Cleaning a filthy stainless steel oven with soda crystals?

[FormerlyKnownAsPrincessChick]

We've bought a lovely stainless steel Falcon range off of Ebay. It needs a really good scrub inside and out as it's quite filthy from the old owners and from being stored in our dusty house that's being renovated. Kitchen will be going in next weekend, so this weekend is my time to get it looking spic-and-span :) We're on a tight budget so although I'd love to get in a pro, that money is really needed elsewhere...

I'm just wondering if soda crystals will do the trick followed by a polish with Method stainless steel and e-cloth? I also have a steam mop (with hand held attachment) but have read that these are rubbish for really dirty ovens and cooker hobs and had planned to use this for maintenance after the initial deep clean. Any thoughts?

On a separate note, I'm quite excited about getting my mitts on some soda crystals as I've been reading amazing things! I was initially going to get them to wash out MILs stinky washing machine and to clean the v. dangerous slippy decking in the garden but it would seem that there's a whole host of other chores I can power through with them!

The stainless steel part should not need chemicals. The dust will come off with a damp sponge, WUL will take most dirt off. if it has a brushed finish, you can use a nylon scourer, preferably white. Only ever rub in the direction of the brushing, and especially never in circles.

I generally love Method cleaners, but have never found the stainless steel one to be any good. Soapy water and an eco cloth though, brilliant.

Thanks guys. I'm coming round to the idea that this really does look like a task for some WUL, an e-cloth and some elbow grease. I've already bought some of the method stainless steel cleaner, which I gather is more of a polish than a cleaner. I'll not hold out any hope for it to be any good but will give it a whirl anyway. It mentions something about protective film over time so maybe I'll just use it like furniture polish for the kitchen!

I've contacted Falcon / Rangemaster as well to see what they say / if they recommend any eco products from the ecover or method range as they seem to say no to Cif liquid but yes Domestos multi surface cleaner for the hob (just wondering if one of the multisurface cleaners would be better than WUL). Having pulled up the manual it says in bold not to steam clean, use paint solvents, washing soda, caustic cleaners, biological powders, bleach, chlorine based bleach cleaners, coarse abrasives or salt... They also say nothing more than warm water and mild detergent for the rest of the cooker. But don't mention any other recommendations.

The manual also doesn't mention how to clean the inside of the oven, so I'm hoping they come back with some ideas. There seems to be some sort of "cook and clean" system but I don't know if this is fully self cleaning or just some sort of splash shield system that I need to take out and wash in the sink. I'll do a bit more research today.

Ecover washing up liquid really isn't up to this, so I shall be using up the fairy I've got in my box of cleaning tricks. I'm quite excited about getting the marigolds out tomorrow (that's really sad isn't it?!)

Ok, so advice from Falcon:

• outside of oven: clean with washing up liquid, multi surface cleaner or stainless steel cleaner

• inside: remove self cleaning lining and then clean with oven cleaner such as Mr Muscle.

I can't use Mr Muscle as I'm 8 months pregnant. Maybe a scraper and some bicarb / vinegar solution?

It sounds like the oven has catalytic liners.