Ditch The Chemicals! This Smart Way To Clean Your Oven Works Like Magic

No one really likes to clean their oven. Still, regular maintenance is definitely worthwhile (and makes the appliance less of a fire hazard, too). A monthly wipe-down is always a good starting point when trying to keep your oven clean, but you might need to do a deep clean every once in a while. One increasingly talked-about method is the vinegar and steam oven cleaning solution, which can be an alternative to commercial oven cleaners.

Vinegar — particularly white vinegar — is a staple among households that prefer greener or more "natural" cleaning solutions. This acidic substance has a reputation for neutralizing alkaline materials, while also providing odor-eliminating and germ-fighting capabilities. As an effective home cleaning solution, white vinegar is sometimes used to remove hard water minerals. It's also capable of breaking up gummy and sticky buildup that often accumulates in the oven. Before you spray your oven with cleaning vinegar, there may be a more effective and easier way to use this pantry item to clean your appliance. When vinegar is combined with heat from your oven, it can create a steam that will help loosen up food residue.

To start, remove any racks from your oven ahead of time and clean those separately. It's also helpful to use a vacuum with a hose attachment to clean up dry, loose crumbs. For best results, use an oven-safe bowl or baking dish to fill your vinegar steam agent with. Then, add 1 cup each of white vinegar and water. Place this in an oven preheated to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow the combination to heat in the oven for at least 20 to 30 minutes. This allows it to steam so it can loosen up old stains, grease, and burnt foods.

After this time, you can turn off your oven and allow the bowl of vinegar-water to sit for 15 to 20 more minutes before removing it with oven mitts. Allow your oven to completely cool before wiping it down with a clean microfiber cloth. At this point, you'll be wiping away both the vinegar steam as well as any food particles that loosened up during the process. Also, as with any other oven cleaning solution, take care not to directly apply any chemicals or sprays to your oven's heating element. 

While vinegar steam cleaning an oven can possibly help get your appliance cleaner without much elbow grease, there is still a catch to this method to consider if you haven't cleaned it in several weeks (or even months). A severely dirty oven might need a bit more scrubbing power to remove caked-on messes, such as a paste of baking soda and water. 

It's important to keep in mind that the vinegar steam cleaning method may not work in all circumstances. As one user reported via The Kitchn, setting the oven to between 350 and 375 degrees did little to create much steam, and the process did not really seem to work in an oven that hadn't been deep-cleaned in quite some time. This is where turning the oven up to a higher heat setting could possibly make a difference, but perhaps not much so in an exceptionally dirty oven.

Also, if you do decide to use this oven cleaning hack, prepare yourself and the rest of your household for the inevitable vinegar smell that will temporarily linger in your home after using this cleaning method. Consider wearing a mask and eye gear when opening the oven door back up to help reduce the risk of irritation from the acidic vapors. The same rule applies to using any other vinegar cleaning hacks in your home.