Author Topic: Homemade oven cleaner, your suggestions?  (Read 5809 times)

Mr. Minsc

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Homemade oven cleaner, your suggestions?
« on: November 17, 2013, 12:18:30 PM »
Folks, it's time I tackle cleaning my oven.  I've already worked on the stove top and outside, all that's left is the oven interior. So, homemade cleaner suggestions?

Peony

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Re: Homemade oven cleaner, your suggestions?
« Reply #1 on: November 17, 2013, 12:40:08 PM »
There are probably formulas online, but for all kinds of greasy kitchen crud I often pour some dishwashing liquid and water into a bowl and then add white vinegar. The combo cuts grease well. I find most effective tool for de-crudding surfaces is stainless steel scouring pads -- they are tougher than steel wool and scratchy sponges. For some reason I can only find them in my dollar store. I dip them in the cleaning solution I described and then scrub. I'm pretty generous and sloppy with the soapy vinegar water, then just wipe it all up well afterward. Also, for baked-on stuff you may have to let the soapy solution sit on the gunk awhile.

Lil_Bit

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Re: Homemade oven cleaner, your suggestions?
« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2013, 02:56:06 PM »
I also use vinegar and baking soda for the stove top and oven.  Sprinkle a little bit of baking soda, I pour my vinegar in spray bottle then just spray over the baking soda.  You will see it start to bubble, but let it stay on for a little while, then wipe up with a wet sponge.  It really does cut the grease and loosens any dried on food.

As Peony stated above, you can google for some other ideas, such as 'uses for vinegar' or 'uses for baking soda', etc.  I've also heard that 'Awesome Cleaner' (sold at Dollar General) is very good but I haven't tried it yet.

Rural

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Re: Homemade oven cleaner, your suggestions?
« Reply #3 on: November 17, 2013, 03:23:00 PM »
If you will be certain to let it dry/ evaporate completely, rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle will cut through any greasy crud like it was never there. You just have to be damn sure not to fire up the oven with alcohol fumes still inside for obvious reasons.

Spork

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Re: Homemade oven cleaner, your suggestions?
« Reply #4 on: November 17, 2013, 05:16:10 PM »
Not home made.  Not foofoo organic, but the old stove restoration sites I frequent (yes, you read that right) absolutely swear by Dawn Power Dissolver.  It will clean anything.  DO NOT under any circumstances use it on painted surfaces, because it will clean the paint right off.  Porcelained surfaces like the inside of ovens are generally safe.  (And by that: people that baby their 80 year old relics are absolutely fine with squirting it on the porcelained surfaces.)  If you can't find it, I believe they also market it (still under the Dawn name) as a grill cleaner.  It rocks.  I went through MANY bottles restoring a gunky old stove.

lauraredcloud

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Re: Homemade oven cleaner, your suggestions?
« Reply #5 on: November 17, 2013, 05:56:53 PM »
I use baking soda and vinegar too but in separate stages. If you combine them (getting the bubbles), the result of that chemical reaction is salt water. Not a particularly good cleaner.

What I do is sprinkle baking soda on the mess, scour with a damp cloth or sponge, then wipe it all away and spray down with white vinegar as a second stage of cleaning. Works well for stovetop as well as interior of the oven. No harsh chemicals, so you don't need to worry about inhaling fumes or wearing gloves. For burnt-on food, sprinkle on the baking soda, spritz with water, and let it sit overnight before coming back to attack it with the rough side of a sponge.

Mr. Minsc

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Re: Homemade oven cleaner, your suggestions?
« Reply #6 on: November 19, 2013, 06:33:27 AM »
I did fish Google as well as here. :)

Haven't tried this method yet but I get a kick out of the authors writing style.

"You guys know how when you’re late with your tax return, you get fined, right?
And you know how if you never, ever do taxes, you get thrown in jail?
Well, if the government required us to clean our ovens once a year, too, I wouldn’t just owe fees. I’d be in prison. For life.

LIFE."


I believe I'd be in the same situation. :p

http://www.crunchybetty.com/nontoxic-homemade-oven-cleaner-will-it-work
http://www.crunchybetty.com/whats-up-with-my-oven

mollyjade

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Re: Homemade oven cleaner, your suggestions?
« Reply #7 on: November 19, 2013, 01:02:01 PM »
The best method I've tried is to apply a layer of baking soda paste and let it sit overnight (or several hours) before scrubbing. It might take a few tries and you'll be using a fair amount of elbow grease. But I've cleaned gross rental apartment ovens this way many times.

StarswirlTheMustached

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Re: Homemade oven cleaner, your suggestions?
« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2013, 02:58:46 PM »
The best method I've tried is to apply a layer of baking soda paste and let it sit overnight (or several hours) before scrubbing. It might take a few tries and you'll be using a fair amount of elbow grease. But I've cleaned gross rental apartment ovens this way many times.

IIRC, this works even better if you bake the paste-- it turns it from baking soda to washing soda. I can't remember if I did that last time, or just let it dry, though.

I've heard (but not tried) that a baking soda and hydrogen peroxide paste beats the regular soda/water paste, too.

Crap. Now I want to clean my oven, just to see how it works.

Mr. Minsc

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Re: Homemade oven cleaner, your suggestions?
« Reply #9 on: November 21, 2013, 10:32:09 AM »
I went ahead and tried the method from the website I posted.  The most difficult part of my oven is now clean, the door. :D  3/4 of the time I say was spent on the glass. Scrub, scrub, scrub.  The surrounding metal was actually fairly easy in comparison.  So much so I can see the oven interior taking less time than the whole door. :)

acroy

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Re: Homemade oven cleaner, your suggestions?
« Reply #10 on: December 04, 2013, 07:05:09 AM »
I've had really good luck with Simple Green as a cleaner

You can get a gallon of 'Carpet Concentrate' off Amazon for around $20. Oddly, it's not green! They leave the dye out.

dilute it down, spray it on, let it soak. scrub on it a bit, expose the next layer, repeat.

I've used this to clean car parts, as a carpet cleaner, kitchen cleaner, etc. great stuff.

stripey

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Re: Homemade oven cleaner, your suggestions?
« Reply #11 on: December 05, 2013, 06:23:30 AM »
Mix a cup of vinegar with a cup of water in a tray in oven, turn on oven, wait for vinegar to bubble/steam, turn off oven and let it cool enough for you to scrape the grime off. The vinegar steam will soften the grime. If grime persists, repeat the step with straight vinegar.

Or try this:

http://www.down---to---earth.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/cleaning-oven-and-stove-top.html

(I haven't tried with the nappi-san yet but I am intrigued. Also I do not reccommend vinegar and bicarb to be mixed- they neutralise each other)