grinningcat
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Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Aug 5, 2014 13:32:02 GMT
In all my years on this earth, I have never cleaned an oven. I know my parents cleaned their oven, but I was never a part of the process. I am moving into a house and while I love my SO, he has never cleaned the oven. It needs it. Badly. Since I don't know what I am doing, I have been googling "how to clean an oven". I'm seeing a lot of baking soda and vinegar ideas. Would this really work? The oven does not have a self-clean option and all I remember about oven cleaning is that the spray essentially chokes you out of the house, so if I can do just baking soda and vinegar, I'm all for it.
Any suggestions are helpfu, particularly if the BS and vinegar solution is BS. Thanks.
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Post by samcro on Aug 5, 2014 13:40:32 GMT
I think it would work very well. Can't hurt to give it a try!
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grinningcat
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Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Aug 5, 2014 13:43:10 GMT
Oh it can hurt! I LOATHE housecleaning, so I basically want a failproof, easy, not going to make me do the work twice kind of cleaner. If I have to do anything more than spray/spread and then wipe, I will be a very cranky child. I hate housecleaning because it wastes so much time. I know the chemicals are bad but they seem so quick and easy to use. But they are toxic, so I need an alternative. I just want to know if it works so I don't waste my time. Did I mention I hate housecleaning?
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Post by shevy on Aug 5, 2014 13:44:19 GMT
If it has self cleaning, I'd take the rack out and clean that separately. Take the vinegar and soda and make a paste to clean the door and the areas that seal around the door. Then use the self cleaning. It should get the majority of it off. What doesn't come off, then I'd take the soda/vinegar and clean.
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grinningcat
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Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Aug 5, 2014 13:49:13 GMT
No self-cleaning... that was the first thing I looked for. I found a fairly detailed tutorial on the kitchn about the baking soda version, so I may follow that. Unless, of course, the peas come up with something better, faster and less involved.
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Post by shevy on Aug 5, 2014 13:50:49 GMT
No self-cleaning... that was the first thing I looked for. I found a fairly detailed tutorial on the kitchn about the baking soda version, so I may follow that. Unless, of course, the peas come up with something better, faster and less involved. OMG! No self cleaning? My answer changed. Get rid of the oven and buy new.
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grinningcat
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Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Aug 5, 2014 13:52:50 GMT
Nope. It's an OLD stove. If I could get a new one, I would. Trust me. But alas, at this point I have to make do with this stove.
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Post by anxiousmom on Aug 5, 2014 13:56:53 GMT
I use various mixtures of baking soda, vinegar and dish detergent to clean almost everything in my house. I routinely use a baking soda and small amount of dish detergent (grease cutting kind like dawn) to make a paste to clean my stove top, sinks and other ceramic surfaces (think soft scrub consistency) and it works like a charm. I can't imagine that it wouldn't work on the inside of my stove also...particularly with the addition of vinegar. I can't say that I have used it to clean the inside of my stove...but that isn't for any other reason than because I am lazy and it isn't really icky enough for me to think I should clean it.
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grinningcat
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Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Aug 5, 2014 13:58:19 GMT
That's a good point. The tutorial talks about a paste and then spraying it with vinegar... so you get the awesome bubbling action. I don't want to do the inside of the stove... just the oven. The other insides are just too scary. But I need the oven soon because I have to start baking cake.
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basketdiva
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Jun 26, 2014 11:45:09 GMT
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Post by basketdiva on Aug 5, 2014 14:00:58 GMT
My Mom used to line the bottom of the oven with newspaper, then place a bowl with a small amount of ammonia inside the oven over night. You would not believe how much gunk the fumes removes. She would then wipe it down with more newspapers ( recycling before it was popular!), and finally wet paper towels. Amazingly clean oven.
