I’ve always hated oven cleaning, particularly the harsh chemicals that seem to be necessary to get that gunk off. Also, because I hate it I tend to put it off, making matters worse. Plus, I don’t like using harsh cleaning products for a host of reasons: the environment, our health. etc. and I don’t always find them very effective anyway. I’m always looking for an environmentally friendly way of doing things and I often write about green issues for another blog.
So what’s the answer then? How do you clean your oven without much effort? It’s really very simple: Bicarbonate of soda.
Choose a week when you aren’t planning to use your oven a lot: maybe you’re cooking with the hob or enjoying some salads while the sun shines. This means you can just leave the oven to clean itself in peace. Find a spray bottle – I used one that I use to mist plants, but you could wash out an empty window cleaner bottle or similar and use that.
Fill your bottle with a solution of bicarbonate of soda and water. I would fill about half full with water and put a few tablespoons in (making sure that the bicarb dissolves in the water). There’s no need to be exact on measurements here.
Place the bottle by the oven and every time you go into the kitchen open the door and give it a quick spray. If you do that every time you make a cuppa, it will soon add up to several times a day. Only spray on the solution when the oven is completely cooled after use. After a little while you’ll notice that black stuff coming off the top and sides (this is great for the top of the oven which is often difficult to reach. After several days remove the residue and wipe over the oven. No need to use anything harsh for this – some warm water and washing up liquid will be fine.
Go on try it – it’s amazing!
A job for next week, the oven. One I hate and I am no good with the smell of chemicals either so will give this ago. I hope it is man enough!!!
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Wow, that’s such a great tip! Thanks, I’d definitely get cleaning as it’s a job I put off.
What a good idea! I must admit, cleaning the kitchen, especially in and around the cooker, is the worst place to clean! I hate the grease that seems to accumulate on the tiles behind the hob and trying to scrape it from around the knobs and rings in a nightmare. Every so often I put on my marigolds and give it a good clean and then I try to cook ever so carefully (ie try not to allow pans to boil over etc!) for a week or so but then I forget and it all gets messed up again. You are right – by giving it a once over whilst waiting for the kettle to boil will save a lot of time scraping lol!
I agree with you – I hate cleaning the oven too. The bottom of my oven doesn’t get too bad because I always line it with some cooking foil so it catches most of the drips (and believe me, in my oven, there are ALWAYS lots of drips
I really dislike scrubbing the shelves. The last time I cleaned my oven I bought one of those sets where you pop the shelves into a huge plastic bag with cleaning solution. It really worked – the shelves looked like new and the gunk in the bag at the end was disgusting! But although it worked brilliantly I was very worried about the level of chemicals I was using!
I put off cleaning my oven until it smokes… not good! But I totally agree with your mantra about using more environmentally friendly products. xxx
Didn’t work for me! I tried to spray it all on but the spray bottle got all clogged up so I gave up!
my grandma does the same and taught myself it sure makes oven cleaning more pleasant
Thank you Erica for this tip. It works
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