Debunking Natural Cleaner Myths

I put off cleaning my oven for a really long time. I have an ancient wall oven from the 70’s that is a lovely yellow ochre color. It must’ve been installed around the same time as the lime green tub gracing my bathroom with its hideous-ness. It is quite astounding to think that these fixtures have lasted for over thirty years, but despite their longevity, they aren’t any easier to clean.

Finally, I couldn’t stand it anymore but I definitely didn’t want to use the spray-on oven cleaner that was in my kitchen cabinet. This noxious stuff stinks up the whole house to such a point that even my dogs can’t help coughing. In the past I’ve sprayed on an entire can of the foamy stuff and still not had enough left over to clean the pull-out oven racks.

Try looking up all-natural or earth-friendly cleaners and you’ll find a dizzying array of recipes and choices. What you won’t find is testimonials for which ones work and which ones don’t. I’ve been trying them out in my own home for a while now and I’ve found out that sometimes natural cleaners work and sometimes they don’t.

Step One: So, not expecting much, I grabbed a box of baking soda and started dumping it on the inside of the oven door and tossed it up onto the sides.

Step Two: I took out the oven racks and put them in the bathtub. I filled the tub with enough water so that it just covered the racks and squeezed in about 2-3 tablespoons of dish washing liquid.

Step Three: I grabbed a scrubby sponge, wet it and slid it down the oven door. I was so shocked by how much grime and gunk a simple baking soda and water solution could take off, I took a picture. (Don’t forget, I did say I had put off cleaning it, so it was pretty disgusting, I know) I repeated this all over the inside and outside of my oven, adding more baking soda when needed and rinsing the sponge in a bucket of water beside me.

Step Four: After finishing cleaning out the oven, I went into see how my racks were doing. To my amazement, the baked-on black stuff fell right off. I trapped all the bits and pieces so they wouldn’t clog the drain, rinsed off the racks and joyfully put them back in the oven.

Step Five: Closed the door to my oven and on harsh oven cleaner fumes forever.