Tip #1: Do not wait 5 years to clean oven.
- Do not just assume that the "self-cleaning" feature is actually functioning on the oven that came with your house and that some night you can just turn it on, skip merrily off to bed, and wake up with all evidence of frozen pizza mishaps, apple pie run-overs, and underestimated-pan-size-sins erased for all eternity. Might not happen.
Tip #2: Resign yourself to the task and gather the following supplies
- Easy-Off Oven Cleaner: Optimistically named, but essential.
- SOS pads: Buy the big box and don't pay extra for the "lavender" scent. This ain't your grandma's hankie drawer sachet.
- Long rubber gloves: Get yourselves some of those "up to your shoulder cow embryo implanting" length if you've got connections, otherwise you're going to be scrubbing oven grime off your elbows.
- Pail of water and washcloth: You will rinse and refill approximately 27 times.
- Dust mask: Try to get one that hasn't been sitting in your dad's dairy barn or you might find yourself weighing the risks between inhaling oven cleaner and passing out from milk parlor perfume. But it'll do in a pinch, and we are in a pinch here, people, otherwise we would not be spending a perfectly good Wednesday night scrubbing the oven.
- Forlorn TCU T-Shirt rag: Tuck in the drawer to catch the drips. This actually worked brilliantly!
Tip #3: Follow the directions on the Easy-Off can
- I'm too lazy to go retrieve the can, but here's my rough recollection and a picture of the inside, half-clean/half-dirty:
- Take out oven racks, preheat oven to 200 degrees, then turn off.
- Spread newspaper liberally on floor to protect surfaces. Put on gloves, then spray the inside of the oven and door. Tip the can at a 45 degree angle, spraying the top first, then the sides and bottom.
- Close door and let it set for 5-10 minutes. (Or the 40 minutes it will take you to scrub your 2 oven racks with seven S.O.S. pads)
- Wipe with damp cloth, rinsing often. You'll know when to rinse when your bucket looks like it contains used motor oil.
- Those people in the Easy-Off test kitchen really know what they're talking about. As a side note (aren't they all side notes?), at this point I'd rather volunteer to be a running taser gun tester than work in the Easy-Off test kitchen.
Tip #4: Take off the oven door
- My mom gave me this tip and it was a good one. After letting the Easy-Off set for a while, I simply lifted the oven door straight up and off and cleaned it flat on the counter. It made scrubbing the inside of the rest of the oven more accessible, if not enjoyable.
- Granted, no self-respecting 28-year-old should still be owning (and wearing) MUDD brand jeans, but a part of me is still hoping this will come out in the wash.
- Yes, that T-shirt says 2003 and the only reason I'm okay with letting my "soft as silk" State basketball T-shirt go is that I'm 85% sure I have an exact replica still in my closet. It's like they multiply while I'm sleeping.
Tip #6: Plan a reward to motivate yourself to finish
- Trust me, you're going to want to just give up and start looking at Sears ads to see how much a new oven costs, but with the proper reward, you too can persevere.
Tip #7: Know your limits
- The drip pans on top of the stove are mocking me, saying "You thought that was bad? We're just getting started!" After facing the prospect of another night spent with a box of S.O.S. pads, I've decided that $11 is not too much to pay to just replace them all.
so you never have to do this again.
Poor girl! I remember deep-cleaning my oven when we were prepping the house. It wasn't quite as bad as yours b/c the self-cleaning mode worked pretty well. My current oven needs a good cleaning, too. :op
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