In order to do something different each week of the year, I have a list of challenges to undertake...

Sunday 22 September 2013

Week 38 - Clean the Oven

Here is a true Challenge - who can ever say that this is a job to be relished? Nope - didn't think so.

Funnily enough, I always thought that cleaning the oven came into the general category of 'unpleasant but infrequent household jobs about which you have to grit your teeth and get on with', but when I mentioned oven cleaning to various friends and relatives, I was astonished at how many get the OvenStar man in to do the job. 'It's £40 well spent,' they say, 'and they do SUCH a good job - better than you could do yourself!' 

Hmm. Well forty quid is forty quid, and provided that you haven't let your oven get to the health-hazard stage, this is something you don't have to get a chap in to do, and I would resent spending my hard-earned on. A much better plan is for me to clean the oven and spend forty quid on beer or something.

I'm starting from a good position here - I've banged on before about how in love I am with my delightful kitchen and range oven; it's all only a couple of years old, but it's been 12 months since the oven last had a good going over, I'm sure.

Brillo is your friend here, on the shelves and burners, and on stubborn burnt on bits on the windows and inner door/top/bottom - the enamel, chrome, glass top gets a good going over with flash and a cloth. And elbow grease.

I even changed the extractor filter, washed the cover and all the tiles at the back and units above. I got the steps out and cleaned all the (rather revolting) greasy sticky stuff off the top of the wall units, trim and extractor ducting.

And to surpass all expectations I took the grill off the front and got a cloth-on-a-stick to clean all the floor underneath. The only frustration is that I would have liked to pull the whole thing forward to clean the sides too, but if I had have done that then I would have been looking at 'week 39 - recover from hernia', so that's for another occasion when I've eaten 3 shredded wheat, or something.

And here's how it's turned out.



A very satisfying completion to my week 38 Challenge!

4 comments:

  1. Ha ha, NOW I understand the comment you left at mine :} In a previous life (down South) I had someone in to clean the fitted oven and I wholeheartedly agree - worth every penny.

    I ought to see if there's someone with a franchise up here ....

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    1. Get the brillo out and save your money, Bilbo! :-) Actually, Lakeland do a really good gel oven cleaner which is great for the shelves in particular.

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  2. As long as you wipe up spills as they happen, it doesn't need to be a stressful job, but I don't enjoy trying to reach across the oven door as mine drops downwards and I really find it hard to reach the back,, Too short I'm afraid. Anyway, well done.

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    1. You sound like my mum, Sue - very sensible advice! :-) I don't like the drop down doors either - a trip hazard, if nothing else.

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