I hate having to use harsh chemicals to clean my house so this homemade oven cleaner was right up my alley. There aren’t any obnoxious fumes to deal with and after about 10 minutes, your oven will wipe clean. To make this cleaner, mix 8 tbsp baking soda, 8 tbsp Dawn dish liquid, and 6 tbsp vinegar in a large bowl. Trust me on the large bowl thing. I started with a smaller bowl because it wasn’t a lot of ingredients but quickly had to transfer it because it will foam up a good bit. Rub a thin coat of the paste on your oven door, sides, and the bottom. Again, trust me when I say a thin coat. I did it thick and it took a while to get out since you can’t really squirt water in your oven. Let it sit for 10 minutes then wipe out with a damp cloth.
Check out this tip on how to keep dirt in the dustpan.
Be sure to also check out these other cleaning tips.
Chris says
Too much suds even with only 2tbsp dawn dish soap spent a hr cleaning the soap out
Shelly says
Won’t use this again! The suds will not go away!
Vonda K says
I have taken my oven racks, laid them in the bathtub with several dryer sheets with hot water overnight. Easy to clean off the gunk, looked brand new and shiny.
Mary Ann says
Great way to get gunk off of oven window glass is just ‘erase’ it with a Mr. Clean scrub pad. Works great.
Kellie Dearing says
I left it on for 45 minutes. I was doing other stuff
Joann T Fuller says
Used the cleaner as prescribed and was pleased for the most part. Super glad to not have to deal with the fumes.
charlotte says
wat vinegar do u use. malt or white
Patti says
Distilled white vinegar is cheap and the pH (acidic nature is constant … use that).
Also, when cleaning the grates, throw in a couple dishwasher tablet with super hot water and soak. It a great grease cutter.. If it doesn’t work the first time repeat with another tablet, hotter water and let it sit longer. I hope this works for you.
Trish says
What is dawn? Is that like baking soda?
Michelle says
Dawn is dish soap
Chrystal A Sabin says
I tried this recipe in my very dirty oven and it worked. Because my oven was so dirty I just left it on for 20 minutes instead of 10 minutes.Thank you so very much for sharing Kristin.
Linda says
What about your oven inside
Veronica says
Sadly this did not work for me… back to square one for me.
CatieJ says
This did not work for me either. Was soooo disappointed. Looking at other solutions and hopefully they’re more reliable. Thanks for the recipe anyway.
Rhonda says
My brother on law puts a bowl of ammonia in a COLD oven over night. Wipes clean the next day.
Abby says
I always have to let it sit 1 hour and then i add a bowl of boiling water to the last 10mins of to steam up the oven and wipes off every time
Shelly says
Thanks! This did help but still not completely clean
Chrystal A Sabin says
Try leaving it on longer than 10 minutes, that worked for me.
Mark says
Did not work for me
Kathryn says
Absolute worst trick I’ve ever wasted my time on. All it did was make a mess for me to clean up.
Barb says
It worked for me.
Christi says
Wonderful, this worked so well. Thank you so much. While I was waiting for the oven I tried some on the white grout on my kitchen tile…cleaned it up like new. I was so excited I whipped up another batch and pasted it all over the grout in the shower….you can see it cleaning right away.
Can’t thank you enough!
I also spread it all over the glass screen and doors in the shower, so fingers crossed.
Rainy says
I had bubbles for days! It is 8 tablespoons of Dawn correct? Mine didn’t come sparkling clean but I would say mine was dirtier than normal. I will give it ago again I can’t seem to get the glass window clean. Any ideas?
marty says
try SOS on glass window
Shelly says
How do you get rid of the bubbles?
Lenor Reinhardt says
I just wanted to say,this recipe works so good I’m sooooo happy to had found this
Jacqueline Smith says
Hi Kristin !
Thank you for this idea – I get an instant headache using the self clean option so always try the non chemical route ! I have also used baking soda with lemon juice , make a paste then leave on about 30 minutes – don’t have to use as much elbow grease ! (smells great too!)
Carol Irwin says
I live in NZ and am unable to get Dawn here. I guess a trip to the supermarket to read labels to find the best dish liquid will be on the agenda soon.
Donna says
i am needing to clean my oven this morning but I only have some Stanley degreaser.. Hope it will work
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
Hope it works for you!
