A home cook compared three oven-cleaning methods over two months to see which could tackle years of baked-on grime. Oven Pride Complete Oven Cleaner proved the most effective, while white vinegar barely made a difference.
Testing three cleaning methods
Sophie Harris, a baker and keen home cook, tested Oven Pride, Elbow Grease Oven Cleaner and white vinegar on her two ovens. The Oven Pride kit, bought for £3.45 from B&M, worked much faster than the others, melting away marks on the oven interior and glass. She left it overnight but noted it could have been cleaned off much sooner.
The Elbow Grease Oven Cleaner, purchased for around £2 from Home Bargains, came with a fume-free formula. Harris placed the oven racks in the provided bag, poured two-thirds of the cleaner in, and left them to soak overnight. The racks came out incredibly clean, but the oven's interior retained a lot of baked-on grease. The product was also strongly scented.
White vinegar falls short
White vinegar, sprayed diluted over the oven and left for an hour before scrubbing, loosened only a tiny bit of grease on the glass. Most stains remained, leading Harris to conclude it would suit a light clean or maintenance but was not strong enough for a deep clean.
Harris described the Oven Pride result as making the oven look brand new, with nasty baked-on spots that she thought would never come off completely gone. While it was slightly more expensive than the other options, she said it was well worth it and saved her time and energy.
