Ovens can be difficult to clean if you do not use the right product (Image: Getty)
Many people dread cleaning the oven as it can be a time-consuming process to scrub it for ages, and even then, it may still be greasy after all that hard work.
Grease are hard to remove, as food often gets baked onto surfaces. If they are left to build up, they become sticky and hard, making them difficult to wipe away.
However, the oven can be incredibly easy if you use the right product – and you do not need to use a harsh chemical cleaner or an ineffective remedy.
It is often suggested online to use white vinegar and baking soda to remove stains, but this is not likely to work on grease as it is too weak a solution.
Instead, the experts at The Kind Store have shared a natural degreaser – soda crystals.
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Soda crystals are a natural but powerful way to remove grease stains from ovens (Image: Getty)
They said: “Concentrated soda crystals are a multi-purpose cleaning agent and an effective environmentally friendly alternative to other high-street toxic cleaning products. The powder is soluble in water and it cleans, removes odours, saponifies grease and neutralises acids.”
Soda crystals are highly alkaline, which means they can break down acidic grease, burnt food particles, and other common oven stains.
They will react to the fatty acids in grease to soften and loosen them so they can easily be wiped away without having to scrub the oven for ages.
Baking soda is mildly alkaline, so it can work to remove some grease. However, it requires a lot of scrubbing, and the effect will be neutralised when mixed with white vinegar since it is acidic.
Soda crystals are a safe way to clean your oven, and they are cheap. They can be found in the cleaning aisle of most supermarkets, such as Tesco and Asda, for only £2.
Your oven will be completely clean in as little as 10 minutes (Image: Getty)
How to use soda crystals to clean an oven
All you need to do is mix 200g of soda crystals with 500 ml of warm water in a basin. You can also mix the solution in an empty spray bottle, which may make cleaning easier.
For particularly stubborn grease stains, mix the soda crystals with less water until they form a thick paste, and spread the solution onto the oven.
Use a cloth to apply the solution to your oven surfaces and then leave it to sit for at least 10 minutes – but you can leave it up to an hour if you wish. This gives the soda crystals time to break down the acidic stains and loosen them.
Once the time is up, use a sponge to wipe the grease stains. They should come off easily.
Rinse the oven with water and a clean cloth to remove the soda crystal residue, then make sure it is completely dry before switching the oven on.
Your oven should now be sparkling clean and grease-free without having to use a pricy chemical cleaner.