Added on 15 July, 2012 – Read here for an even better cleaning aid ===> Recipe for homemade citrus enzyme for cleaning. It’s environmental, child and animal friendly; natural, really easy, removes dirt and odour easily, and best is, it only costs a few cents only.
Good evening, dear friends, 
As I had made a promise to myself yesterday, this morning I cleaned my oven with much surprising ease from just using a solution made up of vinegar, baking soda and water.
- Latest ! Try homemade Orange Infused Vinegar- really fragrant and refreshing in scent (18 July 2012)
Wow, I was really amazed that the hardened spills and oil spatters in the oven were so easy to remove – I merely wiped the oven interior and door with a rough kitchen towel wet with this solution , and no hard scrubbing was required at all.
Now my oven looks very gleaming and shiny, both inside and outside! I am so happy with this new “cleaning solution” and I must thank my sister Terese for informing me about the wonderful effects of using vinegar for cleaning. I had combined it with baking soda to make the cleaning more effective. Here is my “recipe” for this amazing cleaning solution for my oven -
3 cups water
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup baking soda
1) Dilute the vinegar with water first, and mix well.
2) Add in the baking soda.
Warning! Do not mix undiluted vinegar with baking soda – it may cause an explosion!
Apply this mixture on the inside and outside of the oven with a sponge or a few pieces of paper kitchen towels. Leave for a few minutes and then just wipe off with a clean, wet cloth. For those stubborn stains, just scrub a little harder.
Rinse cloth in clean water and wipe oven again., until the oven is clean/ 
Voila! Your oven now looks as good as new!
I was so fascinated and tickled pink by this vinegar and baking soda cleaning solution that I made another batch to try cleaning my windows at the back of my kitchen to see how it goes – wow, all I needed to do was just apply the vinegar and baking soda with a sponge onto the glass and steel window frames, hose the windows down with some water….and they are now so shiny and gleaming as well! Cleaning has never been so effortless, quick and wonderful for me in my whole life! 
Quickly I looked for something else to try this new found wonder of using vinegar and baking soda – this time, I just add in 1/2 cup vinegar to 2 litres of water, and I proceeded to test this cleaning solution out on my kitchen wall tiles and prayer room glass blocks.
Whooo..hooo, this worked perfectly as well and I didn’t even have to wipe them a second time round to clean off the vinegar solution – they were already looking gleaming and shiny. When I rubbed my forefinger on the surface of the tiles, there was a squeaking sound – ah! Sheer music to my ears….telling me how clean my tiles were!!
Previously, I had used dish detergent and water and then I had to rinse this off and yet, there was a slightly sticky feel left on the tiles. Now, no problem at all! I am one happy customer indeed!
Next, I prepared solution of 1/2 cup of vinegar, 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1 litre of water and I used this to clean my 2 refrigerators, which are white, the perfect way to see how effective this vinegar and baking soda solution is ===> works just as wonderfully there!! Dirty finger prints, hardened spills, grime, etc are all removed almost as soon as I wiped the surfaces with this solution. Fantastic! Another plus to this is that this cleaning solution also helps to remove the fridge odours as well!
Hope you will be able to try this vinegar and baking soda cleaning solution, and see for yourself how wonderful it is – you save much time and effort by using it! Just a word of caution – remember to wear gloves! I didn’t because I don’t like to work with gloves, and now I have to slather on lots and lots of good hand cream!
Oh, do check out also my earlier post by clicking on this ===>3 Cleaning Tips
Good night and sweet dreams from KL!
choesf
Geri said,
October 12, 2007 @ 2:47 PM
Thanks for the info
happyhomemaker88 said,
October 13, 2007 @ 12:35 PM
You are very welcome, Geri.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Much peace and joy to you,
choesf
Geri said,
October 14, 2007 @ 10:58 AM
Thanks for the good tip. I would like to invite you to share your expertise on my blog at: http://www.yourfreshstart.us/wp.
happyhomemaker88 said,
October 14, 2007 @ 11:08 AM
Good morning from KL, Geri
Thank you for the invite – I am still learning and finding good and effective ways to clean. You have so many wonderful cleaning tips at your site and I love reading them. I have added your site to my Blogroll so my regulars can access those tips too!
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Much peace and joy to you,
choesf
cookie said,
July 31, 2008 @ 8:07 AM
just want to say hi!!
happyhomemaker88 said,
August 2, 2008 @ 7:10 PM
Hi and welcome to my blog, dear Cookie
Hope you will pop in here whenever you are free and have a virtual cup of tea or coffee with me!
Have a great weekend, okay?
With peace and joy,
choesf
Simonne said,
June 6, 2010 @ 10:24 AM
wow .. i’m goin to try this later
My oven is really “Ka Na Sai”. Especially have done many rounds of “roast pork” hahaha…. the oil scatter all over the oven
Thanks for sharing!!! hehe
happyhomemaker88 said,
June 8, 2010 @ 1:30 PM
Good afternoon, dear Simonne
Heheh, yes, making many rounds of roast pork can do that to our ovens. Hope this method of cleaning oven works for you, too. You many have to adjust the “strength” of the vinegar and baking soda combo to suit your cleaning preference, in view of the amount of oil splatter from the roast pork.
