Oven Cleaning Using The Simplest of Ingredients

I heard about using baking soda and vinegar to clean my dirty oven. I had my doubts. 

I rarely clean my oven (can’t say never, because in eight years, I have cleaned it once, maybe twice). If the stuff burnt on the bottom doesn’t catch fire, I can wait until later to clean it, right? Is it bad to admit that one of the two times that I cleaned my oven was because I did catch the baked on pot pie filling on fire?

My first time cleaning it was with that oven cleaner in a can. I hated every minute of it. My mind kept wandering to, “What am I breathing in?” I made the kids go outside while I sprayed it and it sat in the oven. The next time was much less traumatic. I felt so smart when I thought to use baking soda. This time I remembered to get the camera out to take before and after pictures! So proud of myself – nothing like an idea for a blog post to motivate me to stop procrastinating!

What you will need…

1 box of Baking Soda – I started ¾ of a box (the big box) and I still had some left when I was done. Remember, my oven was beyond gross so you might need as much.

2-3 cups Water – you can put it in a spray bottle or just sprinkle it from a measuring cup.

2-3 old wash cloths or rags & pail of water for clean up

Rubber gloves

Spray bottle

Optional – ½ to 1 cup Vinegar and scrubby cloth (i.e. non-scratch Scotch Brite)

Prep work needed

1-I took off my oven door and took out the heating element. OK, my husband did, but I was about to clean the oven (nowhere near my list of things that I want to do), a little help is acceptable.

2-Mix the vinegar & water together in a spray bottle and shake well.

Here is how it went…

Off came the door and out came the heating element. Not necessary, but makes it a bit easier. Out came the vacuum (shop vac suggested if you have one) to suck up all of the loose crunchy stuff. I did mention that my oven was filthy, right?

Spread enough heavy sprinkles of baking soda to cover the bottom and pay special attention to the crunchy black areas. Next came lots of spraying. I wanted to see the paste sitting at the bottom of the oven. At some point, I remembered the sides of the oven, so I sprayed them with the water and vinegar mix, then gently tossed some baking soda onto the sides. It was a little sloppy, but most of it stuck to the sides well enough to do the job.

Then I just let it sit. If your oven isn’t that dirty, you might just wait 30-45 minutes. Mine was bad and besides that we had plans that took us out of the house for the rest of the day. When I got home eight hours later, I sprayed a bit more of the vinegar and water mix to keep the baking soda moist. My hope was that it would continue its cleaning action while we slept.

Huge success! It was easy to wipe up and only a little elbow grease needed to get it sparkling! I had to scrub more the time I used the store bought cleaner in a can. I had easy and cheap supplies already on hand without fumes and it worked! All criteria for natural home cleaning solutions met!

Note to self for future oven cleaning – remember to clean the back wall of oven AND be careful not to push the connectors for the heating element into the hole at the back when wiping the back wall (oops).

For more home cleaning remedies, visit www.kristajean.com.

A Clear View Needed

Spring is here (it’s pretty much done in Florida though). The pollen coated everything including my screens and windows. I like clean windows so I try at least twice a year to clean all of the windows inside and out. The front and back doors are lucky to get more frequent attention, but the rest of them are easier to ignore.

Years ago, guilt about waste led me to trading in my wads of paper towels for old junk turned rag t-shirts. Now I can wash the inside and outside of all of our windows with two or three t-shirts that are then washed and put back under the kitchen sink for their next use. Before the shirts, a roll or more of paper towels would go in the trash.

My spray bottle started out with 50/50 mix of water and white vinegar. Today it can vary a bit (mainly due to distractions while pouring) and I usually add 10-20 drops of a citrus oil that is near or past its expiration date. If I have to smell this stuff as I spray it, I want it smell better than just vinegar.

Try it and let me know what you think!

You will need:

20 oz Spray Bottle (size is up to you, this is just what I have)

10 oz tap water (distilled would be another good choice, but tap is free)

10 oz white vinegar

2-3 old t-shirts (100% cotton is best)

Optional items:

10-20 drops of a citrus essential oil

Stool/ladder

You will need to:

Mix the water, vinegar and oil(s) in your spray bottle and shake well. If you have added essential oils, shake often while using. Remember oil and water do not mix, so between uses, the oils will float to the top instead of mixing with the cleaning solution.