Cleaning a Oven

[treegardner]

I need to clean our oven, and it is not self-cleaning. Is there any natural way to do this? I don't want to use any harsh chemicals. TIA!

[Annie Mac]

I've done it with baking soda, dish soap (to cut the grease), water and a metal pot scrubber. And gloves, because it will tear up your hands. It wasn't easy though, a lot of elbow grease involved...but it *did* work! Years ago, I tried putting a dish of ammonia overnight inside the oven to loosen the grease, but just could NOT handle the smell.

In my Organic Housekeeping book, it says:
1. Put the racks in a garbage bag with a cup or two of cleaning ammonia. Let them sit overnight, then hose them off & scrub.
2. Use one of the following recipes to clean the oven itself:
a)2 tbsp dish soap, 2 tsp borax, 1 qt warm water. Sponge over oven & let sit for 20 mins before scrubbing with scrubber and bon ami cleanser.
b)2 tbsp liquid castile Dr. Bronner's soap or Murphy's oil soap & 2 tbsp borax & a pint of water in a spray bottle. Spray the oven, let sit for 20 mins, then scrub.

She also mentions the sudsing ammonia overnight in the oven.

[2cutiekitties]

^^ that is brilliant! I was wondering how to get the racks clean

[treegardner]

I forgot to update this. I made a paste out of baking soda and let it sit for about 10 min before I started scrubbing. It took a lot of elbow grease, but the baking soda really got it clean.

[A&A]

make a paste of white vinegar and cream of tartar. It works wonders on the oven (I still have a hard time getting the glass in the door clean, though.....this paste doesn't work on the glass.)

[bezark]

For the glass door, I always use a razor blade to scrape off the worst of it, then clean with vinegar, baking soda, and a squirt of Dawn.