Groomed Home Smarter Living
Not everyone has a self-cleaning oven. And sometimes, even those don’t work efficiently. Fortunately, we have a few tips to help you clean your oven easily.
Don’t wait
When food stains the inside of your oven, it is important to clean it immediately (after it has cooled off). Dried stains are the most difficult to remove. You can use a sponge with some soapy water. Add a little rubbing alcohol if need be. Since the walls are still hot, dirt comes off easily and cleaning will be faster.
Heat it up
Heat the oven on high intensity for about twenty minutes. Wait until it is cooler and just rub the stains out with some dish soap.
Baking soda
Pour over food stains a mixture of water and baking soda (the result should be paste-like). Let it stand overnight. Use a sponge the next day to remove the stain.
This is especially great for oven racks, as they are notoriously the most difficult part to clean.
Oven-adapted cleaners
They may not be the greenest, but you can also try using products made for oven cleaning. Easy-Off for example has quite a few products (including a fume-free one).
Ammonia
There are two ways of using ammonia to clean an oven:
Put on gloves and soak up a towel in ammonia. Leave the towel in the oven overnight. The next day, use soap to clean the stains.
Pre-heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Fill a small container with a 50/50 mix of water and ammonia. Place it inside the oven, and let it stay there for a few hours. Clean out the stains with soap.
Salt
An uncommon approach, but one that works. Just pour a little bit of salt on the stains of your oven. Wait a few minutes, then wipe. This is an especially good trick for recent greasy stains.
Newspaper
Crumpled newspaper may work better than a sponge. Take a few sheets, make a ball, then soak it with a bit of water. Rub out the stains.
Nail file
Scrape embedded stains on your oven rack with a small plastic nail file. Use a damp cloth to wipe them away.
Lemon
Take a sponge and soak it in lemon juice. Rub vigorously everywhere. Add drops of hot water while continuing to rub. Then wipe dry.
Boiling water
Just pour a small amount of boiling water in the bottom of your oven. Wait for the food stuck to get a little softer. Then simply rub with a sponge and some soap.
