To clean all the dry burnt food out I had to take the whole top off. This was not hard, it is made to come off for cleaning. Once it was off I was able to see how bad it truly was.

Natural Cleaning (no harsh chemicals)

I do not keep a lot of chemical based cleaning products in my house and I am a great advocate for warm water and a little soup. With a little patience you will find the warm water and a little soup cleans very well. Patience is the key.

Often the ads are showing how quickly you can get your stains and scrum off with a little spray of this beautiful foaming, fragrant, cancer in a bottle. I believe they work wonders and work quickly. The chemical based cleaners will eat away at the scrum to loosen it for an easy wipe down. Warm water will take long as it softens without breaking down the scrum off your stove. It takes more time but often is just as easy to wipe down.

Lemon Vinegar Cleaner

My go-to all purpose, all natural cleaner is my homemade lemon vinegar cleaner. Cleaning with natural products in our home is important. I want to embrace my home and family with healthy living by protecting them from harmful germs and bacteria as well as harsh chemical.

I did not use my lemon vinegar cleaner till the end of this cleaning although I’m sure it would have worked well if I had. The acid in the vinegar and lemon would have helped deteriorate the muck off my stove a little faster, not as fast as some other chemical cleans but probably a little fast then just water.

Learn how to make your own lemon vinegar cleaner here.

Products I Used To Deep Clean

• Warm water
• A little soup
• Bowl
• Rag
• Dish scraper
• Soft bristle brush
• Soft bristle toothbrush
• Lemon vinegar cleaner

I didn’t use much cleaning products and this made for a very simple cleaning.

Step By Step, How To Deep Clean

Step One: Water

Get any loose food off the surface. After that, take your warm soupy water and a rag and gently get everything wet. Do not dry, get it all water. Let water sit on the really dirty parts. If the water is not staying where you need it set the soaking wet rag on that spot and leave it there for 5 minutes. This will keep the water were the rag is.

Step Two: Scrape

Once everything is soft from the water soak it up and ring out your towel till most of the water is up. This way you don’t make a splashy mess. Take your scraper and gently scrape the needed areas. If it is too hard and not coming off, use more water for longer. 5-10 minutes more.

As you can see the underneath of this stove was so gross that I got another bowl to clean my scraper off into. There was a lot of build up.

Step Three: Brush

Once the majority of the crud is scraped off use your soft bristle brush to get more detailed closer cleaning. You may need to wipe down with your rag and fresh clean water a few times.

Use a toothbrush to get into or around some even smaller parts if needed.

Step Four: Wipe Down

Use your rag and fresh clean soupy water to do the final wipe down. At this time I might also use an all purpose cleaning to disinfect and get more of the unnoticeable germs away.

Step Five: Repeat

Repeat any steps that are needed as many times as need to get your realistic desired results.

Progress Over Perfection

The top is stained and scratched from my younger years of still learning how to care for my stove top. I clean it now with progress and not perfection in mind.

When cleaning anything you might have an unrealistic expectation to clean everything till it looks brand new. This is a dangerous way to think. My stove top is used daily. If I expect it to look new all the time I am going to be greatly disappointed and stressed that I’m not living to my expectations.

It is important to me to keep things clean. I feel more comfortable and less stressed in a clean environment. With four kids and cooking everything we eat from scratch, its possible to let the untidiness and used look of our house overwhelm me. But that is no way to live.

I want to embrace my home as it without being irresponsible with what I have. I want to keep my stove clean and usable with realistic exceptions of the outcome. When I can’t easily clean off stains I leave them. I embrace the used looked remember how delicious the pasta sauce or chicken tacos are that make the mess in the first place.

My motto is progress over perfection. If my home is cleaner in the evening they it was in the morning I have had great success. It may still need a lot of work, but progress has been made. If my stove is cleaner after I work on it then I have succeeded, even if I didn’t get it back to looking like new.

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How To Clean Your Oven With Heat

Here’s the trick. Turn your oven on the hottest it will get for 1 hour. Most ovens will go up to 550. Some ovens, including mine will go higher on the self cleaning function. I don’t know exactly how high mine goes but some sources say the self cleaning functions can go up to 900 degrees!

The idea is to burn everything that has spilled till they turn to charcoal and our easily wiped or swept out of the oven. Depending on how high your oven goes it may or may not burn everything and some scrubbing may have to take place.

Smoke or Fire?

While you are heating and burning the mess in your oven you will have a little smoke and odor coming from your oven. This is normal. You can open the window and turn on a fan to avoid setting off the smoke alarm. Try not to open the oven door while it is cleaning.

If there is a concerning amount of smoke then first turn the oven off and then open cautiously. If you have a fire extinguisher or a emergency fire blanket and you suspect a fire, get those ready before you open the oven.

Cleaning With Baking Soda

I like to clean with baking soda and vinegar, hot water. Cleaning with natural products is important to me. To be honest the easiest way to clean an oven is to buy the foamy chemical spray but I just can’t get myself to spend money on chemicals that I don’t want in my house simply for connivance.

To make cleaning your oven easy, without compromising my principles, I heat my oven on the highest degree for an hour, let it cool, then scrub any needed areas with baking soda. After a good scrub I spray it down with my lemon vinegar cleaner and wipe down with a rag.

Benefits of Cleaning with Baking Soda

Baking Soda is a natural chemical called sodium bicarbonate. It is a white powder or soft crystal that gently scratches off grime and dirt without scratching the surface of what ever you are cleaning. Baking soda is alkaline and reacts to acidic greases and grime braking them up and making it easier to clean.

Wipe Your Oven Down

Once you have scrubbed down the oven simply wipe everything down with a wet rag. Sometimes it take a while to get all the baking soda off. Use some vinegar or a vinegar cleaner to help remove all the baking soda.

Clean, But Not Perfect

When cleaning anything you might have an unrealistic expectation to clean everything till it looks brand new. This is a dangerous way to think. My oven is used often, even daily. My stove top is used even more. If I expect them to look new all the time I am going to be greatly disappointed and anxious.

It is important to me to keep things clean. I feel more comfortable and less stressed in a clean environment. With four kids and cooking everything we eat from scratch I can let the untidiness and used look of our house overwhelm and stress me out. But that is no way to live.

I want to embrace my home as it without being irresponsible with what I have. When my oven is full of drippings and splatters and smells like its burning every time I turn it on… I clean it with realistic exceptions of the outcome. When I can’t easily clean off stains I leave them. I embrace the used looked remember how delicious the cobbler was that make the mess in the first place.

My motto is progress over perfection. If my home is cleaner in the evening they it was in the morning I have had great success. It may still need a lot of work but progress has been made. If my oven is cleaner after I work on it then I have succeeded, even if I didn’t get it back to looking like new.

How To Clean Your Oven

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Materials

• Baking Soda
• Scrub Brush
• Vinegar Cleaner
• Wet Rag

Instructions

1. Turn your oven on the highest it goes (500, 550 degrees) Or use your self cleaning function for 1 hour.
2. Let cool completely. Sweep or wipe out any ash or charcoal.
3. Scrub, if needed with baking soda and a scrub brush, I like to dip my brush in a little water so the baking soda becomes like a paste.
4. Spray the oven with your vinegar cleaner and wipe down with your wet rag. You may need to rinse your rag a few times.
5. You can wipe down with a dry rag if needed and enjoy the sparkle!

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