With best wishes,
choesf
Nicole said,
January 17, 2012 @ 1:29 PM
Can this solution use to clean yellowish pot?
happyhomemaker88 said,
January 17, 2012 @ 4:24 PM
Hi there, dear Nicole
What is the material of the pot? I’m not sure if it’s safe to use this on your pot.
Mine was a stainless steel pot.
With best wishes,
choesf
Carol said,
March 21, 2012 @ 11:04 PM
how do you add it all together because i had the baking soda measured and when i added the vinegar it exploded!
happyhomemaker88 said,
March 21, 2012 @ 11:31 PM
Hi there, dear Carol
I’m so sorry to hear of the explosion. I’m not sure why your combination exploded.
I put the water into a bowl first and then add in the vinegar and baking soda (or baking soda first and then vinegar, either way was fine for me)
The most reaction I ever got was some slight fizz or mild bubbling where the vinegar and baking soda hit each other in the 3 cups of water.
Here’s some information on vinegar-baking soda reactions :-
http://library.thinkquest.org/3347/vinegar+bsoda4.html
Vinegar + Baking Soda Explanation
“The experiment baking soda and vinegar is one of the most popular. However, it is deceptively simple: what appears to be one reaction is actually two, happening in quick succession. This reaction is an example of a multi-step reaction.
What actually happens is this: the acetic acid (that’s what makes vinegar sour) reacts with sodium bicarbonate (a compound that’s in baking soda) to form carbonic acid. It’s really a double replacement reaction. Carbonic acid is unstable, and it immediately falls apart into carbon dioxide and water (it’s a decomposition reaction). The bubbles you see from the reaction come from the carbon dioxide escaping the solution that is left. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air, so, it flows almost like water when it overflows the container. It is a gas that you exhale (though in small amounts), because it is a product of the reactions that keep your body going.
What’s left is a dilute solution of sodium acetate in water. ”
With best wishes,
choesf
nami said,
July 12, 2012 @ 1:48 PM
hi,
i like to check if that the vinegar is used for cleaning is “artifical vinegar” ?
i shop at the supermarket in my area, they are either labelled as rice vinegar or white vinegar (artificial ). i am confused.
happyhomemaker88 said,
July 12, 2012 @ 6:25 PM
Hi there, dear Nami
Yes, it can be either artificial vinegar or white vinegar…they are cheaper than rice vinegar. Some of the shops at my wet market sells a large bottle of artificial white vinegar for around RM6 only.
Check out my latest post on Orange Infused Vinegar for a refreshing scent – it will be good to wash our bathrooms with that, too!
Happy Cleaning!
With best wishes,
choesf
nami said,
July 16, 2012 @ 6:07 PM
hi happyhomemaker,thank u for clearing my doubts.
will definitely read up the orange infused vinegar.
btw, i have also read up your post on cleaning the washing machine.
may i know if using bleach will spoil the drum?
mine is a front load.
many thanks in advance.
happyhomemaker88 said,
July 16, 2012 @ 7:00 PM
You are most welcome, dear Nami
I think the bleach won’t hurt the drum because the drum is made of stainless steel.
With best wishes,
choesf
Wendy said,
August 24, 2012 @ 10:59 AM
Hi happyhomemaker,
Do I need to finish using the solution on the same day I mixed them? Or how long can I keep the solution & maintain the ‘freshness’ of it?
Thank you.
Wendy
happyhomemaker88 said,
August 24, 2012 @ 1:15 PM
Hi there, dear Wendy
So far, I usually finished using all the solution that I had prepared…so, I am not sure if they can keep for a longer time.
With best wishes,
choesf
Audra said,
September 4, 2012 @ 1:36 AM
OMG! I couldn’t believe it! I recently moved in with my fiancé, whose oven I thought would just needed to be replaced due to me trying every oven cleaner on the market, but then I tried this and in 10 mins it was spotless! Thank you so much!
happyhomemaker88 said,
September 4, 2012 @ 8:40 AM
Hi there, dear Audra
I’m glad this method helped you got your fiance’s oven clean in a jiffy! Thank you for sharing your experience here.
Do have a lovely day!
With best wishes,
choesf
Xiaohu said,
September 4, 2012 @ 3:49 PM
Hi choesf,
I was about to ask whether I can use the “white vinegar” that is sold in supermarket when I come across your answer to that question posed.
I hope I won’t have any explosion when I go mix this potent solution of water+ baking soda + vinegar, in this order, this weekend.
regards,
Xiaohu
happyhomemaker88 said,
September 4, 2012 @ 4:10 PM
Good afternoon, dear Xiaohu
Somehow, the “explosions” never occurred to me – just a fizz … to be safer, you can dilute the baking soda with water first, and then only add the vinegar slowly…not all at once.
