Store bought chemicals are pretty effective at doing what they are designed to do. What if you want something just as effective but less volatile as a cleaning solution for an oven. Well that’s where learning how to clean an oven with baking soda and vinegar comes in handy.
Really, no chemical that may harm our porous skin is needed.
A simple baking soda mixture and vinegar solution can get the same job done.
There are some differences between using baking soda and vinegar compared to other using methods. Some differences are more beneficial than others.
Why Baking Soda and Vinegar?
It is just as good as all other cleaning methods.
It is an all natural method of cleaning an oven. Cleaning only involves four ingredients and some kitchen rags or a sponge.
Of course gloves and goggles should still be used. Though if some of the cleaning mixture or solution were to come into contact with skin or clothes it would not be as serious.
Surprisingly it is a low effort cleaning method. There is not much scrubbing involved. Much of the work is delegated to the mixture and solution.
The amount it costs to make what is needed is relatively low as well.
Overall it gets the same desired results as other cleaning methods would. Learn all about the simplest method to clean an oven located on my blog post.
Materials Required.
These materials can handle the task.
Honestly no harsh chemicals or one use towels are required during this cleaning session.
Common household items which are usually a part of one’s kitchen. With the exception of the clean paint brush.
The materials includes the following:
- Water
- Baking Soda
- White Vinegar
- Kitchen Rags or Sponges
- Dish Soap
- A Small Bowl
- A Clean Paint Brush
- A Clean Spray Bottle
- Plastic or Silicone Spatula (definitely has to be non-metal to avoid scratching)
This is one way to clean an oven and oven drawers using simple household items.
Assessing your ovens manual for proper care and maintenance should be performed first before gathering materials.
If your physical manual is long gone try visiting ManualsLib a website that has a wide selection of manuals as an online library.
All you need is your serial number (model number) and oven’s manufacturer (brand name).
Anyways I already listed the materials needed. Now time to go over the amount required. The measurements can however be adjusted to fit what you need.
Amount of material includes the following:
- Approximately 3 tablespoons of water and 2 cups of water separated.
- ½ Cup of baking soda
- ½ Cup of vinegar
- Approximately 4 kitchen rags or sponges.
- ¼ Cup of dish soap
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Clean paint brush
- 1 Silicone or plastic spatula
- 1 Scouring pad or sponge (could be one already in service)
Steps on how to Clean.
A simple but long operation.
How to make water and baking soda mixture for oven walls:
- Remove anything you keep in the oven, including the oven racks and any cookware.
- In the bowl mix the 3 tablespoons of water and ½ cup of baking soda until it reaches a pasty consistency, similar to toothpaste.
- Spread the pasty mixture all over the interior of the oven (except the heating elements), use extra paste on any burned carbon.
- Make more if you run out.
- Let it sit for at least 12 hours
After the 12 hours have passed:
- Wet one of the kitchen rags or sponges enough that it is damp, never dripping.
- Wipe away the saturated crusty paste mixture.
- Use the silicone or plastic spatula to scrape away any stubborn spots as best as you can.
How to make vinegar solution:
- Pour in ½ cup of vinegar to 2 cups of water in the spray bottle.
- Mix and create more if needed.
Cleaning what’s left of the mixture:
- Spray the solution all over the inside of the oven (except the heating elements).
- Grab a clean kitchen and dampen it the same as before, never leaking water or droplets.
- Wipe away what’s left of the mixture and solution.
- Continue until the entire surface is clean, stubborn spots may require another round of solution and some scrubbing.
All of this can be performed on an oven’s broiler drawer as well. I used to have an oven with a broiler drawer. Currently I have a double oven which acts in place of the drawer.
Dealing With the Oven Racks.
Just as simple involves scrubbing if severely soiled in burned grease.
With a store bought chemical one would use it to clean the oven racks. The oven racks do not require the same cleaning treatment with this cleaning method.
All that is needed is some dish soap and a place to soak the oven racks.
It is best to clean the oven racks while letting the baking soda mixture sit. This helps save time later on when you want to just put everything back together.
Cleaning the oven racks:
- Fill your sink or tub with hot water and about ¼ cup of dish soap as it fills.
- Place the oven racks in the soapy water and let it soak at least 1 hour for best results 2 hours or more.
- Empty the sink or tub then rinse off the racks.
- Scrub the oven racks completely clean with a scouring pad or sponge.
- Let them dry while the mixture works it’s magic.
If you have a broiler pan from a broiler drawer follow the same steps above to clean it.
Differences compared to other methods
Not many but they do vary greatly.
Some of the differences are more beneficial than others, let’s get into that. By far one of the most apparent differences is the time it takes.
Leaving it overnight is one of the best options. It helps 8 of the 12 hours fly by. Yet that is still a whopping 4 hours of downtime on your oven possibly more depending how fast you clean.
The mixture and solution is inexpensive to make and gets the same results as all other cleaning methods.
Instead of scrubbing this method calls for wiping the interior of your oven with kitchen rags. There is some minor scraping involved as well.
The oven racks are removed from the oven then cleaned separately in dish soap and water for an hour or two.
