Cleaning the oven

[martyna]

It's quite a time since I asked my boyfriend to clean the oven and at the time he said he had/knew a super-foam-cleaner (or something like this) and would do it in a whiz, but when I asked him a couple of days ago, he wasn't able to recall neither the promise nor the product.
We've never used the oven much and back at home mum basically kept it tidy and there wasn't such a mess as is here now, especially since we tried out some recipes recently. (And today's has really spilt over. *wince*) I've done some surface cleaning over the time, but what I'm looking is a real cleaning.
How do you do it? Is there any special product you use? (If you're in France and can name the shop, even better!) Or maybe you make a product yourself? Does heating lemon in water (as in microwaves) help at least a bit? Not at all? Help me? *feels helpless*

Comments

[recessional]

I'm assuming off the bat that your oven is NOT a self-cleaning oven?

If it is a self-cleaning oven DO NOT USE ANY KIND OF OVEN CLEANER ON IT EVER, you will destroy the self-clean coat; self-cleaning ovens have a setting where they essentially burn all of the crud off the oven-coating and then after it's cooled down you wipe up the ash. (This is what our oven does.) I have no idea how common these are in France, but if you use oven-cleaner on this kind of oven, it wrecks the self-cleaning coat and actually makes it MORE difficult to clean later. (Experience from my parents' old oven.)

Otherwise, everyone else has good ideas! I just thought it was worth mentioning.

[martyna]

WHAT, that does exists? O____O
So actually, I have no clue. I think the oven belonged to the old owners of the apartement, before Matt bought it, so it's over 5 years old, probably far older since they had no problem leaving it behind. (If I assume correctly it's from them.)
Assuming, too, that this function is only included in never models... well, I'll check all the little pictures on the oven-turning-button-thingie (why do I always lack those words?) and if there's anything that MIGHT be it...
I've a memory coming back from a place I worked 3 years ago where maybe we had a self-cleaning oven. It was all new and shiny and only introduced at the end of my time, but... *intrigued*

[recessional]

Well, "newer" as in "last thirty years"? (I have found "new" and "old" model definitions vary betwixt the Americas and Europe, on some things. ;) ) and yes, it does exist! And works beautifully. I love my self-cleaning oven. I lock it (because it does get dangerously hot, it won't turn on to that feature without locking and won't unlock until it's finished), turn it to the setting and leave it alone (with all my windows open) for five hours or so and voilà! All I have to do is take some damp paper towel and wipe up the ash.

I think our current oven and stove is about ten to twelve years old - we've been in this apartment for six years, and it was by no means "new" when we moved in.

[anatsuno]

Do you speak French? Les fours dits 'à pyrolyse' sont 'self-cleaning' - lancer une pyrolyse signifie mettre le four en route pour un cycle spécial où il va monter à une très haute température pour carboniser tous les résidus de nourriture accumulés, ce qui laisse ensuite une couche de cendre qui se nettoie facilement. :)

No P.

[martyna]

Je ne vois pas de "P" nulle part, mais le bouton-tournant est tellement usé que je ne vois pas au moins 2 "images" de toute façon. (Un est celui pour ne mettre que de la lumière..., l'autre, je ne sais point.)
Donc à priori pas de pyrolyse - après je crois que l'isolation n'est pas très en forme non plus, donc ça ne tiendrait pas de toute façon?
Donc je crois avec les produits je suis on the safe side.

Re: No P.

[anatsuno]

Si l'isolation n'a pas l'air géniale, tu as sans doute raison ! Bon courage pour la suite.

[wicked_socks]

Oh this is excellent to know! I've got a self cleaning oven that probably hasn't been cleaned in 10 years (at least it's 10 years of light use?) and I've been despairing about how to even start going about it. Where by despairing I mean avoiding dealing with it.

[martyna]

Glad my post might have helped someone else, too!

[ninetydegrees]

Ovens with a pyrolysis cleaning system are very common in France. My mother's has had one for as long as I can remember so that's at least 30 years.

[martyna]

Wow, I didn't know!