While microwave ovens are pretty easy to clean in an environmentally friendly way (see my article on lemon juice tips), convection ovens can be a real nightmare.

In the past I've always used the heavy chemical cleaners and I remember one occasion when I was living in a small place where the fumes nearly knocked me out. That was back in my "more is better" days :). Food cooked after that incident had an aftertaste of oven cleaner for some time.

Many oven cleaners aren't the most environmentally friendly products - firstly there's the packaging - steel cans and plastic. Then there's the chemicals - here's an example from a popular brand:

Diethylene glycol monobutyl ether - This is a volatile organic compound harmful to aquatic organisms

Monoethanolamine (MEA) - studies on a wide variety of freshwater fish show that MEA can be toxic.

Butane - a fossil fuel.

Sodium hydroxide - this is caustic soda or lye which is used in many products. Aside from irritating skin and eyes, if exposed to concentrated quantities or ingested, it can kill. Sodium hydroxide released into waterways can alter pH levels and also readily combines with water vapor in air, creating a corrosive mist. While Sodium Hydroxide isn't terribly environmentally damaging in small quantities, oven cleaners have large amounts of this chemical.

With that in mind and an oven cleaning exercise coming up, I've had a poke around to see if I could find a green way to tackle the mess. There are environmentally friendly ready-made products available that contain plant-based solvents (citrus oil) and plant-based surfactants (from soy, coconut or corn) which I'll likely give a try. These tend to be in refillable spray packs rather than pressurized cans.

I might even get really adventurous and try one of these home concoctions and methods:

- Coat oven surfaces in a paste of water and baking soda and let stand overnight, then scrub off. Washing Soda or sodium carbonate (a little different to baking soda which is sodium bicarbonate) is a naturally occurring mineral that can also be used.

- 2 tablespoons liquid soap + 2 teaspoons borax + warm water, spray on, allow to sit for a while and then scrub off

- Citrus, essential or tea tree oil are meant to be particularly good for baked on messes.

- Pour vinegar over tough areas and leave to soak for two hours. Wipe off and rinse with warm water.

It's likely that all of the above earth-friendly methods will take a little more elbow grease than the heavy duty chemical products; but knowing that I'm minimizing negative impact on the environment and reducing the risk of adversely affecting the health of my family will be a good consolation.

Of course, prevention is better than cure :).

Using covers when cooking and lower temperatures to prevent splatter should reduce the number of times you have to undertake this onerous and messy chore. You can also place a sheet of aluminum foil on the floor of the oven, underneath but not touching the heating element to help catch spills. Wiping out your oven with a cloth soaked in vinegar is also said to slow down grease buildup.

Have some green oven cleaning tips? Please add them below!