How To Clean Your Oven With Dish Soap And Eliminate Stubborn Grease

Fat and oil inevitably splatter in your oven during cooking. Over time, these grease splatters coat the oven's interior and form a sticky film. Many people reach for powerful chemical oven cleaners to cut through grease, but you might want to reconsider using them. These products often contain strong chemicals that emit volatile organic compounds. These compounds can irritate skin, eyes, and lungs, and may linger in your kitchen. Reducing exposure to these chemicals helps maintain a healthier environment for you and your family. 

Dish soap is an oven cleaning alternative that's hiding in your kitchen. The same surfactants in dish soap that break down food on your dishes can break down the grease in your oven without releasing caustic fumes. When you combine them with ingredients like warm water, baking soda, or vinegar, you can make a simple oven cleaner and say goodbye to built-up grease in your oven.

There are a couple of ways to use dish soap to degrease the walls of your oven. A spray made from vinegar and dish soap is very effective. To make the spray, mix equal parts of white vinegar, dish soap, and water. After spraying the inside of your oven, let it sit for a few hours. Both the dish soap and the vinegar's acidic properties will break down and lift the grease. Afterwards, you can wipe your oven down with a soft cloth. Another method is to use a paste made from dish soap and baking soda. This method works well for tough, stuck-on residue because of baking soda's corrosive texture. To make the paste, combine half a cup of dish soap with 1 ½ cups of baking soda and mix until it's combined and thick. Spread the paste evenly in your oven and let it sit for a few hours to overnight. Then, use a damp cloth to wipe away the paste. 

You'll likely need to clean your oven racks separately if they're especially dirty, and you can use dish soap for them, too. Simply take them out and soak them in a large container of warm water with a few drops of dish soap. Soak them while you clean the oven or longer for tough grease before wiping them down with a cloth.