Cheap and Easy

My latest on natural and efficient cleaning strategies is for you crusty, greasy oven.  The other day, I used vinegar and baking soda and a steel scrubbing net.  It took me about 10 minutes of scrubbing time which I'd gladly choose over harsh, awful smelling chemicals in my oven where I cook my food.  I am not a fan of using chemicals in a place I put food.  This combination worked amazingly and took very little effort.  Here's what I did:

Start with a dirty oven...not too hard for most of us!

Sprinkle baking soda on the surface you want to clean

Pour or spray vinegar (I use white usually) over the baking soda

Use a steel wool pad or what I like to use is the Norwex spirinet.  It is stainless steel with a little more scrubbing power.  If you use steel wool, make sure it is chemical free or it defeats the purpose of using this process.  If you have a really crusty oven, leave this mixture on for about 5-10 minutes after you scrub and then scrub again.  You can also add a drop of dish soap if you need even more cleaning power.  I prefer Dawn as it is non-toxic.

Next, use a good cleaning rag - I prefer a high quality microfiber.  It cleans as it picks up the cleaning solution.  

If you notice it's not completely clean after you wipe the solution off, take your scrubbing pad and a little more vinegar and baking soda and go over it again.  You will only need to do this if you have a really, really crusty oven.  I only had to scrub once on the inside of my oven, but had to go over the glass part of the door a second time to get the extra stuff off.  Please realize, I bought this oven new 2 years ago, and hadn't cleaned it once!  So, for that I didn't mind scrubbing another couple of minutes to get it looking brand new again. 

Here's the final product:

The last step I did after this one was wipe it with a polishing cloth to get the fine grit off from the baking soda.  When I used my oven after this process, I noticed some of the baking soda bubble out of the edges of where the glass met the frame.  THAT is why I don't use chemicals.  That would have been cooking in there with our food...gross!

More cleaning tips and life lessons coming soon. Thanks for reading!