While baking pie* recently I smelled something burning. My initial thought was that bits of crust had fallen onto the cookie sheet under the pie tins. Nope. The smell was from the floor of the oven, where a now-carbonized remnant of a previous meal** continued to smolder. Time for some oven cleaner.
DF offered to take care of it. I agreed, and suggested a very simple way to do this. No need for a commercial cleanser or the oven-cleaning cycle as long as we had baking soda on hand.
He was unfamiliar with this particular life hack, so I explained it to him:
- Cover the burned-on stuff completely with baking soda.
- Sprinkle water atop the soda until it’s fairly damp (but not soupy).
- Let it sit for a bunch of hours (for me, that’s usually overnight).
- Wipe it up.
- Rinse thoroughly.
Easy on, easy off*** – could it really be that simple?
The next morning, after the oven had cooled down from that day’s rustic bread baking, he applied the baking soda and dribbled on some water. By then I’d already left to spend the day with Linda B., so I had no idea he’d done it. When I came home and saw both oven racks leaning against a cabinet, I took a quick peek.
He’d added more water than I would have, but guess what? A slurry works as well as a paste. I slid a plastic pancake turner underneath the glop and everything lifted right off. Yuck, but also: Yay!
A quick wipe-up, followed by a good rinse with clean water, and the oven floor looked pristine once more.
Some really frugal baking soda
Baking soda is cheaper than oven-cleaning spray, especially when you buy it at a warehouse store like Costco. This batch of baking soda was particularly frugal, though: Just 15 cents a pound, from the the clearance section at Walgreens a while back. I bought every box they had (11 of them, if I recall correctly) and we’ve been slowly using them up.
By contrast, baking soda at Costco is 66 cents a pound. These small frugal victories make me happy. DF and I watch our pennies as closely as we watch our dollars.
Sodium bicarbonate doesn’t have the harsh chemical smell of commercial oven cleaners. This is important to me, since I have asthma. These cleaners also mean disposing of an aerosol can, whereas the baking soda box can be recycled or used as kindling in our fireplace (not that I’m in any hurry for it to get cold enough to start watching the fire movie).
Baking soda is good for lots of other things, too. Google them, or check out Mary Hunt’s Cheapskate Monthly article, “36 clever and frugal uses for baking soda.” You don’t always have to throw a lot of money at a problem to make it go away. In these inflationary times, we need all the small frugal victories we can get.
Readers: Got any baking-soda hacks to share?
*The filling was a mix of rhubarb, raspberry (both from our yard) and blueberry (from Costco), a combination we call “raspberry blue-barb.” The flavor makes me sad for those who don’t have access to rhubarb.
**Neither DF nor I can figure out what it once was. Life is mysterious sometimes.
***Couldn’t resist. Sorry.
Related reading:
- Vinegar is magic. Also: A frugal Swiffer hack
- Paying less for handwashing
- The $0 home makeover
- “Speed cleaning” is life-changing
Ok, i will say i’ve tried to do this and i have baking soda remnants all over my broiler and I don’t think i was doing it right. LOL my dream is to hire someone to come clean my oven and my whole kitchen for me. It’s not dirty i just need someone to do the things i don’t want to do like wipe my fridge down.
Keep rinsing it, I guess?
My friend Linda B. has a magnet on her fridge that says, “I’ve always fantasized about having two men at once: One cooking, one cleaning.” I think that a deep-clean is one of those things most (if not all) of us would gratefully accept as a birthday or holiday gift.
Love it!
For the occasional attack of heart burn I use about 1/4 tsp. of baking soda mixed in a small glass of water.
If I have a clogged drain I pour some baking soda down the drain followed by vinegar. I quickly put the plug down and cover the overflow hole with the heel of my hand. This works very well without having to buy Drano or chemical drain openers which can also damage pipes.
That’s all I’ve got.
The vinegar/baking soda thing works well. We let it bubble for a while, then chase it with a kettle full of boiling water.
Every so often DF will clean out the coffeemaker with vinegar. He then uses the coffeepot full of vinegar to do the baking soda/vinegar drain clean.
