Every day: It’s hard to imagine having the discipline to wipe out the oven after every use, but deep down you know it makes sense – just think about never having to do a huge oven blitz again.
Cleaning a dirty oven requires either natural materials and elbow grease or a pretty scary chemical attack.
The non-caustic method calls for, you guessed it, bicarbonate of soda, mixed to a thick paste and smeared all over the inside of the oven. Leave overnight then brace yourself for some serious scrubbing with water and a scourer.
The caustic method requires less graft but more prep. You need a solution of ammonia bleach and water, a respiratory face mask, thick rubber gloves, protective clothes and the surrounding area needs to be well protected, too. Take the oven shelves outside, spray them with your solution and seal them into a bin bag. Spray the oven with the bleach. After a couple of hours, hose down the racks (keeping away from plants, pets, neighbours etc) then wash them in warm soapy water. Rinse out the oven with plenty of clean water. Pregnant women and asthmatics should avoid this like the plague, and keep children and pets well out of it, too.