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Home » Finding the Best Oven Cleaner: 8 Homemade Natural Oven Cleaners Tested & Rated

Finding the Best Oven Cleaner: 8 Homemade Natural Oven Cleaners Tested & Rated

Published September 5, 2019 48 comments >>

Cleaning your oven (and oven glass) doesn’t have to involve a lot of time or effort. We tested 8 of the most popular natural oven cleaners to find the best oven cleaner. Learn the easy, healthy way to clean your oven and oven glass today!

clean stainless steel oven

The oven is a kitchen spaces that always seems to be forgotten… until it is so grimy and dirty that you’re shamed into completing the task.

Those mystery splatters and blackened bits seem to build up overnight!

When we moved into our current house we purchased a beautiful new gas oven that I vowed to keep sparkling clean… then life happened!

8 oven cleaners tested on oven door

What can I use to clean my oven?

If you own a self-cleaning oven, you can run the auto-clean setting occasionally to keep your oven clean. This setting uses an extremely high temperature to burn the oven clean (you wipe the remaining ashes out when the oven cools). Auto-clean works fine, but it makes my oven glass look even dirtier, takes hours to complete, and makes the kitchen HOT and smelly.

There had to be a better solution!

I began to search for a homemade oven cleaner that would get the oven (and oven glass) sparking clean with no scrubbing and no harsh chemicals.  (The fumes from commercial oven cleaners give me a terrible headache and make the house smell for days!)

But there were so many oven cleaning tutorials and such conflicting advice on Pinterest and Google that I was overwhelmed!

oven cleaner test results

The Best Oven Cleaner Experiment

I decided to test the 8 most popular no scrub oven cleaners online to find the best oven cleaner. The oven cleaner had to be made with safe, all-natural ingredients and require no scrubbing.

Methodology

Each oven cleaner was tested on the same surface (a grimy oven door) and using same process to test each cleaner:

  1. The oven door was divided into 8 sections using painters tape. Each section was numbered with a post it note. (Yes, I’m a nerd.)
  2. Each diy oven cleaner was prepared in a separate, clean bowl then applied to one section of the oven door.
  3. Each homemade oven cleaner was given 20 minutes of “dwell time” to work then wiped off the oven door with a clean paper towel. (I did not scrub!)
  4. Finally, I recorded and photographed the results.

The differences between the natural oven cleaners were mind blowing! Some of the cleaners made absolutely no difference, some worked okay, and two left the door spotless.

oven cleaner collage

The Natural Oven Cleaners Tested

Oven Cleaner #1

Ingredients: White vinegar (1 cup), cornstarch (1 tablespoon)

Directions: Stir together vinegar and cornstarch, heat until thickened, cool to room temperature. Apply to oven, let sit for 20 minutes, wipe clean.

Oven Cleaner #2

Ingredients: Lemon juice (1 cup), cornstarch (1 tablespoon), dish soap (1 teaspoon)

Directions: Stir together lemon juice and cornstarch, heat until thickened, cool to room temperature, stir in dish soap. Apply to oven, let sit for 20 minutes, wipe clean.

Oven Cleaner #3

Ingredients: Baking soda (1/4 cup), white vinegar (1/4 cup)

Directions: Sprinkle baking soda over surface until covered, spray baking soda with white vinegar until wet and bubbly. Let sit for 20 minutes, wipe clean.

Oven Cleaner #4

Ingredients: Baking soda (3 tablespoons), white vinegar (1 tablespoon), dishwashing soap (1 tablespoon)

Directions: Stir together baking soda, vinegar, and dish soap. Apply to oven, let sit for 20 minutes, wipe clean.

Oven Cleaner #5 (Winner!)

Ingredients: Baking soda (3 tablespoons), water (1.5 tablespoons)

Directions: Stir together baking soda and water. Apply to oven, let sit for 20 minutes, wipe clean.

Oven Cleaner #6

Ingredients: Rubbing alcohol (1/4 cup), water (1/4 cup), dishwashing soap (8 drops)

Directions: Stir together, spray oven, let sit for 20 minutes, wipe clean.

Oven Cleaner #7 (Runner up! My favorite all-purpose cleaner.)

Ingredients: Baking soda (3 tablespoons), hydrogen peroxide (1 tablespoon), dishwashing soap (1 tablespoon)

Directions: Stir together baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and dish soap. Apply to oven, let sit for 20 minutes, wipe clean.

Oven Cleaner #8

Ingredients: Baking soda (1/8 cup), salt (1/8 cup), dishwashing soap (1 tablespoon)

Directions: Stir together baking soda, salt, and dish soap. Apply to oven, let sit for 20 minutes, wipe clean.

oven cleaner before and after photo

The Oven Cleaner Results

The Winners

The best oven cleaner is the most simple: baking soda and water. Oven Cleaner # 5 and #7 both use this combo and had great results.

Why this combo works:

  • Baking soda is a mildly abrasive cleaner that absorbs grease and is good for scrubbing. It helps to break up and remove the dirt that is stuck to the oven surface without causing damage.
  • Water softens the grime and baked on food particles so they can be easily wiped away.

Baking soda is one of my favorite green cleaning ingredients. It’s in my DIY  Natural All-Purpose Cleaner that works great household cleaning and is perfect for stain removal. You can learn more about cleaning with baking soda here.

The Losers

The most disappointing oven cleaners mixed the reactive ingredients of vinegar and baking soda.

  • This combo creates a reactions that cancel out the cleaning power of both ingredients. (Read more in Green Cleaning Ingredients That You Should Never Mix.)
  • If you want to use vinegar for oven cleaning save it for the final step: after the baking soda has been wiped away, spray the oven with a little white vinegar to neutralize any that remains, then wipe dry with a paper towel.

