I'm on my travels ATM. To thank my current host for their hospitality I volunteered to clean the electric oven. Never have I seen such a heavily encrusted object. It's like something excavated from Pompeii.
I know there are some kind to the hands, colourfully bottled options in the shops. But what can I use that is tough enough to do a thorough job without scouring my knuckles to the bone?
Well get some cash out.
I bet ours is worse.
Nothing, in our experience none of the 'magic oven cleaners' makes it easy.
There are firms that will clean it for 50 quid.
The only time I have seen it done, the guy used a really evil smelling substance. Probably very concentrated caustic soda. I don't think there was a lot of hard scrubbing, just repeated application of 'the stuff'. He also had a bath of the stuff for all the removable oven bits.
Unless you have shoulder length gauntlets and a PAPR with you on your travels, you may be best off spending the 50 quid.
Mr Muscle oven cleaner or similar, and time. Spray it on, leave it for pleny of time, wipe it off. Repeat. Wear protective gloves.
Oh - first look in the instruction manual to see if the wretched thing's got a "self clean" mode, which basically carbonises the crud.
Why don't they clean their oven though, seems a little odd. Brian
Commercial kitchens use steam cleaners with long wands to get into the crevices.
Steam and caustic soda should shift just about anything.
If it's that bad though, £50 to the Oven Cleaner is probably well spent.
Owain
I think it's quite a widespread oddness. As for why, I didn't feel brave enough to ask.
Thanks all. 50 quid it is.
A friend (don't ask) just bought me one of these:
I knew I was letting things slide when a friend bought me some tinned curries because I wasn't eating properly after an illness.
Used the same stuff on my oven the other week after it started making slight smokey smells. (I really only do pizza so it's not like it's got roast meat fat festering everywhere.)
Owain
I use the caustic soda gel oven cleaner and a couple of applications is normally enough.
I'm told you can get a very strong form of ammonium hydroxide, 880 IIRC, which you can sit in a container in the oven with the vent taped over and leave for a number of hours before wiping the softened charred grease off, never had any so not tried.
Eating Out of date tinned haggis ?
It's worrying how well people I've never met know me.
Owain
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