Shirley says
I must give this a try as i know myself it is very hard to clean the oven.Thanks
jan says
Sorry, but not such good luck. The surface grease was ok, but still needed the “scrubbie” and razor blade to get the black burned on specks and pieces.
Kim says
Thank you for the tip…I’m going to try this. Can you still use the self-cleaning option on the stove once you have cleaned using your ingredients? TIA!
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
I haven’t tried it, but I think you could…
The Rob Morrison Team says
This is awesome! We’ll be featuring it in our Home Selling blog series this week as we help Chicago’s NW suburbs’ home sellers prepare their kitchens for showings. Feel free to drop in and say hi.
Thanks again,
The Rob Morrison Team
http://www.homesandlivingblog.com
Rebecca Morales says
I stayed up late to do this and it occurred to me that it might have been better to just make the paste without the vinegar and apply that as a thin layer then spray on the vinegar. It would work out best for the grates that way too. I use these same ingredients to clean my carpets however it’s 2 cups hot water, 1 tblsp Dawn and 1 tblsp vinegar in a spray bottle. I fluff the carpet, sprinkle in baking soda, spray with formula and scrub with a brush to spot clean. I use a damp towel to dab with .
SAMcClellan says
Thanks!..That was very helpful info.
Teresa says
So excited to use this and share with my daughter. She has an old gas stove that she’s afraid to use chemicals in and is not the greatest at cleaning period! Love anything that’s natural, works, and not stinky!
Desley says
Thanks. I’m going to try this now.
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
Hope it works well for you!
kathy says
Gotta try this myself! Hate the smell of oven cleaners and the chemicals. For oven grates; carefully place them into a large, heavy duty trash bag, preferably on a flat surface outside. Pour in at least 2 cups of ammonia. Let set for several hours. If they’re really nasty, over night. Remove from bag, and if it’s a warm day blast the gunk off with the garden hose. Use a steel wool pad to scrub any remaining baked on gunk and grease. They may not look ‘brand new’, but they’ll be a darned sight cleaner!! CAUTION: Ammonia is very strong smelling and may cause skin irritation, so do use rubber gloves.
Nora Farris says
You can also put a towel in the bathtub, place the grates in and cover with the hottest water. Pour in a good amount of Tide. When the water is cool enough to work in you can just wipe off most of the yuck. You may have to use some steel wool on the hardest places.
Daisy says
It takes elbow grease and a little patience. I suggest using less dawn because it will take you a while to get it off, so THIN LAYER is very important. This recipe did the job.
Bobbie says
Worked great! I did just the door with a wet rag. All the bubbles were very
frustrating. I had a much easier time after wiping the dried mixture off
With paper towels before using a wet rag.
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
I’m glad it worked out so well!
Pat says
Will this work on self cleaning gas stove? In between self cleans sometimes the oven needs a little help.
Trish says
That paper towel wipe down sounds like a good tip.Thanks!
Beatrice says
Just tried this. I threw done on ran to the store them came home and cleaned it off. THIN FREAKING LAYER! I was about ready to take it out back and take a hose to it lol. It took a little elbow grease but so much less then oven cleaner.I did a final round with warm water and about a tablespoon of white vinegar. Worked wonderfully!
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
That’s great! I’m glad it worked out for you! :)
Denise says
Does this work on the grates as well?
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
I think it would!
Katie says
Thank you so much! This worked soooooo well. I had tried the self cleaning function on my oven, but it didn’t get it very clean. I am shocked at how well this recipe worked! My oven was very dirty, but this got it looking almost new. And it wasn’t that messy. I mean, since it is made from Dawn and all natural stuff, I didn’t feel gross after cleaning. I did do a second layer on the door window and a couple of spots on the bottom. Left that to sit for like 30 minutes, then used the scrub side of a sponge. Worked well that time.
Kristin of Couponing to Disney says
I’m glad it worked out well for you! :)
Linnea says
Does it have to be Dawn? I only have Palmolive..
Kristin of Couponing to Disney says
It would probably work fine with Palmolive, too…
julie says
I did this this morning and it hasn’t worked very well. 12 minutes later. ..nothing coming off. I’ll give it another 15 and see what happens.
Janet says
Dawn is well known as a grease cutter, and is recommended for numerous cleaning such as vinegar and dawn to clean windows etc….
Rebecca Morales says
I believe the ingredients call for Dawn because it’s the best at cutting grease.
Shauna Welsh says
GREAT TIP!! I was looking for something like this as I need to clean my oven!