Ovens often become the grimiest part of our kitchens, posing a real challenge due to continuous exposure to our food, yet many are deterred from tackling them because of the difficult-to-remove grease. When food overflows during cooking, the fats and oils can splash onto hot surfaces, setting into tough stains as the oven cools.
It’s crucial to clean built-up grime since it carries a fire hazard and can leave your meals with an unpleasant, burnt smell. Fortunately, Shamsa, a domestic guru and founder of Officially Shamsa, has divulged that dealing with a soiled oven can be a doddle if you use bicarbonate of soda. Shamsa said: “A quick, cheap and effective method for cleaning the inside of a dirty oven is to use a homemade baking soda (or bicarbonate of soda) solution.
“Adding lemon juice or vinegar to the baking soda solution helps to clean the oven even further.”
Bicarbonate of soda stands out as a top-notch natural cleaner for ovens thanks to its alkaline nature, which effectively breaks through grease’s acidic and fatty elements.
Its absorbency tackles odours, and its gritty composition eases stubborn grease without harming the oven’s surface.
Acidic agents like white vinegar or lemon juice boast antibacterial qualities that contribute to sanitising your oven.
Nevertheless, combining bicarbonate of soda with white vinegar or lemon leads to a fizzing action, cancelling each other out and reducing their power against grease.
For optimal results, let the bicarbonate of soda paste sit overnight, but if you’re pressed for time, a four-hour stint should suffice.
Once the time has elapsed, fill an empty bottle with white vinegar or lemon juice and spritz it all over your oven. This will trigger the fizzy solution, aiding in dislodging any stubborn grease.
Clean the oven with a fresh sponge, and the grease should lift off effortlessly. Give the oven another spritz of your white vinegar (or lemon juice) solution to eliminate any remaining paste.
Ensure the oven is thoroughly dried before turning it back on, but it should now be gleaming clean without any splatter, sticky residues or stubborn grease.