Oven Cleaner... oooooh, aaaaaah.

[MrsGregory]

So, I cook with lots of oil and at higher heats in my oven, and it needs a good solid scrubbing rather frequently as a result.  The residue is greasy and stuck stuck stuck.  I've been using a "fume free" oven cleaner, which I'm sure is still just terrible for me and my lungs.  Little Miss is shut away at the opposite end of the house while this cleaner is applied and while it's scrubbed off. 

Are there any natural options that will be effective on this tough mess?  I've been Googling around without much luck.  I see several "baking soda" suggestions... and then I realized they were serious.  No.  No ma'am.  This is caked on grease, folks.  For your information, I have a basic gas range and oven.  The range gets wiped every time, so that's fine...  and I'm thinking once I get that oven clean again, I might start wiping it out every time too.  But until now, it's been once-a-month with the EZOff fume-free. 

[MamaPrincess]

check if your oven does not have "clean" button. Many ovens are equipped with self-cleaning option that is nothing else but heating to some super high temperatures like 550  or some other ungoldy ones.. for few hours and that burns all dirt itno dust and then it locks itself for we hours so you can't even open it untill it cools.. so then you open and jsut wipe the oven.

In my opinion this is healthiest options, it is energy bad but otehrwise I think it is a good trade off as not polluting environement with toxins..

and you don't need to clean that often either.

I would get oven with such  a fature if I did not have one . well worht the price. also they usually come with "dry" option

and that gives you tons of dried fruitts a year without presrvatives without chemicals without nothing and

they are so diiiiiiiii licous!

[MamaPrincess]

see what my google search brought: I googled random words: natural oven cleaner

https://www.google.com/#hl=en&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=natural+oven+cleaner+homemade&oq=natural+oven+cleaner&gs_l=hp.1.6.0l10.896.3084.1.10458.20.15.0.5.5.1.454.1579.12j2j4-1.15.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.7NAgzJEEnPI&psj=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=2e91dd046fd868fc&biw=1097&bih=597

[MamaPrincess]

btw.. baking soda.. hm.. you might revisit the issue because I am not sure how you are using it..

if you just put it on and try to rub it it won't work.. the soda works by penetration and

braking structure of baked in dirt as it becames actually stone hard carbon..

so you must apply wet paste and let it work.. and then reapply..

by the same token if you would wet a towel with vinegar so it won't dry out..

and leave on the botto for few hours you sure should see some effects..

those things like vinegar and soda paste do work by reacting, not as abrasives..

as you might loose your arm trying to scrab the oven with soda if you ask me..

but if you leaveit for a while the soda gets into it.. tricky part is to keep it

mosit as dry soda does not do a squat to a dirt :)

oh and just be careful and not to us BORAX.. read my post on borax or just go to wikipedia, scroll down to the toxicity and read. It is bad stuff. some natural cleaners mixtures do recommend using borax, I do stay away from it. I don't consider it safer then any other bad stuff.

Bravo for keeping your little one away from it. Do remember to open windows in the whole house..

and best is to go outside for few hours while upstairs windows left open to get fresh air and let toxicity out .

Edited by MamaPrincess - 9/13/12 at 9:07am

[MamaPrincess]

oh, forgot.. if you have ever a chance to watch this very nice documentary that is really fun to watch

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Chemerical_Redefining_Clean_for_a_New_Generation/70230760?trkid=496624

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KTUZZp0m_0

[MrsGregory]

Thanks for the advice, MamaPrincess.  To answer your question, no, my oven doesn't have a self-clean option. 
 

[SweetSilver]

A scrubby and scalding water (and heavy gloves).  Those Scotch-Brite green scouring pads are perfect for this, as they can be wrung out and is less messy.  Good idea for electric ovens: flip the breaker switch!  Still, it's not suppose to be puddles of water and splashes flying everywhere.  (Though, if the oven bottom doesn't have holes (like gas ovens) letting a little puddle sit where all that baked on grease likes to pool really helps clean it up.)  Not a perfect method, but non-toxic for sure.