Cleaning the oven may not be an easy task, nor is it a fun one. However, it is a chore you need to address sooner or later since this appliance sees quite a lot of use. If you are an avid cook, you probably use the oven, and as a result, it accumulates some stains and unpleasant smells.
If you’ve never known how to address the oven properly, you are in luck: this guide will show you just that. The best part is that you won’t even need to use harsh chemicals, which are part of the reason why people loathe this task in the first place. Stay tuned for some clever guidelines.
Use baking soda
For this method to work, you need nothing but a little baking soda. It is perhaps the most popular method for cleaning the oven, which is practically foolproof and quite easy. On top of that, it won’t cost you much. Before you get ready, make sure to remove the racks and any other interior items in the oven. Give them a good clean separately, as you want to make some space inside for the real cleaning. Get baking soda and mix it with some water.
There is no exact ratio, but you can first try half a cup of baking soda with 5 tbsp. water. The goal is to get a paste-like mixture so you may have to adjust the mixture a bit to get it right. Once you have it, spread it all over the interior, minus the heating elements. Let it sit like that overnight (12 hours minimum). The baking soda will turn brown. Once that time has passed, pour some vinegar over the area and let it react with the baking soda. It will react with it, making it super easy to wipe clean, along with any grease and burnt-on debris. That should leave the oven looking as good as new. Baking soda is definitely not something you should ignore, considering just how effective it is against a grimy oven.
Clean with lemons
If you wish to try a different approach, lemon is also a good pick for an oven cleaner. Lemon juice works wonders on grease, because of their properties. Just grab two lemons, a baking dish and a scouring pad. Cut the citrus fruits in half and squeeze them into the baking dish. Toss the squeezed out fruits inside and fill a third of the dish with water.
Bake it at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes. The idea is that when the water and juice mix heat up, they will turn to vapour and soften the gunk inside the oven. After the time is up, just scrub the interior.
Resort to oven self-cleaning
If you are not a fan of oven cleaning, you can always resort to the self-cleaning function. Most of the new ovens have this function built-in. Basically, it involves heating up the interior to very high temperature, which in turn burns the debris and grease inside and turns it to ash. You still will need to do some wiping of the debris once the process finishes, but at least you will not use any cleaning products and solutions. Bear in mind, that the oven reaches a very high temperature, so you are going to have to let it cool down for a while, once the process is complete.
Using all of these tips to clean your oven fast is a sure way to address the chore without trouble.
