Of all of the difficult and laborious tasks that you may face whilst doing the domestic cleaning, the most problematic will usually be the oven. It is no surprise really, given how much heating and cooling of various different things goes on in there, especially given the amount of oils and fats that are present in many foods. This basically results in a cavern of cooked on grease which hardens and dries in to a crust that can be nigh on impossible to remove in some situations. However, there is no reason to despair, there are indeed ways of getting the oven looking spotless without breaking your back, and not all of them revolve around getting a professional cleaner to do it!
First off, to make the job easier, just do it more often! If you cleaned your oven every couple of weeks, rather than once every few months, then you would doubtless have a much easier time when you did so! Reducing the amount of baked on grease that you have to get rid of will always ensure that you are able to get rid of it more quickly and a lot easier. So, perhaps look at pencilling in a day when you know you are going to clean the oven, so that over time it becomes something that you do naturally, like hoovering, or wiping down the surfaces in the kitchen. The fact of the matter is, just because the dirt in your oven is less visible than that on your floor or your counter top, doesn’t mean it isn’t there!
The tools that you use to clean the oven are as important as the cleaning products. You will need something really tough, like a barbecue scraper, or a wire brush, to tackle the really difficult dried on stuff, as it can be that such areas are impenetrable with liquid cleaners, and need to be broken down physically! Rough sponges, rags and cloths that you don’t mind getting really greasy will also be essential, just make sure that they are pretty tough, and won’t fall apart in your hand if you attack the dirt too vigorously! As for cleaning products and solutions, you will find that there are oven cleaners available in most supermarkets, and it is really up to you as to what you choose to go with, but be sure to wear gloves whatever you use, as the chemicals involved can be extremely dangerous for skin.
Some oven cleaners have handy plastic bags that you can fit the wire oven racks in to, which you then fill with the oven cleaner, and leave to soak. This method means that the racks get a nice even dose of the cleaner, which will make them extremely easy to wipe clean. If there are no appropriate bags, then just lay the rack in the sink and cover them lightly with the cleaner, turning the racks every few minutes. Spray the cleaning fluid all over the inside of the oven, and ensure that the whole inside is evenly covered in a thick layer. Allow this layer to do its work for as long as possible before returning with your tough instruments, and give the whole inside a good scrub. If the tougher bits have not been penetrated by the cleaning solution, then chip away at it, until the cleaner has something to work against. The longer you leave the cleaning solution to do its work, the less difficulty you should have with getting the inside of your oven grease free.
