How to Clean your Oven without Chemicals

I don’t know about you, but cleaning my oven has always been one of my most dreaded tasks. Getting in there and scrubbing in vain, inhaling allll the chemicals, and still having burnt-on spots that just won’t come clean… NO FUN! But recently I realized that there IS a way to clean your oven without chemicals and it can be done quickly and thoroughly… pumice stones! (these pumice stones are the exact ones I got. I couldn’t believe it either. Let me show you!

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Clean your oven without chemicals

Why not use the self-cleaning feature?

Ever since sharing my secret to cleaning your oven without chemicals on Instagram, I’ve gotten SO many inquiries about why I wouldn’t just use the self-cleaning feature. Actually there are several reasons why it’s not safe to use the self-cleaning feature. Let’s chat about it!

1. When using the self-cleaning feature, the oven can reach temperatures upwards of 900 degrees Fahrenheit. If there are any flammable materials in (or even nearby) the oven, this high heat could start a fire.
2. There is a significant amount of toxic fumes produced when using the self-cleaning oven. You may think you’re cleaning “without chemicals”. But in reality, these toxic fumes can be very dangerous, and may even release carbon monoxide.
3. Many ovens have a non-stick coating, which can release harmful chemicals into the air when using the oven at these high temperatures. If inhaled they can be harmful to people or pets. Additionally, these chemicals can settle on nearby surfaces like countertops and potentially contaminate food.
4. Finally, the self-cleaning feature can cause damage to the actual oven itself, cracking or discoloring the interior, or causing the door seal or gasket to fail. This also can allow heat to escape from the oven during the self-cleaning cycle, potentially causing a fire.

Cleaning the Oven with Pumice Stones

But enough fear-mongering. Let’s get to how we CAN clean the oven safely and effectively using pumice stones! When you use a pumice stone, it’s the abrasion that cleans the surface, not heat or chemicals. It almost seems like sorcery.

I’ll admit, I was pretty hesitant to try pumice stones to clean my oven. It seemed like it would scratch the surface. And honestly I was worried that it would make a terrible screeching sound like nails on a chalkboard. But neither of those things happened!

I cleaned the door of the oven first, and look at the difference!

The key is keeping the pumice stone wet, and gentle repetition. You don’t want to push hard and ‘scrub’. That will scratch! Instead, use gentle circular motions. You’ll find that you don’t need to apply hardly any pressure. It’s so crazy that you don’t even need to use elbow grease with these pumice stones!

Step 1 – Vacuum out your oven

Start out by vacuuming or sweeping out any loose debris and crumbs from the bottom of your oven.

Step 2 – Soak your oven and pumice stone

Put some hot tap water in a spray bottle, and mist the entire inside of your oven including the door.

Unwrap and completely submerge your pumice stone in water.

Step 3 – Gently clean with the pumice stone!

With your wet pumice stone, start cleaning your oven by rubbing it gently in a circular motion. You’ll be so shocked by how easily it removes baked-on food. It’s so magical!

Remember to keep your pumice stone wet. I continued to dip it into my cup of water every 30 seconds or so. If you let it get too dry, it won’t work as well and you may end up with scratches on your oven.

Additionally, when cleaning your oven with pumice stone, be sure to apply minimal pressure! Don’t push too hard!

Step 4 – Wipe clean with a wet cloth

Once you’ve loosened all the grime with the pumice stone, simply wipe clean with a damp cloth!

Step 5 – Clean the oven racks

You can totally clean the oven racks with the pumice stones as well, but I found it easier to use some stainless steel wool. It’s far more efficient because you’re able to wrap the stainless steel wool around each rail of the oven rack and scrub back and forth.

Now that your oven is sparkling clean, you don’t have to dread the next time it needs to be cleaned!! Some people like to put down foil in the bottom of the oven to catch the nastiness, so that’s an option too.

Note: you may find that when you clean the oven door, the glass still seems dirty. This is because there are two separate panes of glass, and grease can somehow get up in there. This is a huge pain (pun!), but it CAN be cleaned. Go to YouTube and look for a tutorial for how to disassemble/clean your oven door for your specific model of oven.

I hope this tutorial on how to clean your oven with a pumice stone helps you so much! Three cheers for cleaning without harsh chemicals and toxins! I think we could all use a little less of that in our lives.

If you want to see our entire kitchen in all it’s glory, come on over for a tour here! We are so proud of this space that we built from the ground up, and never take it for granted!

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