Oven Cleaner?

I was tossing up where this should be posted, here or Survival... I'll choose here

Last night I was bored and decided to clean the oven (yes THAT board) anyway I noticed that the oven cleaner wasnt cleaning the oven, but it was trripping the paint off the nearby other white goods, so I decided that whatever chemical was in this aerosol can was not really a good idea to use in the oven.

What I did next may seem to defy your logic, to me it made perfect sense. I went outside and grabbed a bottle of automotive degreaser and THAT cleaned the oven.

Tonight, I pre-heated the oven for a while and there were no fumes, so I put some chips in there, they tasted normal but after I finished eating I have a bit of an aftertaste...

Yeah, dont use auto degreaser in your oven

If anyone has any suggestion of a no-toxic no-paint stripping oven cleaner it will be greatly apprechiated, that is if I dont die of degreaser poisoning in the next 24-48 hours...

Maybe I should have put this in survival, MODS, feel free to move

Yep! I've done the same thing using automotive brake cleaner, I must say if you've tasted my wife's cooking, any sort of chemical after taste is a bonus.......,
My advice is as follows:

Heat oven enough to loosen grease
Use washing up liquid in a bowl with some warm water.
Add a little sand to create a rough texture
Use a wire wool pan scrubber

Worked for me

Hope this helps

Oven cleaner is probably the MOST dangerous product in the average household.

Anyone with heart problems is warned to stay away from the stuff.

Caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) is the main constituent in oven cleaner. Do they not sell specific products like ovenpride? Where you live.

a reply to: RifRAAF
Place a pan of boiling water in a warm oven, low temp such as 250 degrees, now turn the oven off. Let it set in there for about a half hour. Once the oven is cool enough to start working in it, take Dawn dish detergent and an industrial strength steel wool pad and table salt and start scrubbing away. Unless your oven is really covered with crusted baked on food it should clean up pretty easy.

a reply to: RifRAAF

LOL, oh wow, I had a chuckle over that. There is a brand out there that I cannot remember but it is amazing. It comes as a foam and cleans the oven like you wouldn't believe. I gave up on oven cleaners years ago due to the harshness (eating through oven gloves) and the fumes. But this stuff didn't do that. All you had to do was wipe it off after. I'm sorry but I don't remember the brand name and it was a friend that actually used it.

The most common brand name here is 'Easy Off' and is specifically the most dangerous chemical under your sink.

It too is advertised as a spray on, wipe off foam.

EXTREME caution is advised for it's use.

a reply to: comms2010
Good Im glad Im not the only one

a reply to: Psynic
I really didnt like how it stripped the paint of my microwave and fridge, I knew degreaser wouldnt so its safer right?

a reply to: Daz21
It was some brand name product, I didnt buy it but it was there in the cupboard. Caustic Soda is in drain cleaner, and paint stripper--no wonder it was stripping the paint of the fridge.

a reply to: 2manyholes
This was the first time it was ever cleaned and we have had it maybe 6 years... it was pretty chunked up.

This is getting to confusing to try and reply to you all in one post... one sec...

originally posted by: Psynic
The most common brand name here is 'Easy Off' and is specifically the most dangerous chemical under your sink.

It too is advertised as a spray on, wipe off foam.

EXTREME caution is advised for it's use.

I store my chemicals in the carport where the degreaser was.

This was a green tin, no idea what brand. If I still had the tin Id tell you the brand to avoid it but I ditched it this morning.

originally posted by: RifRAAF

a reply to: Psynic
I really didnt like how it stripped the paint of my microwave and fridge, I knew degreaser wouldnt so its safer right?

..

It's not designed for the "microwave and fridge".

If you want to use engine degreaser on your appliances that's your prerogative but you should be careful about promoting something the risks of which you have no knowledge of.

Oven cleaners are powerful and toxic chemicals which must be used according to the directions or the results could be fatal.

a reply to: ccseagull
Next time Im going to use acetone, because I know that will burn off and it burs pretty clean...

of course I may never clean that oven again... I may just get a new one if this aftertaste continues.

Wine helps, it most certainly does!

a reply to: Psynic
I wasnt promoting it, I was saying dont do it, I finished my first post asking for an alternative. At no point did I say do this.

originally posted by: RifRAAF
, I knew degreaser wouldnt so its safer..

No of course you didn't.

a reply to: Psynic

In my younger and dumber years, I used a lot of Easy Off oven cleaner in my job. I never wore gloves either. That
stuff burns like crap when it gets on your hands.

What I do now is dump a good amount of lemon juice in a bowl with water and turn on the oven and leave it on for a bit.
Then I go in with an SOS pad/Brillo pad and scrub. If you have something that spilled over, or a spot that won't budge,
I use a putty knife. ( or I've had a few occasions where a plastic plate was melted in the oven. Grrr....)

A baking soda paste and vinegar does a pretty good job cleaning an oven without the toxic chemicals.

Turn the oven on low and leave a pan of boiled water in the oven for the first hour to soften things up a bit before you start.

Take a cup or more of baking soda and add just enough water to make a thick paste. Put on some gloves, take out the racks, and spread the paste over all the surfaces inside your oven except the heating elements. Leave the paste on for a few hours before you start scrubbing it down with a bit of water and a scrubby pad. You might need a scraper or knife to remove any really burnt on crusty stuff, but try not to scratch up the enamel finish inside the oven.

Once you have the worst of it scrubbed down spray on the vinegar. It reacts with the baking soda and will start to foam, then go back at it with your scrubby, Brillo pad, or some steel wool. Spray in some more vinegar and start wiping it down with a damp cloth, rinsing your cloth frequently.

This does a pretty good job on an oven without the toxic crap burning your hands and lungs.

Well, I cheat. Most of the times. When I am not in the mood to spend 2 hours of my free time on scrubbing all the food leftovers and burnt-on oil from my oven. Yet, I cook in copious amounts and cleaning my oven often is a necessary task - if I don't the food will get even worse after taste than yours, RifRAAF. How I cheat? Well, when I get the salary, I call professionals to replace me. The ones above I am happy with, since they used eco-friendly stuff to deal with the dirt.
Nevertheless, I am also quite the fan of baking soda cleaning technique, since it can be applied to a multitude of dirty places in your home, especially in the kitchen. It is a real threat to bacteria and don't confuse it with caustic soda, which is the main ingredient of most oven cleaners there are over the counter.

a reply to: jessygothitall
Welcome to ATS! (star for first post!)

Yes I do use Baking Soda for a number of cleaning applications, I even brush my teeth with it, (say no to flouride) and as such I really wouldnt want to confuse it with caustic soda in that application.