How to Remove Your Oven Door

Every now and then, there comes a time for a little extreme home appliance repair. When your oven door is malfunctioning, this is one of those times. Oven doors have no special electrical components and circuits, they are purely mechanical. This means that if you can operate the mechanisms, you can do everything from repair to replacing your own home oven door.

Whether your goal is to finally clean the inside of the glass or to replace the oven door entirely, it’s important to first safely remove your current oven door. Join us as we dive right into this repair. 

Gathering Supplies

Always start a repair by gathering your supplies so you don’t find yourself rummaging for a screwdriver halfway through. For this repair, you need very few tools or supplies, but the following list will be helpful to complete the steps.

• Screwdriver
• Putty Knife
• Work Gloves or Shop Towels
• A Partner (Optional)

Safety First

Never neglect safety in an appliance repair. For many repairs, you need to unplug the appliance to be fully safe. For this one, simply make sure that the oven is fully off and at no risk of heating up while you work on it. If you’ve been cooking recently, test the oven’s temperature carefully before resolving to work directly with the door. 

Two Types of Oven Door Fastening

Not all ovens are built the same, particularly when it comes to the hinges. All oven hinges are fastened in one way or another, but the method is not always predictable. Some ovens have hinge screws securing the door to the hinges. Other ovens have a special hinge latch that ensures the door can’t slide off the hinges while in use. Some have both hinge latches and screws.

We’ll share instructions for both so that no matter what type of oven you have, you can safely remove the door. 

Remove the Oven Door Hinge Screws

If your oven has hinge screws, you’ll need a screwdriver or nut driver handy to remove them. But first, you’ll need to access them.

– Open the Oven Door All the Way

Start by opening the oven door all the way, so that the door is parallel to the ground. It will catch partway open and we’ll use this setting later. For now, your goal is to expose as much hinge as possible.

– Locate the Hinge Screws

Take a look at how the door connects to the hinges. If you see a screw, one or two for each hinge, connecting the door and hinge then these are your targets.

– Remove the Screws

With your screwdriver or appropriate nut driver, remove the screws securing the oven door to its hinges. Set these screws aside in a safe place. You will need them later to either reinstall the same door or install a new door in its place. 

Release the Oven Hinge Lock

If your oven has hinge latches, you may not need a screwdriver but you will need to know what you’re looking at. A hinge latch is a little switch that wraps the hinge and flips over the end to ensure that the door cant’ slide off the hinge.

– Open the Oven Door All the Way

To discover if you have hinge latches, open your oven door all the way and take a look at how the hinges connect to the door. 

– Locate the Hinge Locks

If you see a little metal tab wrapping the end where the door and hinge connect, that’s your hinge latch. These will clearly be flippable and may have a very small tab for your finger to catch.

– Pry the Locks Open with a Screwdriver or Putty Knife

Don’t try to pull the latch with your fingers unless you are wearing work gloves. Sometimes the metal edges can be sharp. Instead, use a flat screwdriver or a putty knife to flip up the hinge lock on each side of the door. 

Remove the Oven Door

Removing the oven door is easy to understand but harder to do than you might think. If you’re not especially strong, or tall, ask a friend to help you with the oven door so that you are able to fully lift it, then carefully put it back down again.

– Set the Door in the Broil Position (Ajar)

To prepare your oven door for lifting, start by setting it into the Broil position. For those of you who don’t broil, this is the cracked-open position where the oven door naturally stops ajar, mostly closed. Place your oven door in the ajar position.

– Hold the Door From Both Sides

Firmly grasp the oven door from both sides. Use gloves or a towel if the edge is too sharp or too sticky to hold comfortably. If you’re lifting alone, grasp both sides of the oven door with both hands, ready to lift off the hinges evenly. If you’re lifting with help, each of you stands on one side of the door and grasp your side firmly,

– Lift the Oven Door Off Its Hinges

Carefully lift the oven door off its hinges. Make sure the right and left sides rise at the same rate. You may have to wiggle or ‘swoop’ the door a bit to fully pull it off the hinges.

– Carefully Put Down the Oven Door

Normally, we wouldn’t tell you how to put down a removed item, but oven doors are both heavy and typically greasy. Very carefully put down your oven door either on the floor or a sturdy work surface. Be sure to avoid dropping the oven door on its edge or on your foot, and don’t trust flimsy tables with the weight. 

Continue With Your Repair Plans

Congratulations! You have just successfully removed your own oven door. Whether you plan to clean, repair, and replace it or install a new oven door is entirely up to you. Now that you understand the way your oven door was originally installed, reinstalling or putting in a new one is as simple as reversing the process. For more appliance care tips, contact us today!