Cleaning the oven – just the thought of it puts most people in a bad mood. So much so that many people spend a lot of money on self-cleaning ovens that burn off the dirt or work with steam. However, the latter method can also be carried out with any normal oven.
Cleaning the oven with steam
Cleaning the oven regularly is unavoidable. Because even if you are careful when cooking and baking, grease vapors settle in cracks and hard-to-reach places. Added to this are splashes of sauce, blobs of dough and other stubborn incrustations.
Scrubbing by hand, however, is laborious and often frustrating. Chemical oven cleaners are expensive and harmful to health. A trick with steam can help here: it makes cleaning the oven much easier and prevents stubborn stains from forming in the first place.
In self-cleaning ovens, this process is called hydrolysis. However, it is very easy to carry out yourself.
For this you need:
- Pot (suitable for oven), casserole dish or deep baking tray
- hot water
- Vinegar (alternatively: washing-up liquid)
This is how it works:
- Preheat the oven to 230 °C. Even better: use the residual heat from the oven immediately after cooking and baking.
- Boil the water in the kettle. Fill the pan (or baking dish or baking tray) with the hot water.
- Add a little vinegar to the water. This prevents the steam from leaving behind limescale residue. It also increases the cleaning effect of the steam. Don’t worry: you will hardly smell the vinegar afterwards.
Alternative: For heavier grease residues, add two squirts of washing-up liquid to the water. However, you should then air out the oven thoroughly. - Place the pan on the lowest shelf of the oven. Let the steam do its work for 30 to 60 minutes. Do not open the oven door.
- Switch off the oven and let it cool down so that it is only lukewarm. Now you can wipe out the oven with a sponge or kitchen towel.
Cleaning the oven with steam: advantages and disadvantages
The method of cleaning the oven with steam is particularly suitable for regular use and for minor soiling. The steam helps to loosen grease and dirt more easily or prevent them from sticking in the first place. This keeps the oven clean down to the last crevice. The best way to do this is to use the residual heat immediately after cooking or baking. This prevents vapors, splashes and stains from burning in and also saves energy.
The Advantages of the steam trick lie in its simple and cost-effective application. Wiping out the oven afterwards is much easier.
The DisadvantageEven with this method, you cannot completely do without wiping. In addition, steam reaches its limits with old and heavy encrustations. In this case, it is better to use one of the home remedies for oven cleaning that we have already presented.
Practical, helpful, easy to use – the trick of cleaning the oven with steam has everything that makes a good life hack.
Source: myhomebook
Preview image: ©MediaPartisans/FUNKE Digital
