How to Clean Your Pizza Oven

So, you’ve used your new Ooni oven to make some stellar pizzas. You’re happy and full and the oven is cooling down outside. All that’s left to do is clean and store it until your next pizza night. If you’re wondering just how to go about doing that, we’ve got you covered.

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, Ooni ovens can withstand the elements. However, they’re not indestructible. That’s why we created waterproof covers for bouts of harsher weather. (And psst… if you know that a blizzard or a hurricane is about to blow through, bring your oven inside for the duration.)

In addition to being tough, Ooni ovens were also built to be hassle-free. To that end, they’re largely self-cleaning, particularly when it comes to the inside of your oven. If you’ve got food debris on your stone or elsewhere inside your oven, simply run it at top temperature for 30 minutes. Most of that debris will burn right off! After that, you can use your Ooni Pizza Oven Brush to remove anything that’s left over. Then, if you really want to, you can wipe out the inside with a dry cloth or paper towel (but only once your oven is completely cool).

If you’ve got really stubborn bits, once your oven cools, very carefully remove your baking stone, flip it over and place it back in your oven. The next time you cook, the bottom of your stone will thoroughly clean itself.

And the outside? That comes clean with the wipe of a damp cloth. Take care to dry it immediately and avoid abrasive cleaning products or those with harsh chemicals. Leaving your oven wet can encourage rusting, and harsh chemicals can corrode the oven or worse, contaminate it. This is where you’re cooking your dinner, after all!

While the above advice will take care of most Ooni ovens, here are a few more oven-specific tips:

FYRA 12
If you’re using an Ooni Fyra 12, you might run into an oily blacksubstance on the outside of your pellet hopper or chimney. While it might look alarming at first, it’s totally harmless and cleans off easily with a good scrub of soap and warm water. That sticky stuff is creosote (aka excess soot), which is just an indication of incomplete combustion. This could mean your pellets aren’t burning efficiently, or the airflow is restricted. There are a few solutions to this: Take care to use hardwood pellets only, ensure they stay dry by storing them in an airtight container, avoid overloading the pellet hopper, and keep your chimney baffle open while cooking.

PRO 16
The Ooni Pro 16 has lots of stainless steel parts, which means that it’s slightly more susceptible to rust and patina on the outside. Bar Keepers Friend or Weiman Stainless Steel Cleaner and Polish both work well to restore the shine. Just be sure to use non-abrasive cleaning products and check that the oven is completely dry before storing.

And that’s it! We figure the less time you spend cleaning your oven, the more time you’ll spend making and eating great pizza with friends and family.

If you run into issues that we haven’t answered here, reach out to us! Our customer support team is amazing and is always there to help.