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Thread: Oven Cleaning Tips?

  1. #1
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    Oven Cleaning Tips?

    What do you use to clean your oven? Many years ago, I used those oven cleaning sprays, but they seem so toxic . . .

    Current oven is "self-cleaning" but appliance guy recommended not to use the self-clean feature as it was clear that mice had eaten at least some of the insulation around the oven and since it gets SO hot using the self-clean, he said it could possibly start a fire or scorch/burn the surrounding cabinets if there is a big breach somewhere in the insulation (this post was inspired by mention in the Mouse Holocaust thread of mice eating oven insulation). It seems fine for normal baking, never a problem.

    The only time oven was ever on self-clean it was this entirely weird incident where I was not home, but it was summer and french doors and windows were open. I came home, and the "self-clean" was on and the smoke alarm was going off. The only explanation I could figure was that the cats somehow turned it on, as the controls are a flat keypad type deal and I have heard the pads beeping when cats walked over it, but they had never actually succeeded in turning anything on before to best of my knowledge. I turned off the self-clean and the smoke alarm eventually stopped going off and oven has been fine since then but this experience all the more reason not to use the self-clean. I developed a cover I sometimes put over the keypad when I was out which prevented kitty feet from activating the keys.

    Cats belonged to a friend and used to do a fairly good job keeping mice under control but this was after the mice had already eaten the insulation, and also now the cats don't live here anymore.

    Anyway, cleaning is long overdue so any suggestions on effective non-toxic cleaner and/or advice on cleaning techniques for oven much appreciated (for example, it seems like it will be really hard to get baked-on stuff cleaned up without the foaming toxic cleaner; maybe soak with wet paper towels for a while or something??). Thank you!

  2. #2
    Yppej
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    If you clean it while it is warm that helps. You can scrape the tough spots with a butter knife, or scrub with a paste made from Bon Ami.

  3. #3
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
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    I'm not sure I have real good advice -- our oven cleaner is the oven. However, I once lived in an apartment in which I cleaned the cooktop (aqua; that's how old it was) and the oven using plastic utensils to scrape off as many burned-on bits as I could and then applying copious amounts of Simple Green which I left to sit for a while before wiping up. You'd want to mask the holes/burners on a gas oven or the resistance element on an electric oven, but it will work. Simple Green is non-toxic though to this day the smell of it in the spray container brings back memories of that incident.
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

  4. #4
    Senior Member Rogar's Avatar
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    I use the self-clean oven cycle now, but do recall some oven cleaners can be used cold. They take longer to work, but the fumes from a hot or warm oven are at least avoided.

  5. #5
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    I've heard that letting a bowl of vinegar sit in the oven for an hour or so helps. Then of course, you have to scrub it, but the idea is the vinegar fumes soften the grease. I do believe in the principle of let time do more of the work than you do--in other words, if you can apply some kind of cleaner and then step away for a while, chances are it will be a lot easier to remove the gunk.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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  6. #6
    Moderator Float On's Avatar
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    This gal wanted to go natural and I knew it was coming...Thieves cleaner. Move over vinegar and baking soda,Thieves seems to be all the rage this year! https://www.livingthenourishedlife.c...-oven-cleaner/
    Float On: My "Happy Place" is on my little kayak in the coves of Table Rock Lake.

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