits, very carefully remove your baking stone, flip it over and place it back inside. The next time you cook, the bottom of your stone will thoroughly clean itself. Don’t worry about the stone changing color, that’s completely normal and a sign of a well-loved Ooni.
Still not clean? We recommend carefully removing the baking stone from the oven and then lightly scrubbing it with water (although this is rarely necessary). Then, dry the stone by placing it in your home oven at 140 °F (60 °C) for about 2 hours.
To clean the outside of the oven, wipe it with a damp cloth. Dry it immediately and avoid abrasive cleaning products or harsh chemicals. Leaving your oven wet can encourage rusting, and harsh chemicals can corrode the oven or worse, contaminate it. If you do have tougher stains on stainless steel components (like the Karu 12 or Ooni tables), clean with Bar Keeper’s Friend or Weiman’s Stainless Steel Cleaner and Polish.
This advice will take care of most Ooni ovens, but here are a few more oven-specific tips we’ve put together.
FYRA 12:
If you’re using a Fyra 12, you might encounter an oily, black substance on the outside of your pellet hopper or chimney. It might look alarming, but it’s totally harmless and cleans off easily with a good scrub of soap and warm water (just make sure to dry it off immediately after cleaning). That sticky stuff is called “creosote,” which is extra soot and an indication of incomplete combustion. You could be accumulating creosote because your pellets aren’t burning efficiently, or the oven’s airflow is restricted. Here are a few ways to prevent creosote build-up:
- Use only Ooni’s wood pellets.
- Store your pellets in an airtight container to keep them dry.
- Avoid overloading the pellet hopper, and keep your chimney baffle open while cooking.
KARU 12:
To clean a Karu 12, first, let it cool down completely, then use a dry paper towel to wipe away any soot. For tougher stains, clean with Bar Keepers Friend or Weiman’s Stainless Steel Cleaner and Polish.
For the inside of the Karu 12, let it cool down completely. If you’ve used solid fuels, remove the fuel tray and dispose of any cooled ashes into a fire pit, compost pile, or any other environmentally-friendly waste disposal option available. Use the Ooni Pizza Oven Brush to clean excess soot from the fuel tray, followed by a dry paper towel to wipe away soot, and always avoid using water to clean the inside of your oven.
KARU 16: If you’re using a Karu 16, you can follow the same instructions for cleaning the inside and outside as the Karu 12. To clean the glass door, wipe down the glass using a dry paper towel to remove the bulk of the soot. Next, apply a solution of 1 part vinegar and 3 parts water to the glass using a clean towel or cloth. Let it sit for 5 minutes, and use the coarse side of a sponge to clean away the solution. Rinse the glass with water and use paper towels to dry the glass completely.
If you’re using a Karu 12G, you can follow the same instructions for cleaning the inside or outside as the Karu 12 and Karu 16.
Before cleaning and storage, always ensure that your Ooni Volt is completely cool. This can take over 90 minutes after you turn it off. To clean the powder-coated shell, wipe it with a dry, non-abrasive cloth, then clean with a slightly damp cloth. Make sure that the surface is fully dry before storing.
For any internal stainless steel parts, wipe them with a dry, non-abrasive cloth. For the stone baking board, use the Ooni Pizza Oven Brush to clear any debris, excess flour or food. Do not apply liquid or food directly to the stone, submerge the stone in liquid or use cleaning agents.
And that’s it!
We want to help you spend less time cleaning your oven so you can spend more time making and eating great pizza with friends and family. If you run into issues that we haven’t answered here, please reach out to us! Our customer support team is always here to help.
Dana De Greff is a writer based in Austin,Texas. When she’s not eating pizza and working as Ooni’s Content Editor, you can find her reading, biking and searching for the best al pastor tacos in the city.
