4 Cleaning Tips For Your Oven and Stove
Cleaning your oven doesn’t have to involve a lot of time or effort.
If you’re tired of dealing with all that grime, grease, and mess, here are 4 oven cleaning tips you should try.
Use the Right Tools
The key to cleaning an oven is to use all the right tools. Things like abrasive pads are ideal for cleaning grime. You also need a spray bottle and a small bowl for mixing and applying your own cleaning solutions. Don’t use things like cloth towels or regular sponges because they’ll be covered in grime and completely useless. You might clean your oven, but you’ll never be able to use these cloth towels or sponges again. Your best choice is paper towels or old rags.
Greasy Build-Up inside the Oven
The easiest process to remove heavy greasy build-up is a store-bought oven cleaner. But if you are sensitive to harsh chemicals, you may prefer my second option
Fill a pan with water and put it in the oven. Set the oven to 225 Fahrenheit and leave it for at least 15 minutes. When it’s cooled down, add dishwashing soap to the water and use a nylon sponge to scrub the now-loose grime and clean the oven interior. If you still have greasy build-up, make a small bowl, mixing 1/2 cup of baking soda with three tablespoons of water. You want it to be the consistency of spreadable paste. Make sure to spread it on the entire interior surface of your oven, except the heating elements.
Let this mixture sit overnight for 10- 12 hours. The next morning, take a damp cloth and wipe out as much of the dried baking soda paste as possible. You can use a silicon spatula to scape any hard to remove paste. Next, place about 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar in a spray bottle full of water and spritz everywhere you see baking soda residue in your oven.
You may see light foam. Don’t worry. This is just the reaction of the baking soda and vinegar. I like to do a final wipe-down with clear water. Use a damp cloth to wipe out the remaining foamy vinegar-baking soda mixture. I like to repeat until all surfaces are clear of baking soda.
Clean the Stove Hood
Don’t overlook the stove hood.
Start by wiping off any heavy grease build-up with a thick paper towel or old rag. Fill a spray bottle with warm water and all-purpose cleaner. Spray down the outside of the hood and let set for 2-3 minutes and wipe clean with a damp cloth. Finish with a light rinse and then wipe with a dry paper towel.
Clean under the hood with multifunctional cleaning brushes with dish soap if you have a heavy buildup of grease. If you have really bad build-up, use the same baking soda and water paste method you used for the oven.
Cooktops
Cleaning up spills and messes will depend on the type of cooktop you have. If you have burnt food on your cooktop, you may want to scrub with a light abrasive to remove scorching. To help prevent major cleaning tasks, make sure to review the stove manual to see how best to keep it clean.
Summary
Cleaning your stove and oven doesn’t have to be a big burdensome task. With some simple tips and tricks, such as mixing baking soda, water, and vinegar, you can take out some of the work. Remember that a stitch in time saves nine, so clean up messes when they happen to cut down on having to do a massive clean.
