How would you clean these gaps? Ridiculous oven, annoying grot!

[TheSecretOfCake]

We live in a rented house whose kitchen was designed by an arse. They didn't measure up properly when fitting the kitchen cabinets and didn't leave enough space for an oven They ended up fitting a narrow oven instead, leaving lovely 1 or 2 inch gaps either side.

Every time I cook, something goes flying over the side, I drop bits of veg or spoons etc and spend more time scrabbling around trying to get stuff out or trying to clean spills down the side that I can't bloody reach. The only way of getting it properly clean is to pull the oven out completely but I can't do that every day. How would you keep it clean?

Actually, would pushing it flush to one cupboard help, or would it look weirder with just one big gap? The flooring under the oven doesn't match the rest of the flooring so don't want to expose too much of it..

Would a mop fit down the sides?

Could you push one side of the oven against a cupboard, then put a chopping board (or something similar) on the edge of the oven and over to the worktop, to cover the gap?

ophiotaurus unfortunately not. Not even when I swore and shoved it really hard Might have a look for some super slimline mops.

mipmop I really like that idea but the cupboard is a few cms higher than the oven so anything bridging the gap would be really wonky. This whole house is full of wonky design, upside down door handles and confusing decisions!

I discovered recently that my local hardware shop will cut wood to a precise size, if you could find a similar shop you could push the oven tight against one of the cupboards and then measure the gap on the other side.

Get 4 bits of fairly decent wood cut to size and make a sort of shelf that is nearly the same height as the work top and supported below on two bits of wood, the front bit of wood and the top bit would hide the gap, it would need to be a fairly tight fit to work. Paint it if you have time. Bit of a faff but you can take it away when you move out.

...just re-read your last post, the shelf thing would have to sit just lower than the oven.

I also live in a rather wonky rented house, it is amazing what I have been able to achieve using bits of wood, paint and sticky backed Velcro!

Does the kick board at the base of your kitchen units remove? Ours pulls out quite easily (clips onto unit legs) and you can then reach right underneath the units.

Alternatively this may be of use:

www.amazon.co.uk/Lakeland-Telescopic-Floor-Sweeping-Broom/dp/B00E4L23C4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413553302&sr=8-1&keywords=narrow+sweeping+brush

Ooh.. that could be done! I could do the shelf the same height as the oven, that at least will solve the muck problem, and I'll just put up with the height difference. Thank you!

Yes, this house totally tests the limits of my diy/endurance/creative skills. It's a challenge!

My favourite bit is the tall useful brilliant storage cupboard in the kitchen which you can never use, as the only place you can fit a fridge freezer is. . right in front of the tall cupboard, completely blocking access to it and rendering it useless. The cupboard next to it only opens halfway, again because of the fridge. And the drawer above that only opens 3cm.. because of the fridge. Brilliant! We like to theeink the builder was not actually a builder by trade, just an accountant dragged in off the street by accident.

capsium unfortunately they don't. Who knows if they're supposed to or not with the house though!

Love the telescopic broom.. but do worry about the, er, caked on muck
help, I'm a slattern

So far perpendicular's random shelf is winning, all i can offer by way of a prize is the frankfurter that leapt into that crevice to its doom yesterday..

Funnily enough - I bought exactly the same oven by the look of things and had the same issue. It isn't that I was an arse who didn't design the kitchen properly, it was so that when the oven needs replacing, a full size one will fit in the gap; assuming the kitchen will last longer than the cooker. The gap is wide enough for a standard full size cooker.

The cooker was bought on a FTB's limited budget; it was a brilliant deal and a great cooker which I had for a few years before the kitchen was re-done to my liking.

I did want something to fill the gaps either side, but after numerous other issues with getting the kitchen fitted (I won't bore you with the details) I gave up.

I used to wipe down the sides with a cloth and periodically move it from one side to the other in reach in with a brush (from a dustpan and brush set) to clean the floor. Whenever I cleaned the kitchen properly, I pulled it out and cleaned everything around it. Not ideal, but it did the trick.