Cleaning the oven has got to be one of the worst household chores...right up next to dusting, in my opinion. I put it off until the foil lining on the bottom of the stove was black with untold numbers of spills. If I had remembered to take a before picture, I doubt that I would post it---it was that bad.
I briefly considered purchasing some Easy Off or other oven cleaner, but I remember how awful that stuff smells. Plus, I'd have to go to the store, and I didn't want to fork out money when I can use something I already have. So I did the logical thing. I googled "homemade oven cleaner." Naturally.
But I didn't want to measure anything precisely, so I just started dumping stuff together, carefully of course. I made a paste by combining roughly 1 cup baking soda to 1/2 cup salt; I then added enough water to make a thick paste, adding a few drops of Dawn dish soap to cut grease. I carefully added vinegar till the paste was the consistency of pancake batter. (Vinegar and baking soda cause a small explosive chemical reaction when mixed together straight, so use caution.)
I applied the paste to the oven walls, door, racks and floor with a sponge. Next, I poured about a cup of ammonia on the floor of the oven and shut the oven door. I let that all marinate for 4 or 5 hours. Using the same sponge and a washcloth, I wiped it all down until the soda residue was gone.
My opinion: I'd say it worked nearly as well as the oven cleaner, and it had absolutely none of the toxic odor that commercial oven cleaners have. The price is hard to beat, as I had all of the ingredients on hand. I will definitely use this method again.
Here's a few links that I consulted before attempting my own little concoction:
1 lovely comments:
Sounds like a good deal to me!
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