Oven cleaning. It's a dirty job but somebody's got to do it, right? We all love a clean oven, but no one loves an oven clean. Well, that's not strictly true, the team at The Lemon Cleaning Company do (we're weird like that!).
Seeing a grimy, dirty oven transform into a gleaming feast of shiny glass and chrome is a wondrous thing. I told you we were weird.
In these modern times, I know some ovens have a 'self-cleaning' option which basically heats the oven up to such a degree that any grime is burnt to a crisp which can then, in theory, then be swept away. In our experience, this works better in theory than in practice.
It can often make things worse and will set off your smoke alarms like never before! You can also buy some purpose-built oven cleaner, but these are full of really harsh chemicals and may even take your breath and your eyebrows away with them.
If you don't fancy hiring us to do it (although you really should and here's why!), here are our top 5 lemony tips for cleaning your oven!
Before you start, make sure you have a few things handy. You'll need:-
rubber gloves
a small mirror
2 sponges
a little bicarbonate of soda
some white vinegar
a pot of elbow grease (any colour ;-)
a little patience
and a glass of wine (red or white) ;-)
Bear in mind this is an all-natural way to clean your oven; there are no harsh chemicals involved here.
We'll cover how to clean the trays and racks in the next blog!
1. Remove The Grime
Most of the dirt within your oven will be grime, so the first thing you'll have to do is to get rid of it.
Take the bicarbonate of soda (bicarb) and mix it in a small bowl with a little water to make a spreadable paste. It usually works out with about 1/2 cup of bicarb to 3 tablespoons of water, but you may need to adjust this slightly.
Once it's ready, spread it on the door and the other parts of the oven, but avoid the heating element. It will probably turn a brown colour as you apply and it may appear 'thicker' in some areas than others, but don't worry about that.
Once done, leave it overnight or for about 12 hours (I told you that you needed patience!). In this period, you can take the time to clean the trays and racks but, as I said, we'll do that next time.
2. Clean The Residue
Once the time has elapsed, it's time to clean off the bicarb paste. Take a damp cloth and remove the paste as best you can. A spatula can come in handy here, but don't use your best one!
In some of the harder to reach corners, spray some white vinegar on it until it starts to fizz.
Take a scouring pad, slightly dampened, and start to remove it as best you can. If it's really stuck you may have to do this a couple of times to get the worst of it up.
3. Cleaning on the Ceiling
The next stop is cleaning the ceiling of the oven. This again can be tricky and if you've got a bad back or knees it can be awkward to clean.
To help, take your mirror and place it on the bottom of the oven. This helps you to see the ceiling of the oven without creaking your neck and will allow you to see any spots you might have missed via the mirror.
4. Rinse Clean
Once you've done the whole oven, you need to rinse it clean. Before you go reaching for the garden hose, don't!
Wash out the sponges so there is only water left on them, but dry them as best you can. Give the oven a good wipe removing any remaining residue from the bicarb.
This might take a little patience to get everything, particularly in the corners or hinges, but then there's no point doing it if you're not going to do it all!
5. Congratulate Yourself
By this time you should only have the wine left. The final tip is the easiest. Congratulate yourself for a job well done, go sit down and drink the wine. You can repeat this step as often as you like! ;-)
If you don't fancy tackling the job yourself, just give our team a call and we'll happily do it for you in much less time. For more details, just click here!