How to clean an oven with a natural cleaner
Cleaning the oven is usually a twice or thrice yearly task most of us approach with dread. It’s time consuming, messy and, depending on your technique, often not completely effective. Then there are the chemicals required. Strong enough to warrant wearing protective gear and plastered with safety warnings, they aren’t exactly a walk in the park to have in your home. You may have tried a variety of natural cleaners in your quest for a clean oven and found that they came up wanting. Fortunately, we’ve got an easy, completely non-toxic solution to clean your oven. Read on to find out more.
You’ll need:
- Baking soda
- Water
- Rubber gloves
- Damp chux cloth
- Plastic or silicone spatula
- Spray bottle
- White vinegar
Method:
- Remove the oven racks: Remove anything you have inside the oven and put aside to either clean separately or pop in the dishwasher (if dishwasher safe).
- Make a baking soda paste: In a small bowl, mix a 1/2 cup of baking soda with a few tablespoons of water. Adjust the ratio of both as needed until you have a thick but spreadable paste.
- Coat your oven: Spread the paste all over the interior surfaces of your oven, steering clear of the heating elements. You can use gloves for this part to protect your skin and nails from dying out. The baking soda will turn a brownish colour as you rub it in. It also might be chunkier in some places than others. That is fine. Just try to coat the whole oven to the best of your abilities.
- Let it sit overnight: Allow the baking soda mixture to sit and activate for at least 12 hours, or overnight.
- Wipe out the oven: After 12 hours or overnight, take a damp chux and wipe out as much of the dried baking soda paste as you can. Use a plastic or silicone spatula to help scrape off the paste as needed.
- Spray a little vinegar: Put a little vinegar in a spray bottle and spritz everywhere you still see baking soda residue in your oven. The vinegar will react with the baking soda and gently foam.
- Do a final wipe down: Take your damp cloth and wipe out the remaining foamy vinegar-baking-soda mixture. Repeat until all the baking soda residue is gone. Add more water or vinegar to your cloth as needed while wiping to really get the oven clean and shiny.
- Replace your oven racks: Replace the oven racks and anything else you keep in your oven, and you're done!
Have you cleaned out your oven naturally? Did it work effectively?
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