Do You Spraythe Heating Element?

 
Just got the following question
via Email:

Do you spray it on the heating element also??

Certainly you do not try to spray
the heating element. There is no
need to spray the heating element
because any food that gets on the
heating element is going to be burned
up, carbon and all.

Typically, there is not any carbon
residue left on the heating element
after the oven has been turned on.

However, I know of no way to avoid
spraying baking soda on the heating
element. It is unavoidable.

So, I would not try to get baking soda
on the heating element but I would
not worry about it either.

Keep in mind that this is true of any
and all spray-on oven cleaning solutions.
All spray-on cleaning solutions are going
to get spray on the heating element. It
is unavoidable.

Also keep in mind that baking soda does
not burn. Baking soda is an ingredient
in some dry chemical fire extinguishers.
I'm not an expert but to the best of my
knowledge, baking soda does not cause
fires. If anything, it puts a fire out.

Ed Abbott

Chop Stick ClearsOven Cleaning Spray Bottle

 
Just received a suggestion for
clearing a clogged spray bottle.
Here's the email I received:

If the baking soda gets stuck
in the funnel, OR it clogs at
the bottom of the spray bottle
after shaking it. USE A
CHOPSTICK.

It will clear the funnel nicely,
and you can stir the clogged soda
at the bottom of your spray bottle
after shaking, later..

D. M.
Courtenay, BC, Canada

Ed Abbott

Is It OK to Turn the Oven On?

 
Just got an email from a lady who
wants to know if it is OK to turn
the oven on.

She asks:

One question:  I understand not
to start with a hot oven when spraying
the baking soda mixture in there, but
can you please clarify if it is okay to
heat the oven right after or while the
mixture is still wet in there?  I
don't want to blow up the kitchen.  ;)  

Thanks.

You should be able to turn the oven
on safely. That is my supposition as
well as my experience.

Baking soda is often baked into food,
so it should be safe to consume should
some of it get into your food.

Also, baking soda is an ingredient in
fire extinguishers that acts as a fire
suppresent. So, the baking soda should
not burn.

In general, baking soda is not something
that would explode either.

In short, baking soda does not burn or
explode. That's my understanding.

When I used baking soda to clean my oven,
I turned it on and did not have a problem.

It doesn't burn or explode or get hard
or anything like that. The only thing
that happens is the heat causes it to
dry out.

Note that I am a layperson, not a chemist
or an expert in fire fighting. I'm certainly
not a baking soda expert.

However, my common sense tells me that
turning on an oven that has baking soda
in it should be OK.

After all, each time you bake corn bread
that has baking soda in it, you are doing
something that is considered safe.

So why wouldn't a hot oven be able to
accommodate a little baking soda?

Ed Abbott

Cleaning Oven in a Commercial Environment

 
Here's an email from someone
asking about oven cleaning in
a commercial environment:

Ed,

We  are a cleaning  service.
Just a got a contract  with  
a school  cafe.

Want to  leave  as  little carbon  
foot  print  as  possible .  But  
need to  quick  clean .  Leaving  
the  Baking  solution on  is  not  
an opportunity .  Is  there one?

Thank you in  advance  for  for
help with this.

Good Cleaning,

I don't have any good ideas for
this person. Does anyone else?

Ed Abbott

Ratio of Baking Soda to Water

 
OK. Just got another email:

Hi Ed,

I read your article Eight Easy
Steps to a Clean Oven and am
anxious to try this process.  However,
I'm not sure what size spray bottle
to use.  

The article mentions using 3 heaping
teaspoons of baking soda, but I didn't
see any reference to the amount of water
to add.


Thanks.

Here's my reply to the above question:

I don't have a precise memory of how
much baking soda I added to the water.

It has been years since I did this.

A safe starting place would be one level
teaspoon per cup of water.

Seems to me I added more than this but
this will give you a very conservative
place to start.

As I recall, the extra baking soda will
tend to settle at the bottom of the bottle.

Therefore, a little extra probably does no
harm as long as it is not too much extra
and as long as it does not clog the bottle.

At this point in time, it has been about
10 years since I actually cleaned my oven
this way.

So, my memory, at this point, may not be
perfect.

Ed Abbott

Do YouTurn the Oven OnFor the Baking Sodato Work?

 
Just got the following question:

You say to Start with a cold
oven.  So, do you turn the oven
on for the baking soda to work??
You do not mention turning the
oven on.

No need to turn the oven on. No
need to keep it off.

Just use your oven as desired and
let the baking soda work.

See this post for more of the same:

Turn On Oven?

Ed Abbott

Cleaning Pots and Pans With Baking Soda

 
OK. Just burned dinner last night.
I burned red beet bulbs on to the
bottom of the pan.

I was watching TV and not paying
attention. That's an old story.

The new story is that baking soda
works great to clean the black stuff
that adheres to the pan.

I really did a good job of burning
the black stuff on this time. The
black stuff is carbon.

Anytime you have food that is burned
on to the side of the pan, it is called
carbon. This is especially true if it
is black.

How did I get it off?

