How to Clean an Oven Without Oven Cleaner (Baking Soda, Overnight)

Step by step

1. 1

   Start with a cold, empty oven

   Make sure the oven is off and completely cool. Take out the racks, the broiler pan and anything stored inside, as Arm & Hammer says. The racks get their own clean.

2. 2

   Sweep out the loose crumbs

   Wipe out loose crumbs and flakes of burnt food with a dry paper towel, so the paste reaches the stuck layer instead of the crumbs.

3. 3

   Mix the paste

   Put on gloves. In a bowl, mix 1 pound of baking soda, 1 tablespoon of table salt and 2 tablespoons of water. Add more water half a tablespoon at a time if you need it. That is Arm & Hammer’s heavy-duty recipe, and the maker says to triple it for the back, sides, ceiling and floor of a whole oven.

   What it looks like: a thick, sandy paste, about like cake icing.

1. 4

   Spread it on the dirty metal and glass

   Spread the paste over the dirty metal and glass inside the oven: the floor, walls, back and the inside of the door glass. Arm & Hammer says to avoid the heating elements, and stay clear of the door gasket too.

2. 5

   Shut the door and leave it overnight

   Close the oven door and leave the paste in the cold oven overnight. Do not turn the oven on.

   What it looks like: by morning the paste has hardened, which Arm & Hammer says means it is ready.

3. 6

   Lift it off with a spatula and wet paper towels

   In the morning, loosen the hardened paste with a rubber spatula, then wipe it out with warm, wet paper towels, rinsing and wringing them often.

4. 7

   Wipe with water and a little vinegar

   Wipe the inside with a towel dampened in 3 parts water to 1 part white vinegar, as Arm & Hammer suggests. Any baking soda you missed will fizz. GE says cleaners should be removed before you use the range again, so keep wiping with clean water until nothing fizzes.

   What it looks like when it worked: no fizz when you wipe.

5. 8

   Put the racks back

   Once the inside is dry, slide the clean racks back in. You are done.

When it will not work, and what to do instead

A light mess does not need the overnight paste, and some ovens need a different plan.

• It is only a light mess. Arm & Hammer gives a quicker paste: half a cup of baking soda and 3 tablespoons of water, about as thick as pancake batter. Spread it on the dirty spots, avoiding the heating elements, wait 15 to 20 minutes, then wipe it up with wet paper towels.
• A greasy film is left on the walls. Arm & Hammer lists ovens and broiler pans among the jobs for Super Washing Soda: half a cup dissolved in a gallon of warm water. Wear gloves, wipe it on, then wipe with clean water. Keep it off any aluminum parts, because the label says not to use it on aluminum, and check your oven manual first.
• You want to run the self-clean cycle instead. That is fine if your oven has one and the manual allows it. Whirlpool says to take out the racks and pans, wipe out loose soil and keep the kitchen well ventilated. It also says to always move pet birds to another closed, well-ventilated room.

Why it works

The brown crust in an oven is grease and food that have baked on, one spill at a time. Baking soda is a mild alkali (the opposite of an acid, like vinegar), and the American Cleaning Institute explains that an alkali is what turns fat into soap. The thick, wet paste keeps it sitting right on the grime for hours, a bit like letting a crusty casserole dish soak overnight.

By morning the paste has hardened, and the spatula and wet towels lift it out along with the loosened dirt. The vinegar at the end has one small job: it fizzes wherever baking soda is left, so you can see what still needs a wipe.