Other methods can have the oven racks and broiler pans cleaned in thirty minutes or less. Though some of those methods involve using harsh chemicals.
There are other all natural methods that do not require the use of harsh chemicals.
Using baking soda and vinegar is one of these methods. Depending on your circumstances this method could be the easiest for you.
Check out Dylan Kowalski’s twist on the method.
Did any of this help you understand how to clean an oven with baking soda and vinegar? If it did leave a comment on how it helped. If you have any other relevant questions or comments feel free to drop it below.
I am definitely going to try the baking soda and water solution to clean my oven next time. Last week I used the last of my oven cleaner, and I am sure that breathing in all those chemicals is not good for me or my family. Also, it didn’t work as easily as I imagined, as I still had to do quite a bit of scrubbing.
Would you say the baking soda and water will work best for less scrubbing?
Yeah sometimes the cleaning chemicals don’t always get the job. Aside from the fumes can be pungent and unpleasant even in well ventilated areas.
Using the baking soda mixture and vinegar solution will involve less scrubbing and less toxic fumes. The only tradeoff is time. The baking soda mixture has to sit for 12 hours.
If the oven has a coating of burned carbon residue from using the self-cleaning option then this method will involve more scrubbing.
Every time my mother visits me she comments on how I need to clean my oven. I keep putting it off because, well, it’s annoying and a chore, but also because I don’t want to use the harsh cleaners I think I might need to get it clean at this point. I’ve heard that baking powder and vinegar work as well as store bought cleaners before, but always wonder how much to use. I’ll have to try your measurements, and leave it alone for the amounts of time you suggest (I also wouldn’t have thought of that).
I actually like that you have to leave it sit for a while, because it means I don’t have to just be cleaning the oven for a long period of time. A few minutes to mix things today and a few minutes to scrub it tomorrow feels a lot better than an hour of just cleaning and scrubbing.
Yes so true! I could not have said it better myself.
Time is the biggest tradeoff using this method but it can be a worthwhile one. This method delegates most of the cleaning to the mixture and solution. No major scrubbing efforts or elbow grease required.
As it should be, having a clean oven should not have to involve an hour of hard scrubbing.
Wow, I never thought I could clean the oven with baking soda and vinegar. Sometimes it has had stubborn stains that are very hard to remove but I am gonna try and see how it works.And I like the fact that I have to just wipe and not scrap it which sometimes makes it to scratch. Would you recommend cleaning other kitchen appliances with the same baking soda?
This cleaning method is very effective at cleaning grease and food residue without using harsh abrasion. The only thing that will make this method laborious is removing burned carbon stains created from the self-cleaning option.
The solution does help clean the surface if the carbon has yet to become bonded to the oven’s interior. Once the stains become bonded it can be a pain to clean off.
I would recommend this cleaning method for microwave ovens. The measurements will change since the interior is smaller I would cut the measurements down by half.
I also recommend reading the manual for each appliance. Sometimes it is best to follow the use care guide if the manual has one.
I don’t know about the others, but I prefer not to use chemicals to clean ovens and anything we put food inside it, it can be very dangerous, thank you very much for this awesome method to clean the oven with baking soda and Vinegar, it is much better than using chemicals, but can take time to prepare, or we can prepare a big amount of it, and use it for the next month for example.
Thank you again!
Best Wishes,
Al-Motaz
Yup this method is all natural. There is the vinegar smell but i prefer that smell instead of noxious fumes.
I usually prepare what I need if i have any leftovers (scrap amounts not worth keeping) I usually toss it. If you have some mixture try storing it an airtight container for your next cleaning. The solution could remain in the sprayer.
The baking soda mixture can take a while to set in and absorb all the grease and leftover food residues, a whopping 12 hours. The soution however takes a lot less to set in. The cool part is the solution when sprayed on the mixture will react by bubbling.
Glad you enjoyed!
Hi Kevin, One of the first useful household tips I learnt from my mother as a child, was to have a little open dish with baking soda in it in the fridge. This was to absorb any bad odors. I have known about other household uses of baking soda, but not to clean an oven.
I think this is brilliant. And of course the fact that you can save money adds to the benefits. But the best thing is that it is much easier on the environment and your skin. I have made a note of the “recipe” and will be using it very soon. Thank you for a great post.
Glad to have helped out. That tip about keeping a dish of baking soda in the refrigerator is so useful my mother used that technique as well.
Baking soda has many uses cleaning ovens and helping to deodorize refrigerators are among them.
Hey nice article. Wow using baking soda and vinegar to clean an oven, quite impressive .The most beautiful thing about this solution is that it can be manufactured at home and it’s not that costly. I will definitely bookmark this site for reference on how to make an oven cleaning agent using only a few ingredients. Surely gonna give it a trial.
Thanks glad you enjoyed . Baking soda along with vinegar can be useful around the house for cooking and cleaning purposes.
The cost and time make is short but the time it takes for the baking mixture to set is long a total of 12 hours. On the bright side letting the baking soda set and soak up all the grease and food residue will save time and effort from scrubbing away.