There are times when a light touch is all that's needed to clean our homes. There are other times, however, when we have to roll up our sleeves and get down to the business of cleaning the things we hate to clean, the things we tend to put off until we can't stand them anymore. Today we'll get down and dirty as we concoct recipes for cleaning all the places we dread.
- Ovens Pour a cup of ammonia in a shallow bowl. Fill a shallow and wider bowl with boiling water (figure A). Place the bowl of ammonia on the top rack of the oven and the larger bowl of water on the bottom rack. Heat the oven to 200 degrees, then shut it off and leave for several hours to overnight. Stand back when you open the door to avoid ammonia fumes. Food spills will be softened.
- Oven cleaning paste Mix baking soda in a bowl and slowly add ammonia, stirring to a paste consistency (figure B). Apply to stubborn food spills with the abrasive side of a scrubbing sponge. Wipe away with the soft side of the sponge. After cleaning away the stains, wipe the oven down with undiluted white vinegar, applied with a sponge. Wipe off to reveal a spotlessly clean oven.
Tip: To eliminate oven odor, pour salt on spilled food to stop smoke and odor. Remove with a spatula the next day.
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