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Don't forget to put the cat out, and I would sleep with the bedroom window open if I were you

Get Guzzler to earn his keep and clean the oven for you. One way to do it, if you don't mind the smell, is to leave a deep saucer of cloudy ammonia in the oven overnight and wash it out in the morning. The ammonia fumes loosen the grease.

Karen

gastro you know yer stuff, i'm getting there so busy n tired tho seem to be cooking too much to get the cleaning done. hoping that guzzler calms down this weekend and I can attempt it coz its annoying me. thanx for the advice tho. oh the plum tart was yeuch tho "G" ate it. the pasta bake well he lick'd the dish so Im almost there xx

You may do it already Gloria, but thought I'd mention using tin foil for lining - it's cheap as chips in the supermarkets, and I use it to line my grill tray under the grid, then when finished, just screw it up and in the bin. If something is liable to boil over in the oven, I roll an edge on the foil to make a tray and put it underneath, then in the bin when done.

The other god's end is reusable fabric cooking liner, which you can buy at Aldi for around £1.60 for a sheet measuring 250x1000mm that you cut to size as required. It's called alio and comes in a green packet. It's excellent for lining baking trays, cake tins, etc. The more you re-use it, the better it gets. Fantastic stuff. Completely non-stick and washes out in a trice in hot water.

Hope this helps - I've always said: "the down-side of cooking is the washing up"! Oh for a kitchen porter that fits into the broom cupboard!

gastro thankyou so much for the advice oh yes believe me once this mean old @@@@@@ is cleaned i'm getting those liners! baked again today plumb thang hope guzzler enjoys

Another thought is (hopefully more helpful) have you thought of lining your oven to save the lower surfaces?

With something like this:-

[link]

There are cheaper versions around, but Lakeland's products generally work well.

It's a job I hate as well - I just turn the oven on full and then take a chisel to the carbon when it cools

If it's any consolation, the heat in an oven will kill off most germs and bacteria.

But if any do survive, then you really do have a problem because they will be thermoproof

thanx gastro n karen1 laughed myself into a cleaning frenzy! aye right! still got the dinner made another casserole would you believe? och well supose i'd better get ma sleeves up............eventually. please dont call the health inspectors just yet .or kim n aggie. promise i;ll try harder

Unless you have Kitchen Faries around, and I understand that they are an endagered species, I'm afraid you're going to have to use old fashioned Elbow Grease - available at your local old fashioned Iron Mongers

Karen

Options:-

1/ If the oven is still under warranty, find a reason for it to be replaced.

2/ If the oven has a ‘catalytic clean’ setting, use that.

3/ Use a proprietary brand oven cleaner.