I followed these steps:

1. I put some baking soda in the bottom
   of the pan.
2. I wet the baking soda just a little bit,
   just enough to make it a little bit sticky.
3. I finger-painted the baking soda on to the
   black stuff.
4. I let it sit like this for a few hours. Overnight
   is probably a good idea.
5. While I let it sit, I kept the top on the
   pan so that the little bit of water I put in there
   did not evaporate too quickly.
6. I tested the pan for readiness by finger-painting
   the baking soda again. If the black carbon rubs off
   on it's own, the pan is probably ready for scrubbing.
7. I then rinsed the pan. In my case, it came out clean.
8. Had the pan not come clean, I would have
   repeated the above steps. Sometimes you have
   to do this if the black burned-on carbon is too
   thick and has too many layers.

Here are tips that will help you be successful:

1. Be sure to give it enough time. It's a chemical
   reaction. Chemical reactions take time.
2. Don't use too much water. Just enough so that
   the baking soda can be finger-painted to the sides
   of the pan. If you use too much water, you dilute
   the effectiveness of the baking soda. At least, that's
   my experience.
3. Don't start scrubbing until at least some
   of the backed-on carbon comes off when you
   finger-paint it with your finger. Why scrub
   if you do not have to?

Hope this helps someone out there.

Ed Abbott

Does the Oven Need to Be Turned On?

 
Just got an email from a woman in
Canada who asks if you need to,
use the oven for the baking soda
solution to work?

By using the oven, I assume she means
turning it on.

No, I don't think it is necessary to
use the oven. Just keep the baking soda
wet. That's the key thing.

In other words, heat is not necessary.
Just moisture.

Whether or not heat helps, I don't know.
It might, as some chemical reactions speed
up in the presence of heat.

Baking soda taking the black stuff off of
oven surfaces has to be a chemical reaction
of some kind. That's my assumption.

To summarize: Turning the oven on is not
necessary. Whether or not it helps give a
faster result, I'm not sure.

Ed Abbott

Choosing A Spray Bottle to Clean Your Oven

 

OK. Just got the following email:

Good morning Ed

Belfast Northern Ireland calling - was
so excited to try your eco friendly oven
cleaning  method ie; with bicarboninate
of soda -  but the stuff won't spray out
of the bottle.  What am I doing wrong,
do I add hot water to the bicarbon soda
or cold?  I don't want to waste any more
as i've already used a whole pkt; with
cold water with no success.  HELP! please.

Yours sincerely  

Here's how I replied:

Hello,

This is a common problem.  Clogged spray
bottles are a common problem.

Here's the solution that I've found and that
others have found.

Be sure to buy your spray bottle empty rather
than using a spray bottle that is pre-filled.  Seems
that prefilled spray bottles are very application
specific and therefore cause problems.

For example, some pre-filled spray bottles are
pre-filled with a window cleaning solution.  These
bottles are a problem.

Since they are not designed to accommodate baking
soda, they will not accommodate baking soda.  Thus
the bottle clogs.

The bottles I bought were general purpose spray bottles.
The nozzles were adjustable and you could put all kinds
of things through the nozzle.

The nozzle could be set to produce a fine mist or
it could be set (with a twist of the ring on the
tip of the sprayer) to produce a stream of water
that did not mist at all.

In other words, the bottle itself was designed to
accommodate a lot of different situations and a lot
of different spray solutions.

Hope this helps!

Ed Abbott

Does Baking Soda Turn to Lye?

 
OK.  The email that I got below basically
asks the question, "Does baking soda
turn to lye?"

The answer seems to be, "no."

Got an email from the same guy
replying to his own question:

Here is the email reply:

No problem, Ed; I appreciate your reply.
I am certainly not suggesting that it does
produce sodium hydroxide---I don't know.
I was just curious.  There are many other
sites on the web that also recommend
using baking soda as a paste in a cool oven.
My only point of doubt is what happens
when you heat it up.  Took too much chemistry,
I guess (which was not very much).

In fact, this post
(post asks about a cheap way to make lye)
makes it clear there is no danger.

Regards,

Ed Abbott

Cleaning Your Oven With Baking Soda

 
This is my first post on a new
blog. This blog is all about oven
cleaning and baking soda.

Baking soda can be used to clean
an oven.

Just got an email from a man who
read this article on my website:

Eight Easy Steps to a Clean Oven

He wrote the following:

Interested in your web post as
a potential help to me.

But I've read that NaOH should never
be used in oven cleaning (even though
it's in many products) because it is
too abrasive and too toxic
(super-strong alkaline).

The baking soda does not turn into NaOH,
then, with high temps, water, salt, and
everything else that might be in there?

Thanks.

The NaOH that he refers to in his email is
also called Sodium Hydroxide or lye.

I remember lye used to be sold as a product
called Red Devil. I suspect that
Red Devil is no longer on the market.

It was a product that would produce a chemical
reaction that would create pressure enough
to clear a blocked drain.

It did this by producing heat and pressure,
as I recall.

I've purchased and used this product before
but doubt it is still available. I've not
seen it on supermarket shelves in years.

In any case, the above email indicates his
concern that baking soda might turn into lye
under the right conditions.

My instinct is that this is not very likely
but if anyone out there begs to differ, please
post your reply here.

Thanks!

Ed Abbott