I usually move house before I have to clean the oven [blush]

[Concordia]

.. but we've lived here now for coming up six years with no sign of moving.
I really better get onto it.
I've never cleaned an oven before and I'm asthmatic - can anyone talk me through it gently please before our low levels of oven hygiene really damage my children's health?

I can't help but was amused by your post as my MIL recently asked me how easy our oven was to clean and I gave her a totally blank look (6 years so far). Obviously I give it a bit of a wipe out every now and then...

Lol. I like a clean oven, but I gave MIL a similar look when she asked what I used to clean my skirting boards with

If you are asthmatic, don't use any of the oven cleaning sprays. They are awfull. Hot soapy water and a paint scraper should do the trick. And Hob Brite for the top of it.

so does the mythological self cleaning oven exist?

First take out the shelves and tray - you have to clean those separately.

I like Lakeland OvenMate - it's non-fumy, which I would assume is important for an asthmatic. The one I get is a gel, and comes with a "paintbrush" - you paint it onto the surfaces, leave it till it goes brown, then wipe it off - I have the washing up bowl full of water on the floor next to me and replace the water as often as necessary till its all clean.

You can use the same stuff on the shelves and tray, or else a brillo pad and lots of elbow-grease. Some over cleaners also come with a big bag to put the shelves and the product into - like OvenPride, but I think that has fumes.

Mine has "self-cleaning panels" on the sides and top, but they only "clean" themselves when you run the oven at 220C, and it's a fan oven so I never do that... So I have to run it specially to burn the bits off those panels, because I'm not allowed to use oven-cleaners on them . Frankly it would be easier to just have to use one product on all of it...

I completely agree with you... you are not stupid. Here's my top tip which I think you'll like. Take an anti-histamine when the house gets dusty. and if the family make snippy comments about the state of house, hand them an anti-histamine too.

I cleaned an oven once, and it was horrendous AND boring at the same time. Really traumatised me. Never again.

Mt yop tip - get one of those oven cleaning companies to come and do it for you, costs about £30 and it will sparkle

Don't your ovens get all smoky from stuff being spilled etc?

As long as the kitchen is well ventilated surely the spray and leave kitchen spray stuff would be ok.

I agree with the Lakeland oven cleaner - it's fab. I used it today and it's so effortless I must do it more often.

Had a roast today and there was no smoke once the oven door was open, as we are open plan it was FANTASTIC :-)

Here this

Ovenmate is great. I used it at the weekend and was really impressed with it. I used to pay someone to clean our oven as I hate the fumes that many oven cleaners give off. I won't anymore though. I used brillo pads on the shelves and glass doors (double oven)as I found the product not as effective on the glass and shelves are a bit fiddly anyway.

Move house, there's a good idea!

Am I too late to butt in help? If you have a spare £50 or so, get someone else to do it.

Oh definitely get someone in. Having had mine cleaned professionally before our tenants moved in I can honestly say I am never going to attempt it myself again. It looked like a brand new oven, no matter what I ever did it would not look like that. By the time you've bought copious cleaning materials it won't cost much more...and you are asthmatic after all...