Discover the natural way to effectively clean your oven, even tackling stubborn dirt!

Keeping the oven clean is essential not only to ensure the proper functioning of the appliance but also to ensure that food is cooked in a hygienic and healthy manner. However, cleaning the oven is not always an easy task and can sometimes require a lot of effort and time. Especially stains and crusts can be difficult to remove, leading to the use of detergents and degreasers. These, as well as being highly polluting, can damage the structure of the oven and leave molecules that can then contaminate food.

In this guide, we will see how to clean the electric oven even in case of stubborn dirt, stains, burnt grease, and crusts. You will realise that, beyond the viral methods that are popular on social media, there is only one way to degrease the oven: high temperature.

Let's debunk a myth: cleaning the oven with vinegar

The most popular natural methods for oven cleaning recommended on the web or on social networks are based on the use of baking soda and vinegar.

This is the chemical combination of an acid and a base that naturally forms a kind of foam - in chemistry, this resulting product is called a salt. However, this foam has no particular properties useful neither for cleaning nor for degreasing.

Furthermore, acetic acid, which then ends up in the sink drain, can have a very negative impact on aquatic fauna.

Vinegar is suggested especially for removing limescale, and a really small amount is enough: a cloth simply soaked to be passed on the surfaces to be cleaned with anti-limescale effects.

Baking soda, on the other hand, is slightly better because it is slightly abrasive especially when combined with a bit of salt and water. Some also use a few drops of lemon or a bit of coffee mainly to try to counteract the unpleasant odours that the oven may have developed over time.

However, with this method, it will require elbow grease, patience, and time, especially if there is a lot of dirt to treat. It's also difficult to achieve impeccable results, especially for cleaning an oven encrusted with dirt from burnt grease.

How to clean the oven naturally, then ?

The reasoning behind it is very simple. Why is this appliance so dirty? How did that greasy feeling and encrusted dirt come about? The cause of everything is the grease that can drip onto the bottom during cooking, even inadvertently, or splatter onto the side surfaces. It has even been studied that there are some substances that "spread" in the oven environment imperceptibly, attaching to the walls and grill.

What is the most effective way to dissolve and remove grease? Hot water. So, the most effective natural remedy for degreasing the oven is hot water, or rather, moisture at high temperatures.

Some recommend cleaning the oven with boiling water, but it is a practice recommended primarily because it causes an immediate thermal expansion of the surfaces, which can damage seals or other more sensitive components. Furthermore, everything needs to be dried and cleaned afterwards.

The method of using a pot with boiling water

The most effective solution, instead, is cleaning with steam. Our grandparents, in fact, used to place a pot with boiling water inside the electric oven, let it saturate with steam, and then clean it with a damp cloth. Once left there for about 30 minutes, the encrusted dirt will have softened, making it easier to complete the cleaning.

However, this natural method has two major disadvantages: besides the risk of burns, the effect is quite limited because the internal temperature of the oven drops very quickly. So, you might find yourself repeating the procedure two or three times. If you are looking for how to clean the oven quickly, naturally, and easily, then the answer is in the Vaporetto.

Polti's advice for oven cleaning

Polti is the Italian brand that has made steam cleaning its trademark. This is because it is environmentally sustainable and does not require the use of toxic detergents for humans and the environment - which are often expensive as well. Steam cleaners are suitable for any type of cleaning, from daily light and superficial cleanings to periodic deeper ones.

2 perfect products for cleaning the oven

The first model is the Vaporetto Pro 8X Eco Plus, an all-purpose cleaner for the whole house that effectively dissolves dirt from any type of surface, including grout and tiles. The ECO function allows you to save water and energy, eliminating 99.99% of viruses, germs, and bacteria with the power of steam. 15 accessories included will allow you to use Vaporetto Pro 8X Eco Plus virtually anywhere. Perfect for cleaning both the interior and the glass of the oven and the part above the coil. You can also use the device for cleaning your floors, carpets, kitchen, bathroom, ... with the certainty of unlimited autonomy, forever giving up the use of detergents or other chemical products.

Discover the new Polti Vaporetto Pro 8X Eco Plus in action!

The second suggested model is the Vaporetto Eco Pro 3.0, with a working autonomy of 2 litres and 9 accessories to treat most household surfaces with the sanitising power of steam. With a heating time of 11 minutes, the device is ready to make your oven clean and odour-free again.

Cleaning the oven glass: brilliance without scratches

The glass deserves a separate chapter because it is a surface that risks being damaged or scratched by sponges or aggressive chemical detergents. Even in this case, the best solution is steam, and the devices seen earlier perfectly fulfill the task of thoroughly sanitising the glass surface without any risk of breakage or scratches.

If your oven is old or if the seals are worn out, oil droplets can reach even into the spaces between the double glazing. In this case, it is necessary to dismantle the door - an operation possible only in some types of ovens. For this type of operation, we recommend following the manufacturer's instructions or consulting a specialised technician.

Prevention to avoid a more complicated oven cleaning 

To prevent degreasing and cleaning the electric oven from becoming a long and laborious operation, we recommend cleaning and sanitising the oven after each use or at least once a week. This way, you prevent grease residues from burning and becoming truly stubborn and difficult to remove. After cooking, always leave the oven door open for at least half an hour to allow fresh air to circulate and prevent the accumulation of odours.

Would you also like to know what to use for cleaning your kitchen in a natural and fast way? Discover the Polti line dedicated to steam cleaning.