How to Clean Stains in Ovens

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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If you're a frequent user of your oven, odds are you may find stains covering your oven's surface. Some commercial cleaners can be hard to rinse and occasionally leave a nasty residue. With the trend to use more environmentally-friendly cleaning products, it's reassuring to know there's a solution to clean your oven of those caked-on, baked-over food particles: baking soda and water.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Sprinkle baking soda on the stains found on the oven floor and sides. You should use 1/4 inch of soda to do the job effectively. Make sure you use enough of the mineral, as it's the main component to eliminate the stain.
Step 2

Spray the baking soda with water from a spray bottle. Use enough to wet the soda but not enough to soak it.
Step 3

Walk away, and let the chemical reaction do its job. This paste works because it breaks down the carbon sticking to all orifices of the oven. The black carbon and baking soda should congregate at the bottom of the oven. If you come back and notice carbon is still present, go ahead and dampen the baking soda again.
Step 4

Place kitchen gloves on your hands. If you've been using chemical cleaners, odds are you already have these in your house. Wearing them while disposing of the baking soda paste simply prevents your hands from becoming covered in paste.
Step 5

Wipe away the caked-on, environmentally-friendly oven cleaner with a damp towel.

Tips & Warnings

For more difficult, hard-to-reach areas, make a paste with baking soda and water. Apply it to the stain with an old toothbrush, and let the solution sit for a minute. Scrub with the brush until the area is clean.
Different ovens recommend using different oven cleaners, which is why using commercial chemical cleaners is dangerous. Plus, you may notice on some oven cleaners, the main ingredient is sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). It's perfectly safe to use baking soda and water with any oven.
Don't attempt to clean the oven stains when the oven is hot. You don't want to burn your hands, and it's harder to contain baking soda.

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