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Post by anxiousmom on Aug 5, 2014 14:04:05 GMT
That's a good point. The tutorial talks about a paste and then spraying it with vinegar... so you get the awesome bubbling action. I don't want to do the inside of the stove... just the oven. The other insides are just too scary. But I need the oven soon because I have to start baking cake. I just did exactly that! The paste and spray vinegar on top thing in the boys bathroom. I won't gross you out with the details, but I recently realized that I shouldn't have been so lax in checking after the boys to make sure that when I said "clean your bathroom" that it was actually, you know...clean. Anyway, I made the paste, and then sprayed the vinegar then let it sit for a while on the tile that surrounds the base of the toilet and it was amazing at how well it worked. Bit of a pain in the ass to get all the grainy bits OFF the tile afterwards, but worth it in the long run.
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imsirius
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Jul 12, 2014 19:59:28 GMT
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Post by imsirius on Aug 5, 2014 14:10:33 GMT
I tried the baking soda/vinegar trick in my old house. BIG MISTAKE. The paste left a powdery residue on the inside of the oven. I eventually had to wipe it down about ten times before it was gone. Don't know why it happened (maybe the ratio was wrong? Maybe because it was a gas stove?) but I don't do it anymore. Now I use my self cleaning option in my new house with a wipe down of vinegar or lemon juice after to get the missed spots/hard spots out.
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Post by anxiousmom on Aug 5, 2014 14:12:44 GMT
I tried the baking soda/vinegar trick in my old house. BIG MISTAKE. The paste left a powdery residue on the inside of the oven. I eventually had to wipe it down about ten times before it was gone. Don't know why it happened (maybe the ratio was wrong? Maybe because it was a gas stove?) but I don't do it anymore. Now I use my self cleaning option in my new house with a wipe down of vinegar or lemon juice after to get the missed spots/hard spots out. It's not the ratio, it's the residual baking soda that gets left behind. I use it a lot to clean and I ALWAYS have to wipe a couple of times to get it all up. It is a great cleaning tool, but sometimes it takes a little more effort to get it all cleaned up.
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gloryjoy
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Jun 26, 2014 12:35:32 GMT
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Post by gloryjoy on Aug 5, 2014 14:16:17 GMT
I read this the other day and bookmarked it.
CLEANING YOUR OVEN - The easiest way EVER!
Begin by preheating the oven to 150 degrees (or your lowest setting available). While the oven is heating, put on a pot of water to boil. Once the oven has reached 150, turn it off and pour 1 cup of ammonia into a heat safe bowl or baking dish and place it on the top rack of the oven. Place the pot of boiling water on the bottom rack, close the oven door, and leave them both in the oven overnight.
The next morning, open the oven and remove both the bowl of ammonia and the pot of water, keep the ammonia – you’ll use it later. Remove the racks and leave the oven door open to air out for 15 minutes. Add 1-2 teaspoons of dishwashing liquid to the ammonia, along with 4 cups of warm water, and using a heavy-duty nylon scrubbing pad dipped in the ammonia mixture, begin to wipe away the softened grease and grime along the sides and bottom of the oven. It should be a fairly easy job at this point. Wear some kitchen gloves, since ammonia can be caustic to skin. Rinse/wipe clean with a damp cloth.
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imsirius
Prolific Pea
Call it as I see it.
Posts: 7,661
Location: Floating in the black veil.
Jul 12, 2014 19:59:28 GMT
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Post by imsirius on Aug 5, 2014 14:20:54 GMT
I tried the baking soda/vinegar trick in my old house. BIG MISTAKE. The paste left a powdery residue on the inside of the oven. I eventually had to wipe it down about ten times before it was gone. Don't know why it happened (maybe the ratio was wrong? Maybe because it was a gas stove?) but I don't do it anymore. Now I use my self cleaning option in my new house with a wipe down of vinegar or lemon juice after to get the missed spots/hard spots out. It's not the ratio, it's the residual baking soda that gets left behind. I use it a lot to clean and I ALWAYS have to wipe a couple of times to get it all up. It is a great cleaning tool, but sometimes it takes a little more effort to get it all cleaned up. I'll say! LOL...it took me forever to get rid of it. It had also fallen into the side of the gas oven where the flames open up...it flared the next time I used the oven! Scared me enough to not use it again in the gas oven. I now have an electric flat top which I loathe - but it has self clean and I will use that when I need to. I once used baking soda on my ceramic tiles, they were beautifully cleaned but my daughter came running down and slid from one side of the room to the other. I just stopped using BS on my floors too.
