Cookers get used a lot, and after a few spilled dishes, the interior can quickly get encrusted with blackened food debris that can be a nightmare to remove. Not only that, but the built-up grease and charred food can turn into carbon, which goes on to smell when your cooker is turned on, filling your entire kitchen with an acrid, unpleasant stench. Leaving your cooker in this condition is perilous; it can become a real fire hazard and your food may become tainted, too.
If you have a self-cleaning oven, this shouldn’t be so much of an issue, but for those of you who don’t, read on to discover how you can get your oven clean with ease:
Firstly, take out the racks:
Prepare your sink by filling it with warm soapy water, or fill a bowl, whichever is easiest. Then dunk the racks and leave them to soak while you tackle the rest of the cooker.
Then, prepare a cleaning solution:
Purchase a 1 litre bottle with a spray nozzle, or simply empty the contents of one that you already have in your cupboard. Fill it with 4 tablespoons of baking soda and top it up with water. Giving the bottle a good shake should see that the soda dissolves into the water.
Spray the solution all over the inside of the oven:
Make sure that you completely soak the whole interior, paying attention to the worst affected areas. If your oven is exceptionally dirty, you could use more baking soda mixed with less water, to give yourself a thicker paste that you can spread onto the oven, rather than spraying.Try to leave the solution on for at least an hour, and if it hasn’t helped to shift the grime after that time, soak it again and leave it for another hour.
Once the carbon is loosened:
Scrape the carbon off with any appropriate tool that you have at home, and stick at it until it has all been removed. If some areas are still stubborn to shift, just keep spraying the baking soda solution on as you go.
Sweep up the charred bits once you’ve finished, and if some carbon remains, just keep repeating the process until the last bit has been removed. For tougher carbon stains (that may have built-up over many months!), you may need to use an industrial strength oven cleaner.
Simply follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and be careful of the fumes that may be emitted with cleaners that contain chemicals.
Make a vinegar and water solution:
In a bowl or bucket, make a solution from half vinegar and half water, and use a sponge or cloth to thoroughly wipe down the interior of the cooker.
Not forgetting the racks…
Give them a thorough scrubbing in the soapy water that you left them to soak in earlier, rinse them off and pop them back in the oven. For racks that are exceptionally dirty, you may want to use a harsh scrubber to get rid of the encrusted food particles.
And there you have it, quick and easy steps for a cleaming oven! To avoid having to put quite so much effort into this task though, try to clean your oven quickly after every time you use it, and pop a baking tray under any dishes that are likely to spill.