Need Oven Cleaning Pointers

[haha]

I am trying to clean my kitchen in preparation for checking out of my apartment some time next week. I decided to tackle the electric oven first, as that is most intimidating to me. It was pretty dirty, but I have cleaned all the surfaces but the very top (“ceiling” of the oven) pretty well, with Oven Off. (It is one of those old ovens with no self-cleaning feature.) The element blocks me from getting to that upper surface with a scrubber, and I found it hard to make the Oven Off can spray vertically up there. I was told not to get the cleaner on the element, which is another problem. It looks like I will need a ¼”hex socket and a driver to remove the element, if that is what I should do.

I doubt any of you have this type of oven without a cleaning mechanism, but maybe you know how to approach this anyway.
Any suggestions?

Another question I have is what is the best cleaner to use on the moderately glossy, painted kitchen walls?

Believe me, I will be grateful for any ideas!

Ha

 

[txtrader]

I use straight Palmolive dish washing soap on my kitchen stove to clean greasy spills, you may need to let it sit for a while on the oven.

 

[Avalon]

Ha, you may be able to get a simple 1/4" nut driver from a local hardware store pretty cheap. When you unplug the element, you may want to tape over the holes to keep the spray out.

409 works good on painted walls.

 

[Tif7]

I have a similar oven. So far the easiest way I have found to clean the top is to cover the heating elements with aluminum foil. This makes it much easier to get at much cleaning chemicals up there as I can without worrying about getting any on the heating elements.

Once the foil is on almost any cleaning chemical I have gets shoved up there, dish washing liquid, foaming bubbles bathroom cleaner, oven cleaner, etc.

T

 

[haha]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm too tired to do anything tonight, but tomorrow I'll try some of these ideas.

Ha

 

[Moemg]

I decided to tackle the electric oven first, as that is most intimidating to me. It was pretty dirty, but I have cleaned all the surfaces but the very top (“ceiling” of the oven) pretty well, with Oven Off.

Another question I have is what is the best cleaner to use on the moderately glossy, painted kitchen walls?

Believe me, I will be grateful for any ideas!

Ha

I have been cleaning ovens for years and nothing magically happens if you happen to hit the element .Believe me I know ! As for the walls diluted dish detergent should do it . If not go to a dollar store and get Awesome it works .They stock it with the cleaning supplies .No awesome just buy whatever heavy duty cleaner they have !

 

[ERD50]

The electric ovens that I was familiar with, the elements were pretty easy to remove. A couple of those 1/4" hex screws and they unplug and pull out.

I'm going to suggest that you unplug the oven itself. If you can't get to the plug, can you get to the breaker? On our old electric, some spilt food built up and carbonized on a gap between a connector and the oven case, the stove was not grounded properly, and DW got a shock that could have been lethal.

I was really p*ssed when I pulled the stove out to find the ground wire was never connected. I turned off power, connected ground, turned power on and BLAM! the carbonized gunk popped like a firecracker. But that also blew it to smithereens, opened the gap, and no shocks after that.

-ERD50

 

[W2R]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm too tired to do anything tonight, but tomorrow I'll try some of these ideas.

Ha

Given that you are working pretty hard getting ready for the move, and given the season, and given that you mentioned that you are feeling a bit "down", my suggestion is to give yourself an early Christmas present. Call a maid service and get a one time housecleaning, including oven cleaning and walls.

 

[Nuiloa]

You can get some great stuff called Blue Thunder at a janitorial cleaning supply store. We used it to take years of smoke residue from my mom's walls. Regular washing didn't touch it - the blue thunder worked like a charm!

 

[freebird5825]

Given that you are working pretty hard getting ready for the move, and given the season, and given that you mentioned that you are feeling a bit "down", my suggestion is to give yourself an early Christmas present. Call a maid service and get a one time housecleaning, including oven cleaning and walls.

+1

We think alike.

 

[barnaby]

i agree....hire yourself a christmas angel to clean......you ARE worth it!

 

[haha]

Well, I cleaned that @#$$%((&! oven all by myself. Piece of cake. Almost. I pulled a muscle in my side, and rubbed an abrasion under my arm, from pulling and stretching and scrubbing like a demon in that Lye rich atmosphere. Also, I discovered that ERD50 was 100% correct that one must unplug the beast before removing an element. I forgot this step, and although I did not get shocked, I sure got surprised when the element came on and tried to make a roast out of me. I was plenty quick at getting up, pulling out the range and getting that plug out. I still cannot figure that one out.

Next time, I will have a self clean oven. And if it still gets dirty, I’ll call a maid service like many of you suggested!

Ha