cleaning the oven

Horseunderwater

gemmylou86 wrote: »

The oven in my flat still had the previous tenants dinner in it when i moved in - PLUS what i can only assume is a good three years' worth of baked on !!!!. I've tried conventional sprays and good old elbow grease to no avail, has anyone got any magical old style solutions or secret products that i dont know about?

gemmy

Hi Gemmy

You need to totally remove the oven door via the hinges in order to really get inside and clean an oven.
Assuming it is a flip downwards oven door, there will be a hinge that has a safety catch on it that lifts up when door at flat open setting. You then lift door up a little - must grip with both hands. door will come off. That way you can get inside easily - I start by using a wallpaper scraper to get burned on stuff off bottom only and sweeping it out with a dry sponge into a plastic box. Then I spray it with a mix of liquid basics laundry wash liquid combined with some soda crystals and water mixed up in a spray bottle. I leave it on to soak in for 20 minutes then I use the scraper again to further loosen any more baked on stuff. I keep doing this until it is clean. Then I rinse well with hot water. Amazing results for very little outlay. I have severe muscle weakness and can do this fairly easy if I sit on a chair with oven right in front of me. Mind you my oven is waist height. I take the glass out of the outer oven door and spray that too, then I use a paint scraper again with sharp blade in it to scrape it all off. Because it has been softened - it scrapes off easy too. I had left mine for nearly 5 years - so it was a mess. Now I can see food when it is cooking once more.

Lilyplonk

Personally, I'd say it was the Landlord's job to have made sure that the cooker was not only clean but HYGIENICALLY CLEAN!

If it had been me, I would have opened the oven door, as well as any other appliances, when I first viewed it - but having said that, it's a bit late now ..............

BUT the Landlord should have given the whole place a full inspection when it was vacated BEFORE considering returning the deposit to the previous tenant. If he didn't return the deposit, it won't hurt him to spend at least part of it on either having the oven professionally cleaned and 'safety checked' OR buying a new appliance.

EstherH

Sorry if this is a daft question. But is the oven always the landlords responsibility? My dd moved into a house which didn't have an oven and bought her own and had to pay to have it installed. The house was unfurnished though so does this make a difference? Esther x

Lilyplonk

It all depends on what is supplied in the deal that the Landlord offers and the rent being charged.

Some do offer 'appliance packages' - and others don't.


However, IF they do supply appliances, the very least that they can do is to ensure that they are 'PAT-tested' and hygienically clean.

They should also ensure that any Gas Central Heating Boiler has been serviced and any Shower-heads/taps have been tested for Legionella.

http://www.tenancyagreementservice.co.uk/electrical-safety.htm

http://www.tenancyagreementservice.co.uk/gas-safety.htm

http://healthandsafetysystem.co.uk/11.html (Legionella awareness)

hildagard

remove shelfs etc and soak in the bath overnight with a full box of cheap bio washing powder we done this when moving out of married quaters . you can buy a oven scraper with blades in lakeland great for doing the glass doors hope tjis helps regards

zippychick

ive merged this with our cleaning the oven thread

Zip

ChocolateIsLife

Thank you so much for everyone's advice on oven cleaning. After reading all these posts a while back I armed myself with essentials and decided to tackle my oven. Oven pride - amazing - can't stop looking in my oven! And how have I ever lived without soda crystals in my kitchen?!

kerri_gt

Cleaned my oven yesterday - can and a half of the strong Mr Muscle stuff and 8 of the Sainsburys Basics soap filled brillo type pads (not for use on the ceramic hob!).

Did the oven in stages, glass on door first, then insides, then racks. Add a good dose of elbow grease and gave the racks a final cycle through the dishwasher and the oven looks fab.

Much better value and better result than the swizz I paid for via Groupon before - where someone comes it to do it. Basically did the same thing as me but not as well - cost me £20 (thank goodness it was a deal price) and still left bits of wire wool on the floor and work surface. Should have complained to Groupon as the company never responded to my numerous attempts at contact.

MrsE_2

kerri_gt wrote: »

Cleaned my oven yesterday - can and a half of the strong Mr Muscle stuff and 8 of the Sainsburys Basics soap filled brillo type pads (not for use on the ceramic hob!).

Did the oven in stages, glass on door first, then insides, then racks. Add a good dose of elbow grease and gave the racks a final cycle through the dishwasher and the oven looks fab.

Much better value and better result than the swizz I paid for via Groupon before - where someone comes it to do it. Basically did the same thing as me but not as well - cost me £20 (thank goodness it was a deal price) and still left bits of wire wool on the floor and work surface. Should have complained to Groupon as the company never responded to my numerous attempts at contact.

That's surprised me.
I always thought you got a "like new" oven.
I use brillos for cleaning the ceramic top all the time.

kerri_gt

MrsE wrote: »

That's surprised me.
I always thought you got a "like new" oven.
I use brillos for cleaning the ceramic top all the time.

So did I - I think it depends on what method the company use - some remove the oven liner / inner and completely immerse it in a solution in their vans, and I think some others use different (or better) cleaning methods. The guy who visited me did so on a hot day, and then was telling me how busy they were because of the Groupon deal - they certainly didn't live up to their adverts and I'm not sure I exactly got the best service.

At least doing it myself I know it's done properly.

Oh, and thanks for the info about the brillos on the top, thankfully my hob wasn't too bad as I clean it on a regular basis - but I've never had a ceramic hob before and am always wary of damaging it.