Hope that helped!
With best wishes,
choesf
Rosi said,
September 8, 2012 @ 7:50 PM
Hi, I used pure vinegar and baking soda on my black tile and now they have stains. How can I fix it?? Please help!! Thank you soooo much!!
happyhomemaker88 said,
September 9, 2012 @ 8:27 AM
Hi there, dear Rosi
I’m sorry your black tiles got stained when you used pure vinegar and baking soda.
I don’t know of any methods to get rid of the stains 
..perhaps you can search in the Internet?
With best wishes,
choesf
ccdev said,
November 18, 2012 @ 10:19 PM
Hi happyhomemaker,
for the safety of those concerned, when you are dealing with different substances, you should always google first to see if they could accidents/explosions/fire etc etc before recommending in your blog.
at the right amount though, the combo makes a wonderful drain cleaner
happyhomemaker88 said,
November 19, 2012 @ 8:52 AM
Hi there, dear ccdev
Thank you for your safety tip on the vinegar and baking soda combo being a potential explosive. I had amended my post for the safety of all concerned
With best wishes,
choesf
loraine said,
November 25, 2012 @ 10:45 PM
hi, have you tried to pour baking soda into your kitchen sink drain then pour vinegar and then boiling water in to get rid of those nasty smell in the kitchen sink drain
happyhomemaker88 said,
November 28, 2012 @ 3:39 PM
Hi there, dear Loraine
Yes, I had done that a few times before, just to get the drain flowing well but I didn’t know that can eliminate kitchen sink smell as well.
I should probably do this more often at night to remove the kitchen sink stink, which is the worst when we wash stuff first thing in the morning!
Thank you for your lovely tip!
With best wishes,
choesf
Anita said,
January 2, 2013 @ 9:37 AM
This method did not work for me at all. Any other ideas?
happyhomemaker88 said,
January 2, 2013 @ 1:55 PM
Hi there, dear Anita
I’m sorry to hear that this method didn’t work for you. There are a few ways to increase the vinegar and baking soda cleaning power
===> use lesser water (more concentrated mixture), let the mixture stay over the stained/dirty areas for a longer time, repeat the applications.
Or you could try making some homemade cleaning enzyme and use that in place or in addition to the baking powder/vinegar/water combo
Homemade Cleaning Enzyme Recipe
With best wishes,
choesf
Tracey Martin said,
January 10, 2013 @ 9:39 AM
I’ll give it a try tomorrow and let ya know what happens.
Should clean the oven more said,
February 2, 2013 @ 12:14 AM
Oops I guess I should have read this first. lol. I actually didn’t even use water and just vinegar and baking soda, I did mine in a bowl though and just stirred to get a really thick paste, adding more of each to get the right consistancy it only fizzed a bit no major explosion. I am in the process of waiting while it soaks on the really, really, really dirty oven inside door so far (my bad). If it works I will do the rest of the oven this way.
happyhomemaker88 said,
February 2, 2013 @ 8:39 AM
Hi there, dear Should clean the oven more
Actually, an even more concentrated vinegar and baking soda combo would mean a better cleaning solution, especially when there is no water.
I also got a fizz only when I first tried out this method. 
Hope your oven’s clean by now!
With best wishes,
choesf
P.S. It may be a little hard to apply the baking soda/vinegar mixture if it is a paste…maybe adding a little water may be better?
Stephanie said,
February 23, 2013 @ 11:27 PM
Does it matter if you use baking powder or baking soda? I don’t have soda, but I do have a lot of baking powder…
happyhomemaker88 said,
February 24, 2013 @ 7:16 PM
Hi there, dear Stephanie
I am not sure about using baking powder as I have not done that before
… you may like to give it a try though. 
With best wishes,
choesf
Tim said,
March 31, 2013 @ 9:41 AM
This worked great for the bottom of the oven, but it did not work on the sides or the door. I think I will try a more concentrated solution
happyhomemaker88 said,
March 31, 2013 @ 10:45 AM
Hi there, dear Tim
The sides or the door are usually more stubborn to clean due to dried up oil or gravy splatters. Maybe you can try this method :-
1) turn on the oven to warm it up slightly, enough to “soften” the oily grime but not too hot to the touch
2) apply the vinegar-baking soda solution with a cloth and let that sit for a while, before wiping off
3) for some really stubborn stains, dip the scrubber (green part) side of a Scotch Brite sponge into the cleaning solution and then gently try to remove those stains
Hope this works!
With best wishes,
choesf
medy said,
May 17, 2013 @ 5:14 AM
I was seriously doubtful about something so simple working…but oh my GOD was I pleasently surprised by this! I’m pregnant and am staying away from all chemicals and have been looking for safer ways to clean, and this I will be using as the only way to clean my oven! Thank you so much!
happyhomemaker88 said,
May 17, 2013 @ 8:57 AM
Hi there, dear medy
Congratulations on your pregnancy! I’m glad this method of cleaning a dirty oven is helpful to you in your condition.
With best wishes,
choesf