Tuesday 3 March 2020

Through A Glass Darkly?

I usually like to give my cooker a really good clean around Christmas time. But this year, what with the campylobacter knocking me out for a week or more, and other family issues, I didn't get round to it.
 I wipe the hob regularly, but the main oven door was really rather grubby/greasy from a lot of roasting. On Tuesday I looked at it just before the Pancake Party, and hoped that none of my visitors would notice! 
So on Saturday [Leap Day] Bob helped me remove the inner glass panels from the oven and grill, so I could get them really clean. 
I find some of the products on the market rather drastic, and I am not sure the chemicals do any good to the environment or to my lungs. I laid the two glass sheets on newspaper on the worktop. The main oven door was caked in brown, baked-on grease. So I made a paste of bicarb and washing up liquid. [Sue was singing the praises of bicarb last week]
It really did not take long at all to scrub it clean using a wire wool pad. In the before picture, you cannot read the newspaper under the glass. In the after picture, the glass is on top of a folded teatowel - and you can see that clearly, as well as the reflection of my hen shaped eggbasket. It is truly sparkling.
And all done with safe 'green' chemicals.  I was super thorough, and switched everything off at the mains, then prised off the control knobs and cleaned behind them, [they went through the dishwasher, along with the shelves and grill pan] The cooker looks really good nowI must not let it get that bad again. 
I promise not to wait till the next Leap Day before I tackle any more serious oven cleaning!







8 comments:

  1. We have exactly the same cooker! My big oven packed in just before Christmas so now I just use the small top oven, which is also fan-assisted. I managed to cook a whole Christmas dinner in it too. I didn't know that you could prise the knob controls off. Must give it a try. I've noticed that the enamel on the back ridge of the hob is wearing away so I painted it with some black nail varnish. Seems to be holding ok. Good job on your gleaming cooker.

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  2. Oh my. The knobs come off? Who knew? That's a game changer...

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  3. I used a firm table knife for prising purposes. Underneath there is a central spindle and a circular recess. I am too embarrassed to post any pictures of the greasy grot which was residing there. Be warned, your cooker may have similar issues. You never know What Lies Beneath...

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  4. Your oven doors and the oven, itself, look so clean! I have removed the knobs off my stove, but, I don't think the glass panel comes off. I have cleaning the oven on my list of things to do, this month.

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    1. My door has two sections, an inner and an outer. The inner panel slides up and out - so you are able to clean both sides of both panels. It is very satisfying to see it so sparkling though.

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  5. I know things are different , appliance wise, in Canada, but I have an electric oven that is self cleaning. I put the drip pans inside and turn on the clean feature about twice a year. The oven cycles through a high heat feature for about 2 hours, leaving all grease and gunk incinerated. I just wipe with a damp cloth. Because of the self clean, the oven has extra insulation and is cheaper to run year round. No chemicals.
    Barb

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    Replies
    1. You can get self-clean ovens here- but they are quite expensive.

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  6. At this point, I should sheepishly whisper that I have never cleaned an oven!

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