This vinegar steam trick will rid your oven of grease and grime — here's how to do it

How To
By published

A natural way to keep a dirty oven at bay

oven open in a wooden kitchen
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

It's important to keep your oven clean. Not only does it prevent grease buildup, but you'll ensure your oven works at its best, reduce the chance of contamination, and reduce the risk of incidents like grease fires.

When it comes to how to clean an oven, lightly clean it should happen once a month and a deep clean should occur every 2-3 months.

How to use vinegar to clean your oven

Dirty Oven

(Image credit: Future)

To clean your oven with vinegar, you need to make a vinegar steam bath. Before you get started, grab a deep oven tray and a bottle of distilled white vinegar. Then, follow these simple steps:

  • Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees
  • Fill your baking tray with tap water and between 1/2 cup to 1 cup of vinegar
  • Place the baking tray in the oven and check back in intervals until it's boiling (around 60 minutes)
  • Once the vinegar steam bath is boiling, turn the oven off and let it sit for 30 minutes
  • Remove the baking tray and wait for the oven to cool enough to clean
  • Optional: Use a spray bottle of 1 cup water and 1 cup vinegar around the oven
  • Use a damp sponge or microfiber cloth to remove the grease and grime
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Amazon Saver 128 fl oz. Distilled White Vinegar: $4 at Amazon

A big bottle of distilled white vinegar isn't only great for cooking, but cleaning too – and it's super affordable. If you're going to start cleaning your oven with a vinegar steam bath regularly, you're going to need a big bottle and this 128 fl oz. one will only set you back $4.

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Why it works

A dishwasher tablet sitting in a dishwasher dispenser

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Using distilled white vinegar has become a common method for cleaning around the home. From cleaning microwaves to cleaning dishwashers, it's no surprise to hear it's also capable of getting rid of the grease and grime from your oven.

For an oven though, you'll need a higher quantity to create the vinegar steam bath, which will then get washed away down the sink. Thankfully, it's a fairly affordable solution.

When I first heard of the hack, I was worried that I'd be swapping chemical smells for a strong vinegar smell, but fortunately, there's ways to clean with vinegar without the smell.

Simply adding lemons or drops of essential oils will dilute the smell of the vinegar in the spray bottle, if you're looking for another workaround that actually leaves your home smelling great.

With the vinegar steam bath, while it's great for getting rid of your day-to-day grease and grime that builds up through regular use, it's not so good at getting rid of the stains that have been there a while.

For that, it's still advised to give your oven a deeper clean, whether by yourself with a specially-made oven cleaner or by hiring an expert. Keep up with the steam baths after that and you could be looking at a natural and incredibly cheap way to keep your oven clean for years to come.

Grace Dean
Grace Dean

Grace is a freelance journalist working across homes, lifestyle, gaming and entertainment. You'll find her writing for Tom's Guide, TechRadar, Space.com, and other sites. If she's not rearranging her furniture, decluttering her home, or relaxing in front of the latest streaming series, she'll be typing fervently about any of her much-loved hobbies and interests. To aid her writing, she loves to head down internet rabbit holes for an unprecedented amount of time.

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