Oven Cleaner Alternatives?

[Ireland-or-bust]

As above. Mr Muscle is great, but i have my own water treatment plant and
its not so good for the bacteria i need to process the muck.

any ideas on something less vicious but still useable?


Mark.

[ina]

Elbow grease and chisel - I think that's what I'll need for mine if I don't tackle it soon...

Folk use bicarb, I think, but I'm not sure how.

[Silver Ether]

You make a thick paste using water and Bicarbonate of Soda... paste it on thickly and leave overnight .... thats to build my resolve to tackle it then using washable cloths and scourer... get stuck in with the scrubbing ... best thing is to clean the oven as you go along ... that reminds best go do it as the toms I was roasting did a little splashing ...

[ina]

.. best thing is to clean the oven as you go along ...

That's the theory!

[Annpan]

Method 1:
Try making up this concoction in a spray bottle spray in on,

half fill the bottle with water (stops the fizzing a bit)
1/2 tsp washing up liquid
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp bicarb.
1 tbsp borax.
(10 drops of citrus essential oils are ideal but not nessesary)

top up with water give a good shake
(look out, the pressure has been known to build up a little in the bottle)

spray liberally round the oven (look out for elements and gas outlet bits... don't be daft) turn the oven on very low for 10 mins to let it work then switch off and leave to cool a bit then wipe/ scrub while it is still warm.


Method 2:
Put a deep tray full of water and 1/2 cup lemon juice in the oven at 180 for an hour the dirt should be loosened, wipe while still warm but not too hot.

For any non-toxic methods I would suggest useing those green scourey pads, big rough floor cloths or rags, hot soapy water to clean cloths in between wipes and loads of elbow grease.

[wulf]

Where can I get elbow grease from? Is there a discount for larger quantities?



Wulf

[Silver Ether]

Where can I get elbow grease from? Is there a discount for larger quantities?



Wulf

funny that ... its been around for a looooooong time yet its never in the supermarket ... perhaps we need a proper hardware shop ...

[Jack]

Gidday

My mother used to put some amonium in a roasting dish and then some Lux soap flakes in it, in the oven and stoke it up to high, wood stove those days, the let it cool off and the gunk would have been softened.

[Jerseymum]

In lieu of elbow grease, you can always cut a scraper from some old plastic: lasts for ages and picks up HUGE amount of gunge and crap.
Of course, this is after you've tried one of the green methods for loosening yuck listed above
Sarah

[kimbobill]

try a normal wash load of washing powder, don't know why but we use the white's one. put all the sides bars and anything else like oven dishes in the bath cover with hot water and powder leave overnight,

one of our old oven instructions said the best way was to turn the oven on full power (max was 240 ) great for the enviroment and smoked you out for a while

[Thurston Garden]

.. best thing is to clean the oven as you go along ...

That's the theory!

I admit to cleaning our oven only once a year.....and with a wire brush too!

Thats one advantage of a Rayburn I forgot to add to a previous Rayburn/Aga thread! The cast iron oven liners just carbonises stuff which I remove with a wire brush on the day that the Rayburn is off and completely cold for it's service.

[Silver Ether]

.. best thing is to clean the oven as you go along ...

That's the theory!

I admit to cleaning our oven only once a year.....and with a wire brush too!

Thats one advantage of a Rayburn I forgot to add to a previous Rayburn/Aga thread! The cast iron oven liners just carbonises stuff which I remove with a wire brush on the day that the Rayburn is off and completely cold for it's service.

that alone is a good enough reason to have one ....

[possum]

I've not tried this but it was on that program where you have two posh cleaners going into peoples houses telling them how dirty they are

As well as the household amonia they also suggest meat tenderiser - not the wooden mallet type, the powder stuff

Also I use a scraper, the sort you can get from any diy place for removing paint from windows - you know the sort with a stanley knife blade. Gets rid of the baked on stuff in seconds, then you just need a quick scrub to get rid of what is left.

[Peggy Sue]

Oh God I've never cleaned our oven and we've been here 5 years....no wonder the smoke alarm is always going off!

[WiseBird]

We always use ammonia too...but only on the racks. What we do is put the chrome racks into a black bin liner and pour in half a cupful of household ammonia then tie the neck up quick and leave it overnight (outside!).

Next morning put the racks in the bath and use the shower to rinse them off - hardly any scrubbing is neccessary, no matter how much grease and grime was baked on and they come up like new

Does mean you have to clean the bath afterwars though

Donna