The oven is one of those jobs everyone puts off. Baked-on grease, burnt spills, that faint smell every time you preheat — it builds up until it feels like a huge task. The good news? You don’t need eye-watering chemical sprays to get it gleaming again. With a couple of things you almost certainly already have in the cupboard, you can shift months of grime safely and cheaply.
Here’s how we do it.
What you’ll need
- Baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- White vinegar
- A spray bottle
- A damp cloth and a non-scratch scourer
- Rubber gloves
Step 1: Take out the racks
Remove the oven racks and set them aside to soak (more on those below). This gives you clear access to every surface inside.
Step 2: Make a baking soda paste
Mix around half a cup of baking soda with a few tablespoons of water until you get a spreadable paste. Adjust the amounts until it’s thick but easy to apply.
Step 3: Coat the inside
Wearing gloves, spread the paste all over the inside of the oven — the back, sides, bottom and door. Avoid the heating elements. Don’t worry if it turns a brownish colour as it touches the grease; that’s it working. Leave it overnight, or for at least 6–8 hours.
Step 4: Soak the racks
While the paste works, lay the racks in a bath (or a large tub) of hot water with a good squirt of washing-up liquid and a scoop of baking soda. Leaving them to soak loosens the grease so you’re not scrubbing endlessly.
Step 5: Wipe it down
The next morning, take a damp cloth and wipe out as much of the dried paste as you can. For stubborn spots, a non-scratch scourer will lift them without damaging the surface.
Step 6: The vinegar trick
Pour some white vinegar into your spray bottle and spritz anywhere baking soda residue remains. It’ll gently foam as it reacts — this helps lift the last of it. Give it a final wipe and you’ll be left with a clean, streak-free finish.
Step 7: Finish the racks and refit
Give the soaked racks a quick scrub, rinse, dry and slide them back in.
How often should you do this?
For most households, a deep oven clean every three months keeps things manageable. Wipe up spills as they happen and the big job stays small.
Prefer to skip it altogether?
Oven cleaning is one of the most common jobs our customers happily hand over — it’s fiddly, time-consuming, and easy to put off. If you’d rather come home to a spotless oven without lifting a finger, Miracle Cleaners covers ovens as part of our deep cleans and one-off services.
Get in touch for a free quote and let us take care of the jobs you’d rather not.
