Many oven cleaners are unfortunately filled with harsh chemicals which you should avoid using as they can be bad for the health of you and your family, and the environment.
However, it can be difficult to find suitable cleaning products that don’t contain harsh chemicals, but there are many cleaning solutions you can make using natural ingredients at home. Read our tips on how to clean your oven without using harsh chemicals.
Lemon water
Cut two lemons in half. If you do not have any lemons, then you can use other citrus fruits. Take the halves and squeeze the juice from them into a baking dish before adding the remains of the lemons to the dish. Top up with water so the dish is a third full.
Put the baking dish in the oven and turn the oven on to 250°F and leave it in for 30 minutes. If it takes your oven a while to heat up, either preheat the oven before putting the dish in, or leave it in for longer than 30 minutes.
After taking the dish out of the oven, wait a few minutes for it to cool down before you start cleaning it. The citrus fruits act as a natural degreaser, making it easier to remove any build-up in the oven. Use a scouring pad or scrubbing sponge to remove the build-up. If there are larger, more stubborn chunks of build-up, you may need to use a spatula to remove these.
Once you have removed as much of the build-up as you can, dip a clean sponge in the leftover lemon water in the baking dish, and wipe the oven with it. This will help to wash off any remaining grime. Continue doing this until the oven is clean, then use a towel, tea towel or kitchen roll to dry off the lemon water.
Baking soda paste
Before making and applying the paste, try to remove any charred bits or loose crumbs from the oven. You can do this by using a dry scrubbing brush or scouring sponge to break them up, then collect the crumbs into a pile and sweep or vacuum them up.
Next you are going to make the baking soda paste. Simply mix baking soda, water and a dash or two of washing up liquid into a bowl to create the paste. Make sure it is thoroughly mixed - it should have the consistency of mash.
Coat a sponge with the paste and wipe it over the interior of your oven, leaving a thick layer of paste. Make sure you cover the back, sides and floor of the oven, as well as the inside of the oven door.
Be careful not to touch the oven light as it can get hot if they are on for a while. Also take care not to get any paste in the vents - you can either just avoid them or cover the vents with tape before applying the paste to ensure it doesn’t get in them.
Close the oven door and let the paste sit in the oven for 12 hours or overnight, then take a damp sponge and wipe out all the wet paste. Continue wiping until you have removed all of the residue, then take a clean, wet sponge and wipe all over again. Leave the door open for a while to let it air dry, or close the oven and leave it on at 200°F for 15 minutes.
Salt and vinegar
Preheat the oven to 150°F then sprinkle salt into the oven, making sure there is a thin layer across the floor of the oven.
Turn off the oven, then put on oven mitts and use a sponge or rag to scrub the floor of the oven whilst it is still warm, until the build-up begins to come up.
Once the oven has cooled down a bit, put white vinegar into a spray bottle then spray it into the oven and use a damp rag to remove any residue or build up. Once the oven is clean and cool, use kitchen roll to dry the oven.
If you do not have the time or supplies to effectively clean your oven, or would simply prefer to leave it to the professionals and spend your time doing other activities, you may want to consider hiring a cleaner to take care of your cleaning for you.
Time For You specialises in providing properly screened and vetted domestic cleaners to private households to provide you, our client, with more time for you. Find a cleaner near you by simply entering your postcode, and let us take care of the cleaning, so you do not have to.
Time For You is the premier international house cleaning service company with hundreds of local business owners which clean tens of thousands of homes around the world every week.
Time For You are the premier international house cleaning service company with hundreds of local business owners across the UK, Australia and Canada. Time For You are currently cleaning tens of thousands of homes across the world on a weekly basis.
