A week ago, the top of our main oven cavity caught fire. Not massive flames or anything like that but enough to give me the willies. I turned the oven off and quickly shut the door, starving the flames of oxygen. Luckily, it worked.
I don't know if your oven is the same but at the top of ours there is a heating element and above that the oven's ceiling. It is very hard to get at that ceiling for cleaning purposes and I must admit that there had been a build up of greasy deposits up there. That is what caught fire.
Naturally, I did not want to use the main oven again until it had been cleaned. I contacted the most well-known oven cleaning companies in the area but neither of them got back to me in spite of repeat messages. So I thought, "Sod them! I will give it a go myself!".
With some difficulty I managed to get hold of a pound of bicarbonate of soda (American: baking soda) and also treated myself to some rubber gloves. I removed the oven door and put on my "Varta" headlamp which proved to be very useful with the cleaning job. At least I could see what I was doing.
I wrapped strips of aluminium foil around the element and then using an old toothbrush and dish washing brush started to apply the simple paste I had made with the soda powder, a little table salt and water. The paste was difficult to apply because of gravity but I managed to get enough of the stuff on before a late bedtime.
The next day I scraped the stuff off moving as carefully as I could between the winding tongues of the element. I reckoned that I had removed enough of the carbonised mess to make the oven safe again but it could still do with a thorough professional clean-up.
Before tackling this job, I watched several YouTube videos about oven cleaning. Each time, I left a comment that went something like this: "Several helpful tips but the video entirely failed to deal with cleaning the ceiling of the main oven!" And yes, I did not find a single video that even mentioned cleaning the ceiling of the main oven cavity.
Before using the oven again, I chopped a lemon in half and stuck it in a Pyrex bowl with a pint of water. This was left in the main oven at 200℃ for twenty minutes just to freshen up the cooking chamber.
I have a much easier method of cleaning my oven. I removed the racks, close the door, look it, and then hit the clean button. Cooks everything at 500F and when it's all done, you just wipe up the ash. I would highly recommend:)
ReplyDeleteUntil last weekend I had never even heard of self-cleaning ovens! 500 degrees sounds volcanic!
DeleteMy oldest daughter has one that does that self cleaning thing, she loves it.
DeleteMaybe you should put an ad: Expert oven cleaner. He'll answer your call. AND he'll bring his own lemon!
ReplyDeleteAnd he will wear a smart green boiler suit with "Oven Ready Turkey" on the back.
DeleteWe've got a self-cleaner, that heats up to scorching and burns off the residues and turns that is not ash that you just wipe away!
ReplyDeleteAs I said to Pixie, I had never even heard of such ovens till last weekend.
DeleteOvens can be a challenge. Good on you for taking the challenge and cleaning the oven.
ReplyDeleteYou have heard of Superman, Spiderman and Iron Man - now here comes Oven Man!
DeleteI have the perfect solutions to oven cleaning. Don't use it. I remember my sister had someone in who was a specialist in oven cleaning. Ours has a top element but I've never looked at the surface above it.
ReplyDeleteI am puzzled by your term "main oven". Does that mean you have more than one? Like a city that has a main station and several smaller stations dotted around?
ReplyDeleteMy oven is well over 20 years old and could actually do with not just a good scrub, but probably replacement. But since I do not cook or bake a lot, I don't see the point in spending much money on it.
It does not have a self cleaning mode, but I can switch on the internal light without the oven heating up, so no headlamp is needed.
This lady, Nancy Birtwhistle, on Instagram, but also has a few books out, has some great home brew cleaning solutions. Look her up. https://www.instagram.com/nancy.birtwhistle/
ReplyDeleteMy oven also has the heating element at the top, something I had never seen before moving here. Up until now I had always had gas stoves, never electric. I rarely use the oven now, because I know I cannot contort myself into position to clean. i haven't had a roasted dinner since the day I moved in. I still bake the occasional cake, and casseroles where the lid goes on so there's no spattering, baked rice puddings and egg custards too. I really miss roasted potatoes with either chicken of beef, it's a good thing I like mashed potatoes.
ReplyDeleteI don't use the oven that came with this house as it useless. I now use a multi function air fryer now. Very easy to clean and quick too.
ReplyDeleteI rarely use my "main" oven other than occasionally as a grill, so am thinking of buying an air fryer. Heating a big oven for one person is an expensive way to cook. I have a Panasonic microwave with normal oven facility and best of all it will cook on autoweight, which I use most of the time. I also always use a roasting bag which does keep the oven clean.
ReplyDeleteNow you've cleaned your oven YP, I suggest you buy some roasting bags from the supermarket, and use them to keep your oven sparkling!
As I am reading the comments and your post, a thought has popped in my head that I need to clean my oven! Luckily I have a self-cleaning one as well. And like you said, you are the Oven Man!
ReplyDeleteThe heating element could be removed for a deep clean. The elements are replaceable, so should be removable. I have had self-cleaning ovens in the last three homes.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sheltered life you live in not to have heard of a self cleaning oven until last week. I'm pretty sure every oven I've owned for the last 30+ years has had a self cleaning button on it. But I'm guessing your upper arms and lower back must be a lot better developed from the cleaning overhead than mine are. Pushing the button doesn't take a lot of physical fitness!
ReplyDeleteOven cleaning yucky. We have had the Aga on all summer, basically because the weather has been cool, and if you turn it off it costs to get someone to turn it back on.
ReplyDeleteSo there is only one temperature and we/I mostly do one dish dishes and of course you can't clean the oven because it is too hot.
You cleaned it just with bicarb? I didn't even know that was possible. And yeah, I never thought about cleaning the ceiling either. We have Fantastic Services (a cleaning company) come in and do ours a couple times a year. I guess they do the ceiling, but I've never checked!
ReplyDeleteI have a self-cleaning oven like some of the others have mentioned so I just have to wipe up the ash when it is done. I have had it for many, many years and have never had a problem. Glad your fire didn't cause any damage, Neil!
ReplyDelete