Oven cleaning products - are they safe to use on self-cleaning ovens?

ChowDownBob

ChowDownBob

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We have a (supposedly) self-cleaning oven but it doesn't seem to apply to the bottom of it which things spill on and then turn a hard, black carbon kind of texture.

I've been told I should use one of those spray foam cleaners on it that you leave for a few hours and it eats away at the gunk, but I'm nervous it will damage the oven.

Are they safe to use on self-cleaning ovens? (and what does it mean when it says an oven is self-cleaning - because it doesn't mean literally, does it?)

Thanks,
Bob
 
I don't know about self-cleaning ovens - I can't see how they can magically clean themselves of bits of food and sauces which get burned onto the bottom. Logic says that the burnt food has to go somewhere and can't dissolve into thin air!

There is a product you can get which is a silicone sheet (you cut it to size) which you place at the bottom of the oven. You can then remove it and the mess glides off - rinse it and place it back in again. I can't remember where I got it - it may be Lakeland... but it does work. Aside from that I get my oven professionally cleaned every so often. It costs about £40 and the oven looks brand new afterwards!
 
I know next to nothing about self cleaning ovens but to be on the safe side, read the manual that came with your stove. You may have to google but most manuals are online free now.
Also a paste of baking soda and water on the spill should work.
 
I thought about getting some of that! It would be good for the toaster oven & the stove's oven!:wink:
 
My oven is a nightmare to clean and, as they do not recommend hardly any of the usual cleaners, I'm going to have to get it done professionally. Bicarb and/or white vinegar help a bit. The grill pan doubles as a drip pan and is supposed to have water put in it, but it doesn't stop the sides getting mucky and then you also have a mucky grill pan to wash. I have bought some oven liners but am not going to use them until the oven has been cleaned. Not so sure about cutting them to shape as the oven floor is not flat.

I did have an gas oven/microwave which was self-clean. That was fun. It had a special temperature for cleaning, far higher than the normal temperature range. You ended up with a small quantity of ash in the bottom of the oven which you just wiped off. It was super efficient, but that oven cost £1800 in 1991.....
 
I always believed the self cleaning ovens worked by [as said] basically burning the muck off. If so I can't see how using the cleaning products as instructed [not on the self burn cycle] would affect the oven one way or another.
As for the grill pan problem you could always try the old trick of of just lining it with foil then just bin the foil when it gets messy.
 
sidevalve said:
As for the grill pan problem you could always try the old trick of of just lining it with foil then just bin the foil when it gets messy.
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Tried that. It doesn't work. However, well you cover the grill pan, there is always a small puddle of fat underneath the foil.
 
Elawin said:
Tried that. It doesn't work. However, well you cover the grill pan, there is always a small puddle of fat underneath the foil.
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The trick is cover the entire pan. Sides and all where you get a good seal.
 
morning glory said:
What do you mean? Do you mean the sides curve up?
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No. It's difficult to describe and a photo doesn't show what I mean, but the floor of the oven slopes into the centre - you can barely see it, but it's enough for any condensation or very small quantities of spilt liquids to collect. I've never seen it in an oven before, but it does have a turbo setting for roasting which apparently causes condensation. Or, maybe it's a Korean thing! (The oven is a Whirlpool, but it's made in S Korea, and, of course, even though it was a new model 2 years ago, it is now obsolete!) I only noticed it because I was used to using the oven floor as the "bottom shelf" in my old oven. If you put a pan on the floor of this one, the pan develops a definite list!
 
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