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grinningcat
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Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Aug 5, 2014 14:32:01 GMT
I read this the other day and bookmarked it. CLEANING YOUR OVEN - The easiest way EVER!
Begin by preheating the oven to 150 degrees (or your lowest setting available). While the oven is heating, put on a pot of water to boil. Once the oven has reached 150, turn it off and pour 1 cup of ammonia into a heat safe bowl or baking dish and place it on the top rack of the oven. Place the pot of boiling water on the bottom rack, close the oven door, and leave them both in the oven overnight.
The next morning, open the oven and remove both the bowl of ammonia and the pot of water, keep the ammonia – you’ll use it later. Remove the racks and leave the oven door open to air out for 15 minutes. Add 1-2 teaspoons of dishwashing liquid to the ammonia, along with 4 cups of warm water, and using a heavy-duty nylon scrubbing pad dipped in the ammonia mixture, begin to wipe away the softened grease and grime along the sides and bottom of the oven. It should be a fairly easy job at this point. Wear some kitchen gloves, since ammonia can be caustic to skin. Rinse/wipe clean with a damp cloth.I read something similar and in the comments it said that you'll basically be forced out of your home because of the fumes from the warm ammonia. I'm not sure that I should do that in a house full of pets. But it's something to consider
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gloryjoy
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Jun 26, 2014 12:35:32 GMT
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Post by gloryjoy on Aug 5, 2014 14:35:46 GMT
That could be a possibility, but I figured it wouldn't be any worse than Easy Off.
Like I said, I haven't tried it yet but I plan to. I still have an oven that I have to manually clean, as we haven't renovated our kitchen yet.
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grinningcat
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Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Aug 5, 2014 14:40:04 GMT
I'm not sure. I need to do more research on the ammonia one because it sounds like it would work well. But we have so many animals, I worry about hurting them... and their humans as well.
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Post by scrapcat on Aug 5, 2014 15:21:09 GMT
I just cleaned my oven in a new house. I did use the self cleaning option, but that doesn't clean the door. I sprinkled baking soda around and used a damp cloth to scrub. It worked pretty well. For some tougher spots I wet cloth with vinegar. I use baking soda, vinegar, lemon, a lot for various cleaning. I try to avoid chemical products if possible.
I would be afraid to try the ammonia thing. Is it that bad? try the baking soda/vinegar first! I think the key is really elbow grease, so give it all you got!
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Post by kkooch on Aug 5, 2014 15:24:43 GMT
Oven spray cleaner has come a long way, I don't think it is much worse than anything else you will use. No scrubbing etc. Just do whatever it says, heat the oven, spray it on and wipe off when it tells you to. If bad repeat. I have an overhead exhaust fan and if it smells at all I just turn that on while I clean it. Rather the smell of that over ammonia.
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grinningcat
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Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Aug 5, 2014 15:28:44 GMT
I'm going to investigate the sprays when I go to the store. I want this as simple and quick as possible.
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Post by chedanemi on Aug 5, 2014 15:51:08 GMT
I use the ammonia method all the time. It really does work. I put it in the oven overnight and leave the oven light on to add a little extra warmth to the oven. In the morning, just wipe up the gunk with newspaper or paper towels. If your oven is really bad, you may have to do the ammonia a second time. I tried the baking soda and vinegar too, but it left so much residue in the oven that it took forever to get it all off.
The ammonia also works great for cleaning grill grates. Put them inside a plastic garbage bag, pour in a cup or so of ammonia. I layed them flat on the cement patio keeping the open end of the bag propped up so the ammonia doesn't run out. In the morning, rinse them with a hose, and they're super clean.
