We all have them-spills, overflowing batter and burning drips from food explosions that completely mess up our oven. Thankfully, there are many easy ways to clean the oven quickly and you need not always resort to using harsh chemicals or household cleaners. Try the best ways to clean oven racks given below and soon your guests will be commenting as to how clean the inside of your oven is!
1. Assemble your tools
The following tools will help you clean your oven quickly:
- Sponge
- Old rags
- Small squeegee
- Superfine steel wool
- Bucket-with water to clean up and rinse
- Gloves to protect your hands
- Grill brushes
- Baking soda
- Vinegar (white or orange)
- Ammonia (for heavy duty cleaning)
- Lemons
2. Remove all debris from the oven
If you have a self cleaning oven, first remove all the loose debris first as well as the racks, coils and grates. Self cleaning ovens heat up to almost 1000 degrees and if you do not remove the debris first, it could blacken up your oven or fill up your home with smoke. Once the self cleaning cycle is done, you will be left with fine ash that you can easily wipe off. Even in case of regular/non-self cleaning ovens, you must remove the large debris using old rags, steel wool and squeegee.
Tip: Crank the exhaust fans and open all doors and windows while the oven cleans itself.
3. Vinegar steam
Vinegar steam is the easiest way to clean the oven racks quickly. Fill up a 9”x12” of baking pan with an inch or two of water mixed with white vinegar. Place the pan in the oven and set it to 300 degrees. After 30 minutes, turn the oven off. Do not open the door of the oven for 10 minutes. Let the vinegar steam degrease the sides of the oven. Afterwards, you can easily wipe down the oven with a scrub or squeegee sprayed with some more vinegar solution. Using old rags, wipe down the oven door and walls for a sparkling clean oven.
4. Baking soda
Sprinkle some baking soda liberally on the layer of grease and grime inside the oven while it is still a bit warm. You can also make a paste of baking soda and orange vinegar and spray the insides of the oven. Let this paste sit for at least an hour or overnight. Next morning, wipe down the loosened grime. This is an easy, eco friendly and quick way to clean your oven with baking soda and vinegar. Also, after every use, spray a mixture of baking soda and vinegar inside the oven to reduce your cleaning efforts. This paste will also remove food odors and prevent the grime from hardening.
5. Use Ammonia
Soak your oven racks and grill in water mixed with a little ammonia. This is an easy way to clean ovens as ammonia loosens the food particles and will reduce your job of scrubbing. Now you can use a plastic scrubber to gently scrub away the grime.
Tip: For very dirty oven racks, place them inside heavy duty trash bags filled with water and ½ cup of household ammonia. Let it sit overnight. In the morning, stand back as you open the bag. Let the air clear out first. Hose down the racks before placing them in the oven.
Note: Do not use ammonia for cleaning oven racks that contain nickel since ammonia can react with them and cause discoloration.
6. Use lemons
This is the best oven cleaner for baked on grease. Cut up an entire lemon and pour about 3-4 cups of water over it. Place the lemon-water mixture in an oven-safe pan and heat it up at around 350 degrees for 20 minutes. The key is to create enough steam and humidity so that the lemon vapor will remove baked-on grease easily. Once the oven is slightly cool, you can use old rags to remove the grime.
7. Never use all purpose cleaners inside hot oven
All purpose cleaners in hot ovens tend to leave hard-to-remove residue. Also avoid powder cleaners in self cleaning or continuous cleaning ovens as they tend to clog the pores. Likewise, you mustn’t use metal pads or abrasives inside ovens as they can wear off the coating.
We are sure these tips and easy ways to clean an oven help you.