Homemade Oven cleaner (updated)

So my sick household all went to school. WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!  I usually go and help in Ryan's classroom, but I need to disinfect this germy house!

I also need to clean my oven. It stinks up the house with a burnt smell every time I use it, and I am over it!

Now I have a self cleaning oven, but it takes 4 hours, and heats up the oven to a ridiculous temperature that if you happen to bump into it while it is cleaning will give you a 3rd degree burn (don't ask how I know this...3rd degree might be an exaggeration), and it uses electricity like it is going out of style! So I am on the hunt for a better way.

I am going to try a homemade remedy, as store bought oven cleaners are seriously toxic.


I found this recipe

Homemade Oven Cleaner

6 tablespoons of Baking Soda

4 drops of natural liquid dish washing soap

4 tablespoons of white vinegar

Mix all of the ingredients to form a paste

Wipe the paste on the inside of your oven everywhere 

Scrub with a course sponge or cloth 

Wipe clean and rinse thoroughly


Here is another recipe:

Ingredients:1/2 cup homemade liquid soap (I used homemade soap nuts liquid)*
1 1/2 cup aluminum-free baking soda
2-4 drops lavender essential oil (you can use any scent you like, or none at all)
1/4 cup organic white vinegar (you can also use apple cider vinegar)
Water as needed to make a “paintable” but thick paste



or this one:

Oven Cleaner: Moisten oven surfaces with sponge and water. Use 3/4cup baking soda, 1/4cup salt and 1/4cup water to make a thick paste, and spread throughout oven interior. (avoid bare metal and any openings) Let sit overnight. Remove with spatula and wipe clean. Rub gently with fine steel wool for tough spots. 



So my take is, the majority of the recipes using baking soda and vinegar and soap. I think I will go with option number 2, since they are basically the same. 

and the honor of full disclosure....here is the before. DON"T JUDGE!

I will be back later with an updated photo. We shall see how well this works.


Here it is with the cleaning product applied. Now I am suppose to let it sit for several hours. 

and here it is 5 hours later. All cleaned out.

I would say we can call that a success.  A couple thoughts. Although it was a nontoxic method, it wasn't particularly eco friendly. I used an entire roll of paper towel to get all the stuff washed out. I suppose I could have used rags, but I don't have that many. And washing them afterward might have been tricky with all the grease on them. I think I would use less soap next time. I only used about a tablespoon, but it made it difficult to rinse it out. I think recipe #1 has the right idea on the amount of soap, but I needed that 1 1/2 cups of baking soda to coat my oven. I painted it on with an old paint brush which worked really well. After it sat for the 5 hours,  I did scrub it just a bit with a green scotch pad. It didn't require much scrubbing at all though.  I will certainly use this method again.

So if you are looking for a nontoxic way to clean your oven give any of the above methods a try. I used number 2 only for the addition of essential oil that made it smell good. =)

Have a blessed day!