I was also let down by cleaners that took a lot of time to make (such as heating and cooling vinegar or lemon juice) and didn’t do much cleaning. I’d rather stick with simple cleaners that are easy to mix and apply!

baking soda oven cleaning after photo

How to Clean an Oven with Baking Soda

Baking soda makes a great oven cleaner. It’s cheap, won’t damage the oven surface, and has great scouring power without harmful chemicals. Here’s how to clean an oven and glass oven door with baking soda:

  1. Combine water and baking soda to form a thick paste.
  2. Spread the paste across the glass and other dirty areas of the oven (avoid the heating element).
  3. Let the baking soda paste work (dwell) for at least 20 minutes (or overnight) then wipe away with a clean rag or paper towel.

cleaning an oven with baking soda

You may also love: how to clean your oven rack naturally

… and easy tips for cleaning with baking soda

Baking Soda and Washing Soda sound similar but they are definitely not the same product. Both can be used to clean laundry, both can be used for household cleaning, but one can damage skin and the other can be eaten. Learn the difference between washing soda and baking soda PLUS their best uses.

How to Clean an Oven Quickly

 Getting ready to clean? These oven cleaning tips will help you get fast results:

  1. Remove the loose debris. Vacuum or wipe out the bottom of the oven before applying the baking soda cleaner. This will remove some of the black ashes and stuck on grime. It will also loosen the dirt making it easier to clean.
  2. Give the oven cleaner some dwell time. You’ll get the best results if you allow the wet baking soda some time to work (also called dwell time) before you start wiping. Let the cleaner sit on the surface for at least 20 minutes then wipe out the dirt.
  3. Use a circular motion. Oven grime can be baked on, caked on grease. Remove most of the baking soda cleaner then wipe any hard-to-clean spots firmly with a rag using a circular motion.
  4. Make chemical reactions work for you.  Baking soda can leave a bit of grit in your oven. Spray the oven with white vinegar after wiping out all of the baking soda cleaner, the vinegar will react with any leftover baking soda so you can easily wipe out the bubbling remains.
  5. Clean first then shine. Finish by buffing the oven surface with a damp microfiber rag. Your oven will look as good as new!

spotless oven door

Oven Cleaning FAQ

How do you clean the glass on the oven door?

  • Combine 3 tablespoons baking soda and 1.5 tablespoons of water. Open the oven door. Spread the mix across the glass on the oven door. Wait 20 minutes then wipe clean.

What is the fastest way to clean the inside of an oven?

  • Remove as much loose dirt as possible from the inside of the oven with a wet paper towel. Mix together water and baking soda. Spread the paste over the dirty areas of the oven. Wait 20 minutes then wipe clean.

What is the best natural oven cleaner?

  • A paste of baking soda and water.

Can you clean your oven with baking soda and vinegar?

  • There are a lot of online cleaning tips that recommend mixing baking soda and vinegar to clean your oven. This fun bubbling reaction is actually the baking soda neutralizing the vinegar. The resulting mix cleans about as well as plain water. Save the vinegar for the final rinse.

 

Do you have oven cleaning experience? I’d love to hear your favorite method. Comment below with your favorite cleaner or stop by my Facebook page.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kaitlyn

    January 22, 2021 at 10:48 am

    Can the baking soda and water combination be used to clean the outside of the oven? Like the stovetop and grates and such?

    Reply
    • Bren

      January 27, 2021 at 8:36 am

      You can use baking soda and water but I think plain water with just a bit of hand washing dish detergent (the detergent you use to wash dishes in the sink, not the dishwasher) would work better and leave less of a white residue.

      Reply
  2. Constance Haft

    January 10, 2021 at 11:02 pm

    I am trying to clean a grill pan that goes on the stove. I tried baking soda & water, left it on overnight, nothing happened. Might you have some other non-toxic solutions? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Bren

      January 27, 2021 at 9:03 am

      What is the grill pan made from, Constance? If it is aluminum you have to be a bit more careful. I love to use a copper scrubber when cleaning pans.

      Reply
  3. Ellie

    December 8, 2020 at 7:56 pm

    It didn’t work very well for me and the residue is nearly impossible to remove. I wiped and rinsed over and over but when I turned on my oven there was a white film on all surfaces.

    Reply
    • Bren

      January 28, 2021 at 12:48 pm

      Ellie, use a bit of vinegar to help rinse away the white film. It reacts/breaks down baking soda making it easier to remove.

      Reply
  4. lisa

    November 24, 2020 at 6:38 pm

    What I want to know is how to clean the area between the outside glass and the inside glass on the oven door? I can never get in there and it looks terrible. Please help!

    Reply
    • Bren

      December 7, 2020 at 1:52 pm

      I know some people take apart the door… but that scares me! I would check with your oven’s manufacturer and see what they recommend.

      Reply
  5. Linda

    June 30, 2020 at 5:22 pm

    You are right. Option 5 did the trick. My oven has never looked so good. It did take some elbow grease in terms of scrubbing but that was only because I was determined to get it as clean as humanly possible.
    Thanks so much for your hard work.

    Reply
    • Bren

      July 5, 2020 at 2:49 pm

      Thanks, Linda!

      Reply
  6. Evelyn

    June 9, 2020 at 12:56 pm

    Doesn’t seem like enough to do the whole oven??

    Reply
    • Bren

      July 5, 2020 at 4:00 pm

      Evelyn, I recommend mixing several batches if you are doing the entire oven interior. The ration about will do the door and window.

      Reply
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