cleaning the oven

skaps

Mine does not self clean so i have to otherwise it gets really dirty and smelly. You are lucky you dont have to do anything, its my least favourite job.

BTW whats the lakeland thingy?

demonicangel

I use Oven Pride.

I really need to clean the glass as you cant see through it, and the top of my oven gets more burnt on food etc then the rest of it for some reason.

smeeinnit

dish half filled with water and a bit of lemon juice, put oven on quite hot for a while, this will steam off the gunk so it can be wiped away (well mostly in my oven lol) very OS, very environmentally friendly, and can be adapted for microwave (cup of water and bit of lemon, cook for say 2 or 3 minutes so its steaming hot - then wipe cleen) jobdone

Agapanthus

It's a matter of what works best for you. I used Mr Muscle for some time, but the amount of scourer work it needs put me off rather. Oven Mate doesn't need any of that - just paint it on, stir it up with the brush occasionally in a fairly desultory manner and wipe it off after a few hours. It's much less effort, which suits me!

Oven Pride I haven't tried but if I see some I will as so many people have recommended it.

Basically, all these products are caustic soda with various additives (foam or gel) to keep them in place while they do their work. I'm sure somebody's granny must have developed an OS style version - though as granny's oven didn't have a glass door she may just have left it to bake on to a nice even shade of black. That's real OS!

shebrett

I'm guessing you are looking for the liner that goes at the bottom to catch spillages? You can either use baking paper (waxy brown paper on a roll from the cling film aisle) which is slightly reusable but only for a few times but extremely cheap. The other option is a what I would call a cookie sheet. It's in the same aisle at the supermarket and I think may be called a baking sheet on the pack. It's black, shiny and rolled up in a cardboard box with the all important "teflon" coating claim, very technical description! Only costs a pound or two but lasts forever, just wash in the kitchen sink with the dishes if you need to clean it everything wipes right off.

To clean the oven I use baking soda mixed to a paste with vinegar, scrub with a scourer and then clean out. If there are any stubborn areas left I find that this same paste, left smeared over the problem areas overnight works great. I often add lemon juice as well but that's more for a great smell than a necessary requirement.

Charis

I sometimes put an oven shelf in the dishwasher on the top rack with all the smaller items. I do the same with the pan supports from the hob. The glass door and the oven floor get the brillo pad treatment, although I have an old enamel baking sheet on the floor of the oven to catch spills, which helps and can be taken out for a proper scrub. The only things I have never been able to clean are the oven roof (it's above the grill element and impossible to reach) and the removable, teflon coated sides and back, which can only be cleaned with 'soapy water'. They are supposed to be self clean, by turning the oven up to max, but I've seen the smoke when the grill is on high, hate to think what the whole oven would be like. In the 'good old days', before teflon, I had an oven with enamel coated sides and that could be cleaned with a brillo pad and elbow grease.

Bronnie

rachbc wrote: »

ok here's a slightly crazy question but why do people clean inside their ovens? I've NEVER done mine - the sides are self cleaning, the bottom lined with a lakeland thingy and the glass wiped occassionally but thats it. It works perfectly so I see n need to waste time, money and pump unnecessary chemicals into the world just so the shelves sparkle for a few weeks till it needs doing again.

Am I just slothenly or are any other mr muslces dodgers out there prepared to fess up???

Raises hand!:o

I heard once the theory that the oven sterilises itself each time you use it. That comforting thought keeps me going!


(TBH I do think a lot depends on how you use the oven, eg if you frequently cook roasts in open tins with a lot of fat spitting round)

jexygirl

im with cuca! A friend advised a bottle of ammonia to be my best ever investment, he was right. I take all shelves etc. put into a bin bag, with a few spoons of ammonia. I also put a few teaspoons of it into a bowl of water and leave overnight in my oven. Wash off - literally years of baked on stuff the next day. Brings any of todays clenaners to shame!
Jex

carriebradshaw

I use astonish, it lasts a very long time indeed, is reasonably priced and doesn't have any caustic fumes

happy2bme

Can you still use baking soda to clean you oven and cooktop if you have a non-stick protective coating on it, or would it change the effectiveness of such a coating?