Ovens are an essential household appliance for cooking daily meals, and are something most people use daily – whether it’s heating up leftovers, grilling the perfect cheese toastie or cooking up a delicious roast from scratch. So why is it that cleaning the oven is such a dreaded task for most people? It doesn’t have to be this way! Our oven cleaning tips will help you turn it into a totally harmless part of your routine.
Cleaning the oven is often a mammoth task. The longer you leave it, the worse it gets – baking and roasting regularly can cause a nasty build-up of grime and grease that takes some serious effort to remove. We recommend three steps as the easiest way to clean an oven: cleaning the removable items, cleaning the inside, and cleaning the outside.
Step one is to remove any elements of the oven that can be taken out. This is typically the oven rack, but let’s face it – most of us are also guilty of storing the occasional used dish there while we build up the courage to tackle cleaning it. If it’s been a long time since the last clean, the oven rack (and any additional sneaky dishes) might need to be soaked in warm, soapy water to loosen any built-up grease before being scrubbed. Here’s a helpful oven cleaning hack: If your oven rack is too large to soak in your sink, use your bathtub instead – although you might want to clean the tub afterwards! If you clean the oven regularly, a quick scrub and wipe down of the rack with a scourer or the harder side of a sponge should do.
Knowing how to clean the inside of the oven might seem a little daunting at first. After all, it’s got the largest surface area and often attracts the biggest build-up of grease and grime. But don’t sweat it! We’ve got three oven cleaning tips to help make this task as painless as possible: the bicarbonate of soda-vinegar method, the lemon juice method, and the shop-bought cleaner method.
The bicarbonate of soda-vinegar method is a highly effective cleaning solution made using ingredients you’ve probably already got in your pantry. Mix a half cup of bicarbonate of soda with three tablespoons of water to create your cleaning paste. Then, using a clean brush, apply this mixture evenly all over the inside of your oven, making sure not to touch the heating elements. The mixture will need at least 12 hours to clean the oven, so the best thing to do is apply it the night before, head to bed and by the morning, you should be good to go. Once your 12 hours have passed, grab a damp cloth and thoroughly wipe away all the bicarbonate of soda-vinegar mixture.
If you’d rather avoid the bicarbonate of soda-vinegar method or you’re short on time, you can fill a baking dish up with 1/3 warm water and the juice of two lemons, crank your oven up to 240°F for 30 minutes, and you’ll find the grease has loosened up and will wipe away more easily.
Of course, if these natural cleaning solutions just aren’t cutting it, and you’d prefer to use a shop-bought cleaner, that’s also great! Be sure to follow the instructions carefully, wear protective gloves, and wipe down your oven thoroughly afterwards. The great thing about using natural cleaners is that they are food-safe, but the same can’t be said for all shop-bought products, so be sure to check first!
The outside of the oven is usually the easiest and least time-consuming part of the oven-cleaning process: Just use either your bicarbonate of soda-vinegar cleanser, a sponge soaked in lemon water or your shop-bought cleaner with a sponge to wipe down the outside, using the tough side to scrub away any particularly stubborn bits!