Keeping your oven clean after baking or doing any kind of cooking can be tasking. There are however some hacks to cleaning oven with baking soda to help keep your oven neat and shiny.
You will have no need to use any kind of harsh chemicals on your oven if you follow through with these hacks. Let’s have an overview of baking soda before we dive into the cleaning hacks.
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1. What is Baking Soda?
Apart from being a leavener for your baked products, baking soda can be used as a cleaning agent. It is a compound also known as sodium bicarbonate which is used for cooking and cleaning.
When combined with an acid, it produces carbon dioxide gas. Baking soda gives that extra scrubbing power that makes a sponge effective without being too abrasive.
To remove stubborn residue and stains from toilet seats, sinks, and ovens, you’ll just have to sprinkle on a damp sponge and scrub away.
2. Hacks for Cleaning Oven with Baking Soda
After cooking or baking, it’s inevitable to not find tiny pieces of residue behind. Not everyone enjoys cleaning their ovens after use, especially when it’s all messy and dirty.
It’s no news that most people do not regularly clean their appliances as it could be stressful and time-consuming. Even if every other part of your kitchen is clean, a dirty oven will make your kitchen look unattractive.
If you’re someone who is looking for simple hacks to make your oven sparkling clean in no time, follow these steps;
2.1. Get your Products
The first step to cleaning your oven is to prepare the materials needed for the cleaning project. These are the cleaning products that you’ll be needing to successfully clean your oven;
- Water
- Baking soda
- White vinegar
- Microfiber clothes
- Spray bottles
- Rubber gloves
2.2. Take Out the Oven Racks
The next thing to do is to clear out your oven by bringing out the racks. Then, you keep the oven racks to soak in soapy water for a while.
This will help soften stubborn residue on the racks. Also, ensure to remove any other items from the oven.
2.3. Make a Paste
Once you’ve left the racks to soak, the next thing to do is to make a paste with baking soda and water. You should make the baking soda paste in such a way that it is slightly thick so that it will be easy to work it into the oven.
2.4. Wear your Rubber Gloves
The next thing to do is to put on your rubber gloves and start spreading the paste all over the oven. You should do this with caution by avoiding any of the heating elements.
Remember not to spread the paste all over the glass door immediately, that should be done much later.
2.5. Let Paste Sit-in
You’ll discover that after a while, the white paste changes to brown as it soaks up the grease. This simply means that the baking soda has started to take effect.
Then, you should allow the paste to sit overnight so it gets out all the grease all at once before cleaning off the paste with a damp microfiber cloth.
2.6. Use White Vinegar
Cleaning the oven with baking soda and vinegar is very important. If after cleaning with a damp cloth and you still see some stubborn residue, you’ll have to scrub them off.
All you have to do is to put your white vinegar into your spray bottle and spray it into the oven. This will help get rid of any remnant of baking soda in the oven.
Then you should scrub the racks and place your clean oven racks in your sparkling oven
2.7. Clean your Oven Door
After you must have finished cleaning the inner chamber of your oven, cleaning the oven door is the next thing to do. To do this, make use of the remnants of the paste by spreading it all over the oven glass.
Let the paste sit in for a while before wiping it off. You can also use vinegar on the stubborn residue and wipe it off with a damp microfiber cloth.
Once this is done, you will discover that oven cleaning is not as tedious as most people think.
3. Other Ways to Clean an Oven
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There are several ways to make your oven clean and sparkling. We’ve listed some of them below;
3.1. Steam Clean with Vinegar
Using hot water and vinegar to steam the oven helps a great deal to soften stubborn stains, making it easier to wipe off completely. You should boil a reasonable amount of water and add white vinegar to the hot water. Allow the water to boil to set for a few seconds.
The next thing you do is to remove the hot water from the stove, pour into a container, and place it onto the rack in your oven. Then, close the oven door and allow the hot water to sit for about an hour.
Once this is done, you can open the oven and begin the cleaning process. This would make cleaning much easier. You should do this to effectively clean the oven with vinegar.
3.2. Using Salt
It might interest you to know that the salt you use to add taste to your food can be used as a cleaning agent. Using salt is a cheaper and faster way to clean an oven.
If after baking or cooking, you see tiny particles of food on the oven’s surface, quickly sprinkle some salt on the area. It makes it easy to get the stain off after the oven must have cooled down.
3.3. Using Water and Lemons
The combination of water and lemons can leave your dirty oven sparkling in no time.
You’ll need to fill a pan with water and squeeze at least two lemon juice in the water. The next thing to do is to place the pan in the oven and switch it on. Make sure to allow the water to boil, then take the pan out.
The steam from the water mixed with lemon will make removing stains from your oven easier and faster.
Ensure that the oven cools down before wiping off with a damp cloth. This is the surest way if you’re looking to know how to clean the oven without scrubbing.
4. How to Clean an Oven Quickly
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These are the various methods you can use to quickly clean your oven;
4.1. Use a Self-Cleaning Function
It’s amazing how most of the most recent ovens made have a self-cleaning feature. These self-cleaning ovens have been made to help save time when cleaning.
All you have to do is to heat up the oven to about 880 degrees Fahrenheit which makes the leftover food particles to incinerate. This makes it easy to easily wipe off the leftover ashes with a damp cloth.
This is one of the best ways to clean your oven if you do not want to make use of chemicals in cleaning. The downside of this method is that the oven locks up for a few hours and releases heat.
It also releases an offensive odor, making it important to immediately leave the kitchen once you’re done with the process.
4.2. Use a Homemade Oven Cleaner
If you do not want to use an oven cleaner to clean your oven, you can clean the oven naturally using DIY oven cleaners. The use of baking soda, water, and vinegar is ideal.
You’ll just have to make a paste with your baking soda and water and then spread it on the oven’s interior surface. Then spray the vinegar on top of the paste and allow it to settle for at least 30 minutes.
You can wipe off the surface with a damp cloth or scrub on the stubborn residue with a sponge.
4.3. Using a Dishwasher Tablet
Cleaning your oven with a dishwasher tablet is one of the fastest and easier methods. You’ll have to dip the tip of the tablet in water and then, rub it all over the oven door. You’ll now let it sin for a few minutes before wiping it off with a damp cloth.
4.4. Using Professional Oven Cleaners
There are other alternatives to make cleaning your oven easy. The use of an easy-off oven and grill cleaner is one of them. After you must have removed all the pieces of food from the oven, spray your cleaner and allow it to settle for at least 30 minutes.
This makes it easy to wipe the grease away. Other cleaners you can use include, an easy-off kitchen degreaser and an easy-off fume-free oven cleaner. Ensure you make use of gloves and face masks when carrying out this process.
5. Final Thoughts
Apart from cleaning your oven with baking soda and vinegar, there are other simple ways to keep your oven clean and void of stains. It is recommended that you should clean your oven at least twice a month as cleaning on a regular basis can be very stressful.
We hope we’ve been able to help with the hacks for cleaning the oven with baking soda. Kindly share this information and leave a comment below.
Last Updated on by Steffy Michael
