The self-clean cycle on my oven terrifies me. Five hundred degrees for four hours, the house smelling like burnt everything, and the vague sense that something might catch fire. I used it once. Never again.

Commercial oven cleaners are almost as bad. The ones that work are basically lye in a can — you need gloves, ventilation, and ideally a hazmat suit. The ones that are “natural” do not work at all.

Baking soda is the sweet spot. It is non-toxic, costs about a dollar per cleaning, and does the job while you sleep.

The overnight method

Remove the oven racks and set them aside. Mix half a cup of baking soda with just enough water to make a spreadable paste — thick peanut butter consistency. Using a sponge or your fingers (gloves if you want), spread the paste over every surface inside the oven: floor, walls, ceiling, door. Avoid the heating elements and any visible vents.

The paste will turn brown as it reacts with the grease. That is good — it means it is working. Leave it overnight. Eight hours minimum. The baking soda slowly breaks down polymerized grease at a chemical level. No heat needed.

The morning after

Take a damp sponge or cloth and wipe out as much paste as you can. Some areas will still have stubborn bits. For those, put white vinegar in a spray bottle and spray the vinegar onto the remaining baking soda. It will foam up — that bubbling action lifts the last residue. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.

For the glass door, use the same paste but scrub gently with a non-scratch pad. Do not use steel wool on oven glass — it leaves micro-scratches that fog permanently.

Rack cleaning shortcut

Soak the racks in the bathtub with hot water and a dishwasher tablet. Let them sit for a couple of hours. The enzymes in dishwasher detergent break down baked-on food. Scrub with an old dish brush, rinse, dry. This is ten times easier than scrubbing racks by hand. Just make sure to rinse the tub thoroughly afterward — dishwasher detergent is slippery.