The secret to cleaning your oven with natural eco-friendly ingredients is use the right ingredients for the job. You need cleaning ingredients that will cut through the grease and shift those stubborn burnt on bits.
With the right natural ingredients, you can easily clean your oven without any harsh toxic chemical fumes and leave it sparkling.
Which natural eco friendly ingredients should I use and why
The three main ingredients that you need for cleaning your oven to get it sparkling clean are:
Bicarbonate of Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate NaHCO₃) pH 8 to 9
Bicarbonate of soda is an alkaline or base substance and is very good at powering through grease and dirt, but not enough to make it corrosive. This makes it a great cleaning ingredient for all around your house.
Washing Soda (Sodium Carbonate Na₂CO₃) pH 11
Washing soda or soda ash is a caustic alkaline / base. The high alkalinity of washing soda allows it to act as a solvent in removing a wide range of stains so is great for washing laundry and degreasing pots and pans.
Even with natural cleaning ingredients you still need to take care. Gloves should be worn when cleaning with washing soda as it can cause skin irritation. Also, as it can be dangerous in large quantities, make sure to keep washing soda out of the reach of children and pets. It can be harmful to the eyes, cause irritation to the lungs if inhaled, and may cause abdominal pain or vomiting if large doses are swallowed.
Eco Friendly Washing Up Liquid
Washing up liquid contains surfactants, which remove fat and grease, and are the main active agents in any washing-up liquid. Choose an eco-friendly washing up liquids as they contain surfactants that come from vegetable oils, as opposed to the petrochemical oils used in most other washing-up liquids.
How clean your oven the natural eco-friendly way
Follow these simple steps to easily clean your oven and leave it sparkling:
- Remove the metal shelves / racks from your oven
- Dissolve 1 cup of washing soda in a bowl of hot water and place your metal racks in to soak for an hour while you are cleaning the oven. If the racks are really dirty you may want to soak them overnight. Also, if you don’t have a bowl large enough to lay them in flat and fully cover them with the water you can use the bath.
- Place a cup of bicarbonate of soda into a bowl and add enough eco friendly washing up liquid to form a smooth paste when mixed.
- Apply the bicarb paste all over the inside of your oven, including the glass but avoiding the heating elements.
- Leave the paste for an hour to do its magic.
- After an hour wipe the inside of the oven and glass clean, you may need to give any stubborn areas a bit of a scrub with a slightly abrasive sponge, a loofah or coconut scourer works well.
- Thoroughly rinse all surfaces with clean hot water as the bicarb can leave a white film if not thoroughly rinsed
- Give the wire racks a scrub and rinse and place back into the oven
- I like to finish off with a final wipe down with a natural general surface cleaner made from citrus infused vinegar to make it sparkle.
If you found this useful you can find lots more natural cleaning recipes in my Home Organising section.
Great article, just on time, I’m about to tackle my oven 😀
Hope you find it useful 🙂