On Cleaning an Oven (smell, cleaner, disposal, vent)

[agreatlife]

I have always been very meticulous about keeping my oven cleaned. Always. Well, if they were clean when I moved in, or when I bought a new oven. Let me just say that auto-cleaners are the best invention since the garbage disposal.

So now, I'm selling my home after 4 years, but the oven that was here when I bought the house, let's just say it was fairly dirty, and low and behold, the autocleaner doesn't work. It's an odd oven, 42" (whoever invented that needs to be shot). Has 2 ovens ( 30" and 12" - another thoughtless design). Of course, the 12" doesn't need to be cleaned, because let's face it; what can you really cook in a 12" oven other than a couple of potatoes, and why bother? But the 30", dirty to start with; I like to cook lots of really big turkeys, hams, and gee, those juices just sometimes spill over, along with the fat drippings.

Oh, but I digress. I'm selling the house, we make a big deal about this really great oven, and sure enough, someone opened the darned thing. And there's baking soda all over the front section to stop that grease spill that was burning last week, and lots of big old charcoal blobs of something that spilled last year or so. Needless to say I was embarrassed. Not to mention that they must now know the auto-cleaner doesn't work.

So - and to my point. How do I clean the darned thing? Good old caustic-burn-my-arms-to-the-bone Easy Off? Amonia that makes the house smell like home of 10,000 cats? A sandblaster? Inquiring minds want, ah, make that, NEED, to know!

[JFRRACING]

Originally Posted by agreatlife

I have always been very meticulous about keeping my oven cleaned. Always. Well, if they were clean when I moved in, or when I bought a new oven. Let me just say that auto-cleaners are the best invention since the garbage disposal.

So now, I'm selling my home after 4 years, but the oven that was here when I bought the house, let's just say it was fairly dirty, and low and behold, the autocleaner doesn't work. It's an odd oven, 42" (whoever invented that needs to be shot). Has 2 ovens ( 30" and 12" - another thoughtless design). Of course, the 12" doesn't need to be cleaned, because let's face it; what can you really cook in a 12" oven other than a couple of potatoes, and why bother? But the 30", dirty to start with; I like to cook lots of really big turkeys, hams, and gee, those juices just sometimes spill over, along with the fat drippings.

Oh, but I digress. I'm selling the house, we make a big deal about this really great oven, and sure enough, someone opened the darned thing. And there's baking soda all over the front section to stop that grease spill that was burning last week, and lots of big old charcoal blobs of something that spilled last year or so. Needless to say I was embarrassed. Not to mention that they must now know the auto-cleaner doesn't work.

So - and to my point. How do I clean the darned thing? Good old caustic-burn-my-arms-to-the-bone Easy Off? Amonia that makes the house smell like home of 10,000 cats? A sandblaster? Inquiring minds want, ah, make that, NEED, to know!

HI, i would use easy off fumeless and a good pair of rubber gloves and a plastic scraper for those charcoal blobs. LOL OH YEAH LOL ALSO ON THAT 12 INCH OVEN

[JBrown]

greatLife:

The oven cleaning products have come along way since the brush on really caustic stuff of yesterday. I had the "chance' to clean a pair of really really crummy ovens....I used the spray on Easy Off stuff...Followed instructions on can...let stand over night, no noticable smell. Next day cleaned it up and only had to redo a couple of small spots that I had missed 1st time thru.

it's not nearly the terror of a job it used to be....

[tamcim72]

I admit that I am very nervous to use the self cleaning oven b/c it gets so hot and stinky. That's my mothers fault! My oven doesn't get cleaned to often! I did use the esy off stuff several years ago and beside the odor it wasn't too bad. Be prepared with a whole roll of cheap papertowels b/c it would to much hassle to rinse off sponge. I used it on the toaster oven too.