Sometimes a kitchen appliance looks so dirty that replacing it seems easier than cleaning it. Years of baked-on grease, food splatters, and stubborn residue can make an oven appear completely beyond saving. But before spending money on a new appliance, there’s a simple homemade oven cleaner worth trying.
This easy cleaning mixture uses common household ingredients that can help loosen greasy buildup and make the oven much easier to clean.
To make the homemade oven cleaner, you’ll need:
1 cup of baking soda
1/2 cup of white vinegar
1 tablespoon of dish soap
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
Start by making sure the oven is completely switched off and cool. Remove the oven racks and set them aside so you can clean the interior more easily.
Place the baking soda in a bowl and slowly add the dish soap and lemon juice. Mix everything together until you have a thick paste. Add the vinegar gradually and stir carefully because the baking soda and vinegar will fizz.
The goal is to create a spreadable cleaning paste rather than a very watery mixture.
Before applying it, remove loose crumbs and food debris from the bottom of the oven. Then use a sponge or soft cleaning cloth to spread the mixture over greasy areas and baked-on residue.
Pay particular attention to the oven floor, corners, and areas where cooking grease has accumulated. You don’t need to scrub aggressively at this stage. Let the mixture sit for several hours so it has time to soften the grime.
For heavily soiled ovens, leaving the paste overnight can make the residue easier to remove. Keep the oven door closed during this time and make sure children and pets cannot access the cleaning mixture.
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