Here is a good home remedy for oven cleaning, if you have the patience and don’t want to use harsh oven cleaning chemicals. I do find that the typical store bought oven cleaners are very effective when using them correctly, although they are harsh chemicals that require care when using, you must wear gloves etc. So if you have the patience then maybe a good home remedy might be a good alternative.
Use an empty spray bottle and mix three or four table spoons of baking soda in the bottle and mix with plain water. Use about 1 litre or pint and a half of water. Baking soda is a good all purpose cleaner and can be used for cleaning your stainless sink as well, just sprinkle and wipe.
Oven Cleaning
Shake the water and baking soda mixture until the baking soda dissolves. When the oven is cool spray the solution on the blackened build up in the oven, do this at least once per day or more. Use your oven like normal applying the baking soda solution between uses, the wet baking soda will break up the build up which will settle on the bottom of the oven as a black power which can be easily wiped up. This will make the oven look messy, but like I say it requires more patience to clean the oven this way.
As the build up breaks down and the oven is cool wipe with a wet or damp cleaning cloth. Depending on the amount of build up this can take more or less time. Using the baking soda mixture works over time and can be used on other pots/dishes with carbon accumulation.
This technique a green and inexpensive way to clean an oven. You’ll notice that the main ingredient in many commercial oven cleaning products is baking soda (also known as sodium bicarbonate).
One disadvantage to this approach is that it takes time for the baking soda to chemically react with the carbon. Time and repeated applications of the spray bottle solution are your keys to success.
A clear advantage to this approach is that it is not very labour intensive. But you have to remember to spray the carbon stuck to the interior of the oven until it all flows to the bottom of the oven. Then wipe it all out with a damp cloth.
One more thing to consider: It takes a lot of baking soda to remove a lot of carbon. Be sure to apply a significant quantity of baking soda before giving up on the project. Significant quantities of wet baking soda and the passage of time are your keys to success. Remember! The baking soda does not react with the carbon unless it is wet.
On particularly difficult spots, you may want to dampen the baking soda in a bowl and apply it directly on these spots as a wet paste. If you do this, keep the baking soda wet for an extended period of time by coming back often and spraying it with your spray bottle.
If the accumulation of carbon is particularly heavy on the bottom of your oven, you can sprinkle baking soda on to the bottom as a dry powder and then dampen it with your spray bottle. For those of us who don’t have the time to invest in the slow but sure way to clean an oven a conventional store bought chemical is the best method for oven cleaning.