Great ideas. Thanks.
I put a little baking soda on a washcloth with some face wash and do a mild facial exfoliating treatment. Just wash gently and rinse well. My skin always feels amazing afterward.
I used to make a baking soda paste to put on bee stings. Never tried it as a facial, though.
It’s also good to beef up toothpaste for an occasional whitening treatment. Just put the paste on the brush and dip the paste lightly in some baking soda. Brush as usual. Because it is a mild abrasive, one should not do this too often, though.
I’m going to try this on my oven; thanks!
If you can’t find it in the clearance section (lucky you), a 5– or 10-pound bag is REALLY cheap, considering how much it generally costs in the small box size.
I use it for cleaning, cooking and deodorizing. My mom always kept some in the fridge to keep it sweet-smelling. Maybe I missed someone else mentioning this, but a paste of it takes the sting out of wasps, bees…and even poison ivy.
It’s been too hot in Colorado to even THINK About a fire in the fireplace! But I watch snowy and/or holiday movies to cool down. (Husband thinks I’m nuts – but it works. Try SNOWPIERCER.)
Ha ha! Love your cool-down method. Here in sweltering New England I’m rereading The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It definitely helps!
I keep a box in the refrigerator to absorb odors. I also sprinkle it in the carpets before I vacuum as it helps with doggy smell. On certain more durable clothes I will make a paste of baking soda and warm water and gently rub for stains. I do the drain cleaner trick too as well as what DF does with the vinegar in the coffee carafe. Back when we had cats I sprinkled it in the litter box. for obvious reason. Have been known to sprinkle in smelly tennis shoes.
Once we ordered a floor lamp from ebay. It was new and still in the box. We really wanted it because it matched another lamp we had but they were no longer making them. So we got it and it was perfect EXCEPT it smelled like maybe the person had bought it from someplace where there was a fire. I mean the shade smelled so much like smoke from a fire we could not have it in house. I was real irritated and almost sent it back. Decided to try baking soda. I put the shade in a big garbage bag and put about 3 boxes of baking soda in it and tied it up in the basement. Left it for several days. Had to do it once again. Then sprayed with Lysol and left in sun for a few days and it was all good! I considered it a super good investment and was actually easier than packing that lamp back up for a return. I love baking soda!
Just the other day my son burned, really burned, a pan of oatmeal. I couldn’t believe I had never shown him how to coat the pan with baking soda, add water and boil for a few minutes. The mess came right off. Baking soda is a miracle worker!
I usually get my basking soda at the dollar store. I also do the drain unclogger gimmick with vinegar/baking soda, and also sprinkle in the litter box…….I will have to try your oven trick! I also clean my coffee maker by running vinegar/water through it – then use the carafe full of vinegar water to clean something else!!
I’ll have to try that oven cleaning tip.
I miss your garden updates, Donna. Are you two growing veg and fruit this year?
Funny you should mention that…for days I have been saying to DF that I really need to get some garden photos in there. It’s been an interesting year: very early for some things and somewhat disappointing for others. We’re well-fed, though, and have 22 quarts of raspberries in the freezer thus far.
Stay tuned, and thanks for the nudge.
Yay!
A banner year for raspberries in my yard, too. However, I thought I was a star with 5 gallons of them in my freezer, but you beat me! However, I still have a lot not ripe yet so I may still keep up with you. I picked a lot more, though, but one for m e, one for the dog, and one for the container is how it goes at this house.
We’re up to 32 quarts thus far.
That reminds me of the old farmer’s adage about planting corn: “One for the gopher, one for the crow, and that will leave just two to grow.”
I’ve always sworn by the power of baking soda, and Donna’s oven-cleaning hack is a game-changer! One thing that is worth considering is using the same baking soda mixture to tackle stubborn stains on your stovetop. I recently had a mishap with spaghetti sauce, and a quick application of baking soda worked wonders. It’s not just for ovens – give it a try, and you’ll be amazed at its versatility! Thanks