Clean Your Oven Without Harsh Chemicals

It is completely possible to thoroughly clean your oven using only naturally occurring products. We've all heard stories about how harsh and dangerous popular oven cleaning sprays can be. Avoid the dangerous products that do the same thing as the environmentally friendly, and naturally safe compounds. If it is able to melt hardened grease off of steel oven walls in just seconds, imagine what it may do to your lungs when you accidentally breathe it in. This is a very simple process, so let's start making that oven shine!

As a precaution when you're working with ammonia, you should consider wearing protective latex kitchen gloves. You don't want to dry out your hands!

The Process:

To clean your oven using ammonia, you need to start by heating the oven up to a low temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit and then turn the heat off. You don't need to leave the oven turned on while this process is taking place, the heat serves to help loosen up the hardened grease and allow the ammonia to take its natural course. If you have a gas oven, make sure to turn off both the gaslight and the pilot light before you continue through the cleaning process. If you find this process easy and effective, check out the rest of our kitchen cleaning tips over on The Ultimate Guide to Naturally Cleaning Your Kitchen.

1. Fill a heat-safe dish with water and place it on the bottom rack of the oven. On the top rack, put a heat-safe bowl or dish containing 1 cup of ammonia. Close the oven door and let it sit there overnight.
2. On the following morning, open the oven and remove both the bowl of ammonia and the pot of water. Be prepared for a sharp smell, ammonia isn't the most pleasant of scents; however, it certainly won't cause any harm. You'll want to keep it for later on in this process, so do not dispose of the ammonia yet.
3. Remove the racks and leave the oven door open to air out for about a quarter-hour. If you're able to, turn on an exhaust fan or open a window to let the room clear out. Add 1-2 teaspoons of liquid dish soap to the ammonia, along with about a quart of warm water. Use a heavy-duty nylon scrubbing pad doused in the ammonia mixture, and start wiping clean the softened grease along the sides and bottom of the oven. It'll come off easily, and your oven will look like it's brand new in no time.

If you want to start saving your personal time and dedicating towards something that you're truly passionate about, unless that happens to be cleaning ovens -  give You've Got Maids a call and have us thoroughly do your dirty work for you!