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ddly
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Jul 10, 2014 19:36:28 GMT
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Post by ddly on Aug 5, 2014 15:56:58 GMT
I would try the ammonia. I use it to clean my microwave and it works awesome. I'm actually cleaning my oven right with self clean.
I'm also trying the baking soda and hydrogen peroxide paste on my baking sheets. Waiting is killing me. If it doesn't work I'll try putting them in a cold oven with ammonia overnight. I can't believe I let them get so bad!
Lisa D.
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scrapngranny
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Jun 25, 2014 23:21:30 GMT
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Post by scrapngranny on Aug 5, 2014 16:26:26 GMT
I have used the baking soda/vinegar/Dawn dish washing liquid many times. It works very well. Most of the time I leave it on over night. I was pleasantly surprised how well it works. I also put the racks in a garbage bag with ammonia overnight to get them really clean.
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Post by papersilly on Aug 5, 2014 16:43:26 GMT
I've done the baking soda many times without needing the vinegar. regular water was usually enough. I guess if you have tough baked on stuff the vinegar wouldn't hurt. just make a paste and let it sit for about 20 minutes then scrub a little bit before wiping it all off. works every time.
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grinningcat
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Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Aug 5, 2014 17:07:35 GMT
Ooo... I will add Dawn to the paste. The awesome blue Dawn, right?
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Deleted
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Oct 7, 2024 20:30:24 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2014 17:15:26 GMT
Perfect time for all these tips. I have to clean my oven before moving and am dreading the process. We've never used the self-clean feature of the oven and now I don't want to in case it blows a fuse. So I'll try some of these tips first. Thanks everyone!
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Post by ukfan on Aug 5, 2014 17:18:22 GMT
I read this the other day and bookmarked it. CLEANING YOUR OVEN - The easiest way EVER!
Begin by preheating the oven to 150 degrees (or your lowest setting available). While the oven is heating, put on a pot of water to boil. Once the oven has reached 150, turn it off and pour 1 cup of ammonia into a heat safe bowl or baking dish and place it on the top rack of the oven. Place the pot of boiling water on the bottom rack, close the oven door, and leave them both in the oven overnight.
The next morning, open the oven and remove both the bowl of ammonia and the pot of water, keep the ammonia – you’ll use it later. Remove the racks and leave the oven door open to air out for 15 minutes. Add 1-2 teaspoons of dishwashing liquid to the ammonia, along with 4 cups of warm water, and using a heavy-duty nylon scrubbing pad dipped in the ammonia mixture, begin to wipe away the softened grease and grime along the sides and bottom of the oven. It should be a fairly easy job at this point. Wear some kitchen gloves, since ammonia can be caustic to skin. Rinse/wipe clean with a damp cloth.I think I am going to try this one Thanks!
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Post by flanz on Aug 5, 2014 17:21:30 GMT
That's a good point. The tutorial talks about a paste and then spraying it with vinegar... so you get the awesome bubbling action. I don't want to do the inside of the stove... just the oven. The other insides are just too scary. But I need the oven soon because I have to start baking cake. Vinegar is an excellent grease cutter and combined with baking soda, is cleaning magic. I use those two pantry items to clean almost everything in our home. Making the paste and spraying with vinegar, then walking away for a few minutes to let those bubbles help release some of the grime is a good start. you may have to do it two or three times. Do you have a plastic scraper or long handled soft brush you could use to reach some of the gunk in grooves? I recently bought BarKeeper's Friend powdered cleanser (in a can like Comet) and am very pleased at how it removes burned on stuff from pots and pans that the baking soda and vinegar can't quite get. If I were you I would try it on my oven, without a doubt. Good luck!
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grinningcat
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Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Aug 5, 2014 17:25:11 GMT
Perfect time for all these tips. I have to clean my oven before moving and am dreading the process. We've never used the self-clean feature of the oven and now I don't want to in case it blows a fuse. So I'll try some of these tips first. Thanks everyone! The peas are amazing, aren't they. I knew I'd get some good advice here.
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