March 18, 2020

How to Naturally Clean an Oven

If your oven has seen better days, I have a super simple and effective DIY cleaning recipe for you to use to get your oven sparkling clean. It’s fume-free, uses ingredients you already have, and best of all, it really works.

QUICK-ISH TIP: You can always use the self-clean option on your oven to clean it but make sure that you have proper ventilation (it’s smelly) and that you don’t need to cook anything for 4+ hours.

Gather these tools and ingredients:

• all-purpose spray – don’t use anything that is toxic in your oven because you’ll be eventually heating it up and cooking in it. I like using a mixture of hot water and a drop or two of dish soap for the pre-clean.
• sponge
• container to mix paste
• baking soda
• castile or dish soap
• water

You can find the listed ingredients in the DIY Cleaners section of my Amazon shop.

START WITH A PRE-CLEAN

Remove oven racks and set aside. You can scrub these in a large sink or by hand and rinse clean.

Here’s my before picture for you – it’s seen worse, but definitely time for a good cleaning.

The purpose of a pre-clean is to get the larger food particles cleaned up from the bottom of the oven. You might realize that you only need this step if your oven isn’t too bad.
Use your favorite non-toxic all-purpose spray or make your own!

SOAP BASED ALL-PURPOSE SPRAY
16 ounces warm water
2-3 drops dish or castile soap
spray bottle

Add water and soap to spray bottle, put sprayer on, shake to combine. Spray oven thoroughly. Let sit for 15 minutes and wipe clean. Be careful to only spray on closed/sealed surfaces, do not spray the glass, heating elements, vents or seals. Don’t worry about drying your oven, it’s okay if your oven is a little wet from the pre-cleaning, that will help with your oven cleaning paste.

THE OVEN DOOR

You can use both of these procedures on the oven door BUT don’t apply them and close the door – leave the door open and take care to not let the cleaner drip inside the door.

NATURALLY CLEAN YOUR OVEN

Once you’ve pre-cleaned your oven it’s time to do a full cleaning of your oven. I like using a DIY Oven Cleaning Paste because it’s mildly abrasive, has a little extra cleaning power in it with soap and does a really good job getting the burned on oil and grease off with just a little effort.

DIY OVEN CLEANING PASTE

• 1/2 cup baking soda – enough baking soda to make a very thin paste
• 1 tablespoon castile or dish soap
• 1 cup warm/hot water

Add soap and a little baking soda at a time to your water until it comes to a very thin paste – stir thoroughly and let sit for a couple minutes to let the baking soda absorb the liquid.

Dip the sponge in the mixture and apply the paste to the oven with a sponge in a scrubbing motion and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes.

Be careful to apply on closed/sealed surfaces, do not apply to the heating elements, vents or seals.

Rinse the sponge, scrub, wipe clean, repeat until your oven is completely clean. Allow to dry and check for any residual baking soda. You might need to rinse a little more to ensure that it’s completely removed.

Step back and enjoy your naturally-cleaned oven!

If you’re looking for an in-depth cleaning guide, my brand-new PDF packet, Clean Mama’s Guide to a Clean Home: Finding Peace in Your Routine has amazing checklists, a quick-start guide, DIY cleaning recipes and more. Check it out here.

See all the posts for the Spring Cleaning Month series here.