3 Quick and Easy Oven Cleaning Home Remedies
Cleaning the oven is undoubtedly one of the most difficult aspects of keeping the kitchen looking pristine. Often it takes a great deal of physical strength to get the grease and grime off an extensively used oven. Worse still are the harmful smells of industrial-strength oven cleaners available in the market. Popular oven cleaners have highly caustic chemical such as butane and sodium hydroxide that can be hazardous to your family’s health.
The good news is that there are effective homemade solutions for oven cleaning that are safer not only for you but also for the environment. If your oven does not have a self-cleaning function, here are three relatively chemical-free ways of keeping your oven sparkling clean.
1. Baking soda with water
Use water and large quantities of baking soda to make a paste. The baking soda paste does not have an unpleasant odour like the harsh oven cleaners available in the market. Apply generous amounts of the paste to the walls and doors of your oven using a cloth. Spread the paste evenly. Let the paste remain for a couple of hours. This softens the stains, which can now be removed using a wallpaper scraper. Use a soft cloth dipped in warm water to wipe clean any residual paste and stains on the oven. Your oven will now be sparkling clean.
2. Lemon juice with water
Citrus oils have natural degreasing properties. Cut two lemons and squeeze the juice onto a baking dish that is one-third full of water. Place the lemon pieces in the dish as well and put the dish in the oven at a low temperature for about half-an hour (or longer depending on the state of the oven). The vapours from the lemon solution loosen the grime stuck on the oven walls. Turn off the oven, remove the baking dish, and let the oven cool. Remove the grime in the oven using a scouring pad, the same lemon solution, and a sponge. Wipe dry with a soft cloth. This technique is great for cleaning convection ovens.
3. Baking soda and vinegar
Spray vinegar inside the oven and sprinkle baking soda over it. Allow the mixture to fizz for 30 minutes to an hour depending on how bad the grime situation is. Like the lemon juice method, scrub the walls and base of the oven using a scouring sponge. Since vinegar is a great degreaser, dip the sponge in vinegar as you scrub. Wipe clean the oven using water and a soft cloth.
If you have been using chemical oven cleaners, perhaps it is time you tried one of these homemade oven-cleaning solutions that are safer for your family as well as the environment.