Today I am inspired to write this blog as my oven is in dire need of some TLC – I did some research on how important this is and the results where mind blowing, I had no idea how regularly you theoretically should be “maintaining” your oven. It seems to be one of those things that “you’ll get around to that tomorrow” and tomorrow turns into the next day, and the day after that and so on but let me remind you how important this is!
My first question I had when I opened my oven last night was “when did I even last clean this?” my answer was struggling to come to mind, it must have been a good 4 months ago (not so bad, right?!) well – WRONG! Here my next question came, how often are you supposed to clean your oven?
Once. Every. Month. HOW BIZARRE! Of all the years I have been in charge of that sort of thing, I never even realized there was actually a time period on how often you should be doing it.
Why is there a time on this? I get the hygiene side of it but what’s the actual history behind this? Simple, your oven can become less efficient at reaching temperatures and eventually may just stop working all together if burnt food/build-up is left unattended.
Crusty build up can also impact the taste of your food and, while high temperatures can kill some bacteria, it’s not a good place to be cooking food (like I said, hygiene)
So, now that I’ve got you itching to go have a look at your ovens – I also have a natural guide on how to clean your oven without even turning it on, this method is super easy and really cost efficient.
What you will need:
- Baking Soda (1/2 cup)
- Water (to make a paste)
- Rubber Gloves (Preferably durable, non-disposable ones)
- Damp dishcloth
- Spray Bottle
- Vinegar (White)
Instructions:
- Clear out the oven
Take out all dish-racks (clean those as well) make sure everything is removed so you have access to get deep in the back of the oven to clear that build-up.
- Mix the paste
In a small bowl, mix a 1/2 cup of baking soda with a few tablespoons of water. Adjust the ratio of both as needed until you have a spreadable paste.
- Coat the oven
Spread the paste all over the interior surfaces of your oven, steering clear of the heating elements. Use gloves for this portion, as the oven may be pretty gunky. The baking soda will turn a brownish colour as you rub it in; it also might be chunkier in some places than others, which is fine. Just try to coat the whole oven to the best of your abilities, paying extra attention to any particularly greasy areas.
- Let it sit overnight
Allow the baking soda mixture to rest for at least 12 hours, or overnight.
- Wipe the oven out
After 12 hours or overnight, take a damp dish cloth and wipe out as much of the dried baking soda paste as you can. Use a plastic spatula to help scrape off the paste as needed.
- Spray a little bit of vinegar
Put a little vinegar in a spray bottle and spritz everywhere you still see baking soda residue in your oven. The vinegar will react with the baking soda and gently foam.
- Do a final wipe down
Take your damp cloth and wipe out the remaining foamy vinegar-baking soda mixture. Repeat until all the baking soda residue is gone. Add more water or vinegar as needed while wiping to really get the oven clean and shiny.
- Replace your clean oven racks
Replace the oven racks and anything else you keep in your oven, and you’re done!
Go give that oven some TLC – You’ll thank yourself later.
