Ideal Bite

Heat up your oven to 200, shut off, then put a dish of ammonia in the oven - let sit overnite, then just wipe the oven clean in the morning. If you clean with the self-cleaning feature, only do it once in the winter, when your home can use the added heat.

There's something way easier that'll also save you time and effort from scrubbing: before cooking anything, lay a sheet of foil on the bottom of your oven. This way, and spill will drop on it but you won't have to scrub to remove it

Plus you can keep the foil sheet in your oven for a while and use it several times

My wife and I bought an oven liner for 20 bucks at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It's teflon coated and can be cut to size. It should last for years and we love it.

I finally decided to try my "self cleaner" on my new oven. Well it did get hot, and hotter and hotter and started smoking (it was not that dirty) it was so hot and would not turn off so 911 it was. three fire companies from three surrounding communities showed up as well as our Fire Company. After the firemen unhooked the gas and worked the oven open the fire chief came to talk to my Hubby and I. He told us that he would ban self cleaning ovens as this was not the first but a slew of many (both old and brand new) that he has been called out to "tame". Some start the homes on fire... we were lucky. Also he did not have to cut ours open nor use water or foam. Be aware that it is not only the energy used but the danger of self cleaners. My stove survived but it will be the last time the oven cleaning will be used in it's lifetime.

Sprinkle baking soda over the bottom of the oven and spray it with water occasionally to keep it damp. After a couple of hours (or overnight), the burned on stuff will wipe right off. Minimal elbow grease required!

A natural AND cheap fix if you have anything bubble over in the oven (I had an apple pie bubble over before I could put a cookie sheet under the pie) is to pour salt, yes, salt, over the area that's got the liquid. When you turn the oven off, leave it in there (overnight preferably). The next day, it practically peels off of the bottom of the stove. This is, of course, if you don't try the already mentioned oven liners or tin foil method, which makes more sense. Get it BEFORE it stains. For maintenance cleaning, just spray white vinegar around the sides while the oven is warm and using a damp towel, wipe clean after. Also, a great trick for cleaning the microwave.... Put a damp washcloth/dishtowel in the microwave, turn it on at 50% power for @ 30-45 seconds. Leave it closed for a few minutes. Wearing a glove (in case the cloth is still hot), use the cloth to wipe the microwave down. Plain water will clean any microwave popcorn butter or spatters out with a simple steam. (this would probably work well for conventional ovens too if you put a stainless steel bowl or a few cake tins in with water and turned it on but that uses too much electricity IMHO)

I am always for the 'greenest' way to clean and looking for more solutions to do so, but I know from experience that it is best to refer to your Oven's Operating MANUAL before using ANY CLEANING SOLUTIONS if you have a self-cleaning oven. My oven warns against using any abrasive pad, cloth,powder,or other object on the surface of the oven.

Another option for baked on stains in the oven or dirty spots on a glass cooktop is a Shaklee product called "Scour off". If anyone is familiar with Shaklee products, they are natural, plant-based products that are safe to use. Just rub a little "Scour Off" paste on with your fingers, in a circular motion. Then rub it clean with a clean cloth or dishrag. My glass stove top looks new because of this and I have been using it for 3 years with no problems. It also works on baked on spots in the oven that were not "caught" in time.

I was in the middle of cleaning my nasty shower tiles, letting the orange solvent work for a few minutes--just long enough to check this latest Bite. The featured oven cleaner has citric acid as well as plant solvents. A (fluorescent) lightbulb went off. I sprinkled citric acid (an ingredient for some bath bombs I have yet to make) over the shower, and the hard water/soap crud wiped right off. From now on it's citric acid for me, Baby!