A lot goes around in your ovens, like grease buildup, oil, food spills, and grime. These things aren’t easy to remove, but an oven cleaner makes the job easy. All you have to do is spray, wait and wipe. Oven cleaners contain strong and acidic substances that remove stubborn grime from ovens. All these materials aren’t safe for your kitchen countertop.

Oven cleaners can corrode, discolor, fade/stain, or damage your countertops. A typical oven cleaner contains chemicals like turpentine, butane, potassium hydroxide, monoethanolamine, sodium hydroxide, and butoxydiglycol. All these chemicals are known to have severe health impacts if consumed. So, it is in your best interest not to use oven cleaners on kitchen countertops.

Oven Cleaner Effect on Different Types of Kitchen Counters

Granite Countertops

Granite is a porous material. Liquids can enter the countertop’s surface and damage it. However, granite doesn’t react too quickly and is considered safe against corrosive liquids. Still, you don’t want your kitchen countertop exposed to harmful chemicals.

Best Way to clean a Granite Countertop: Wipe spills instantly. Use mild dish soap & water for regular cleaning. You can use baking soda to clean stains. Commercial granite countertop cleaners work great too. Make sure you don’t use harsh chemicals, acidic cleaners, or abrasive scrubbers on granite countertops. Reseal the countertop once a year to keep it in good health.

Marble Countertops

Marble is generally inert but more porous than granite, making it susceptible to damage. Oven cleaner can enter the rock and may stain it.

Best Way to clean a Marble Countertop: You can clean it with a mixture of dish soap and water. Never use acidic cleaners, vinegar, or harsh chemicals on a marble countertop. Please note that water may also leave stains on marble countertops.

Quartz Countertops

Quartz is non-porous and generally resistant to stains, but we don’t want you to risk your family’s health by cleaning it with oven cleaner.

Best Way to clean a Quartz Countertop: Use commercial cleaners or dish soap & water to clean quartz countertops.

Tile Countertops

Tile countertops are not common nowadays, but you’ll find them in older homes and retro-style kitchens. Both tiles and grout lines are highly porous, and strong chemicals aren’t their friends. Oven cleaners can discolor the tiles, remove grout, and damage the countertop’s structural integrity.

Best Way to clean a Tile Countertop: Wipe down with surface after using to keep it clean and remove stains while they are fresh. You can use a commercial tile counter cleaner or dish soap and water for a deep clean. Make sure you scrub the grout lines while cleaning and reseal the damaged lines.

Wooden Countertops (Butcher’s Block)

Oven cleaners on a wooden countertop will cause a bubbling reaction. It will destroy the look, and you’ll either have to replace the countertops or undergo costly repairs to make them workable again.

Best Way to clean a Wooden Countertop: Use a mixture of water and a few drops of dish soap to clean wooden countertops. Make sure the sponge is damp and not dripping wet, as too much water is not good for wood. You may need to polish your wooden countertops depending on the type of wood.

Stainless Steel Countertops

Stainless steel countertops don’t absorb anything but may get discolored. Oven cleaner may also damage the protective coating on it.

Best Way to clean a Stainless Steel Countertop: Use dish soap and water for regular cleaning. Go for a commercial cleaner and a polisher for deep cleaning. You can also use diluted white vinegar to remove stubborn stains.

Formica (Laminate) Countertops

Laminate countertops are tough but still can’t resist an oven cleaner. It can get discolored when exposed to an oven cleaner.

Best Way to clean a Formica (Laminate) Countertop: You can use dish soap & water or a Formica countertop cleaner for best results.

What to do if you accidentally used an Oven Cleaner on a Countertop?

You may be able to restore your kitchen countertop if the damage is not too much. First, you must ensure that the entire cleaner is removed from the surface. You can rinse non-wooden countertops with water and then polish them to secure them from further damage. You may be able to restore the original look by removing the stains.

For the wooden countertop, clean the entire surface with soapy water or a commercial wooden countertop cleaner. Now apply wood oil to restore the original look.

Call a professional if these fixes don’t work. You may need to replace the countertop if other options don’t work.