Effortlessly Clean Old Oven Grime With One Fresh Ingredient

We'll admit it, cleaning isn't always the most fun thing to do in your home. Cleaning the oven, in particular, is the second most disliked household chore by Americans. Therefore, it's not strange to find that many people push back this task time and again, resulting in the grime sticking more to the oven as it gets baked with every subsequent cooking episode. So how do you clean that old grease without breaking your back in the process? The secret is using lemon, a natural powerhouse for cleaning.

The process is pretty straightforward. First, put some water in an oven-safe bowl or dish and squeeze the juice of two lemons into it. You can also just slice the lemons and drop the pieces inside the water. Now place the dish in the oven and switch it on to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Let the dish with the lemon water hang in there for about 20 minutes so the water heats and releases steam into the oven cavity. After the 20 minutes are over, turn off the oven and let it cool for 10 to 20 minutes so you can safely handle the lemon water and clean the oven interior. Now, take a cloth and dampen it with the lemon water then use it to wipe down the oven. You may need to apply some elbow grease to scrub off the most stuck-on grime, but, thankfully, it'll be much easier than if you hadn't started with steaming.

There's a reason lemon is such a popular ingredient in most cleaning hack — because it works. But how exactly? Well, it's all about the acidity. Lemons, whether the sweet Meyer lemon or the regular varieties, contain citric acid and ascorbic acid, and these acidic elements are quite effective at stripping away stains. Lemon is also an efficient natural degreaser, so you can rest assured any oily or greasy gunk as a result of repeated food spills will be properly dealt with.

Even though the primary purpose of using lemon is to clean, this citrus offers the added advantage of creating a hygienic environment, thanks to its antibacterial and antiseptic properties. It can kill bacteria, mold, and mildew, leaving your oven in tip-top condition. You'll also notice the fresh citrusy scent left behind by this natural cleaning agent due to its deodorizing power.

Beyond the lemon's abilities, this cleaning hack also works because of the steam buildup in the oven. The vaporized lemon water at high temperature sips into the grime, softens and loosens it, making it much easier to wipe off. The steam is also able to penetrate every corner of the oven cavity and loosen dirt from the nooks and crannies where they're lodged.

Now, the reality is that no matter how much scrubbing you do in the oven, there's often going to be some really stubborn stains that just won't budge. This is where you'll want to enlist the lemon and baking soda cleaning duo. Begin by sprinkling a generous amount of fresh baking soda on the fleshy side of half of a lemon. Let it fizz and combine with the citrus juices. Now use this as a scrubbing brush and have another go at the stubborn stains. The baking soda acts like an abrasive, helping to scrape out the grime, hence those baked-on greasy spots will be clean in no time.

Another way to use this lemon and baking soda duo begins by making a baking soda paste using lemon juice or plain water and then applying it inside the oven cavity, especially where the grime hasn't come off. Let it sit for a few minutes, then scrub again using the lemon half. Once you're satisfied, wipe down the oven using a clean damp cloth until perfectly clean. And there you have it, a simple method to clean your oven using natural, easily accessible ingredients.