Entering your new home for the first time should be exciting — not gross. However, the relief of completing a move can fade away if you find out the previous resident didn't properly clean the place before your arrival.
This is what happened to lifestyle TikToker Rox (@roxyjourno) when walking into her new kitchen and discovered "a disgusting surprise."
@roxyjourno TikTok oven cleaning hack that actually works 😮 All you need is baking soda and vinegar 🫧 #CleanTok #cleaninghacks #ovencleaning #fyp #cleanwithme #naturalcleaning #satisfyingcleans #cleaningtips #LearnItOnTikTok ♬ Aesthetic - Gaspar
Fortunately, she revealed the easiest way to make one of the grimiest parts of the house fresh and sparkling — the oven. Best of all, the method uses no toxins, is easy to DIY and says "no" to plastic waste.
The scoop
Rox emptied the oven of everything safe to remove, including the racks. It's important to give yourself as much space as possible to get into every area. Then, mix water and baking soda until it's a semi-runny paste. Slather this on a sponge and apply a thick layer everywhere, including the racks and glass.
Next, put distilled white vinegar in a spray bottle and distribute it generously over the oven. The combo will fizzle and bubble, and that's when you know the vinegar is breaking up buildup. After a minute or so, tackle it with an abrasive scrubber.
Finish by wiping everything away with warm, soapy water and a cloth and, as Rox says, "Watch your grease lift away." Just ensure you wipe properly, otherwise you're just moving dirt around instead of removing it.
If you want to get the oven extra shiny, she notes you can remove the inside glass to get between the panes.
How it's helping
There's no need to spend hard-earned money on luxury cleaning products. You likely have vinegar and baking soda in your pantry already. The price-per-unit is pennies compared to expensive, chemical-laden branded cleaners on shelves.
Plus, Rox's mix doesn't release fumes that would harm children or pets. So, it saves money in addition to literal and metaphorical headaches. On average, people are exposed to 20 pounds of chemicals from cleaners alone yearly.
Perhaps best of all, this technique helps prevent tons of household plastic waste. Some bottles aren't even recyclable and head straight to landfills.
Liquids left over in discarded bottles seep into waterways and soils, harming plants and animals. Vinegar and baking soda prevent this from happening. Lemon is another top contender for Earth-friendly cleaning ingredients.
What everyone's saying
People in the comments were excited to see there was a way to make this seemingly daunting project much easier — and without abrasive oven cleaners.
"Woooooww what a success," one commenter said. "Will definitely try it out."
"This would've made my life so much easier. Thanks for the tip," someone else wrote.
With tutorials as easy as this one, you'll have a zero-waste cleaning routine in no time.
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