If you are not among the lucky individuals that own a self-cleaning oven, you must prepare to get your hands dirty from time to time. Every oven gets kind of messy over time and it is by cleaning it properly that you can ensure it can continue to serve its function well enough. What is more, you need to clean it, because otherwise an oven becomes a fire hazard, if the burnt on debris inside reach critical level.
What better way to deal with this task than resort to an eco-friendly solution, which you most certainly have in your pantry. Cleaning with baking soda has long been regarded as a very effective way of dealing with all sorts of spoils inside the oven. The following guide aims to show you how to use this product to your advantage and deal with what is considered a rather troublesome chores in an easy manner. Just follow these steps:
- Take out the oven racks – before you proceed with the actual cleaning, you will need to make way inside the oven. Empty it from the oven racks, oven thermometer, pizza stone or anything else that may be inside. Each of these items should be cleaned separately, dried properly and then returned in the oven after finishing the whole cleaning process. Consider soaking the items in water/dish soap sudsy mix, to weaken any grease and easily scrub them to perfection after that.
- Make a baking soda paste – next thing you need to do is fix your main cleaning solution. What you need is half a cup of baking soda and a few tablespoons of water, just enough to make a paste-like compound. You can add any of the two ingredients, till you reach the right consistency, which can then be spread.
- Spread the paste – when you have the paste, you have to spread it inside the oven. This is where things get a little messy. You must use your fingers for this task, because you must ensure that every nook and cranny is covered. You can use gloves to prevent all the grime from getting under your nails. As you rub the soda in, you will notice it turns brown in colour, which is fine. Pay special attention to especially dirty areas and spread more paste there.
- Let the paste sit overnight – once you have spread the paste, do not be quick to wipe down the oven interior. The baking soda paste needs to do its thing and therefore you should let it sit overnight.
- Wipe out the oven – once enough time has passed, you can wipe the oven racks with a damp cloth. Do your best to pick up as much of the paste as possible and if you meet any difficulties, you can use a silicone/plastic spatula to scrape.
- Apply vinegar to tough spots – after wiping down the soda, if there are any areas of baking soda residue, you can spritz a little vinegar. The two will react and produce foam, which will enable you to wipe easily.
- Return the oven racks – once you have tackled the baking soda paste, it is time to return the interior pieces you took from the oven previously. That concludes the process of cleaning your oven with the aid of baking soda.
As you can see, the method is pretty straightforward and there is nothing too complicated about it. All you need to do is find the motivation and spare time to do it.