Healthy Oven Cleaning in Less than 5 minutes
It’s tempting to reach for one of those all-in-one oven cleaners, but the warnings about chemical fumes can be off-putting. There's a more natural way to get the job done. Here’s an 8-step guide, and in five minutes (plus soaking time) you'll have a sparkling appliance ready for action.
- Make sure your oven is switched off and cooled down. Before you start scrubbing, start by cleaning the oven racks
- Mix your own cleaning solution. In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of baking soda with a few tablespoons of water until you have a paste-like substance.
- Cover the oven in the cleaning paste. Spread your homemade paste all over the interior of your oven using rubber gloves. If the paste turns a brownish color, this is normal. Make sure to cover every part of the oven, including the glass door.
- Let it soak. Let the oven sit in the baking soda solution for 12 hours (or overnight).
- Wipe down the oven. Take a damp dish cloth and wipe down the interior as much as you can. A spatula can be used to scrape any of the tough, dried-out baking soda in hard-to-reach places.
- Spray it with vinegar. Put some white vinegar in a spray bottle and spritz it all over the interior to ensure a sparkling, thoroughly clean. When vinegar reacts with the baking soda solution residue, it will start to foam - this is normal!
- Wipe down the oven one last time. Take a damp cloth and do a final wipe-down, cleaning every nook and cranny to make sure any remaining bits of baking soda is gone. Spray extra vinegar to make sure it is100% clean.
Replace the oven racks. Once the interior of your oven is fully cleaned and dry, wipe down the oven racks and put them back inside. Then, hey presto! Your oven will be sparkling clean and ready to be used again.
Source: bhg.com