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Wednesday 12 December 2012

Misunderstanding; oven cleaner; cardiac arrest

Just over half of the people who read my birthday post yesterday seemed to think I was having a Bad Day. Even my father rang up and said I sounded more miserable than usual. I was aiming at contented and reflective, but obviously that didn't come across. What can I do? Let's move on, and let me tell you about my new oven  cleaner.

(I'm happy! Really! I'm another year older and I have everything I could possibly need! Including oven cleaner! Does it get any better than that?)

Ecover sent me some stuff in a box. They sent a nice Christmas scented washing up liquid called Festive Cookie, which apparently is available from Ocado (if you have access to such a thing. I don't.), some  non-bio laundry gel and some cleaning wipes. (I rarely use cleaning wipes, except when we're camping as they're just easier. But I asked about them, and apparently they can be put in your home compost safely, and they will be testing very soon to find out if they're suitable for council composting schemes. At least if I buy these next summer I will feel a good deal better about myself if a gust of wind blows one out of my hand and I end up helplessly watching it float off over the fields.)

They also sent some Oven and Hob Cleaner. And I emailed the PR lady when I heard this, and told her that I was going to stop cleaning my oven RIGHT NOW in preparation for proper testing. I'm not an obsessive oven cleaner. My intention is always to give it a quick scrub with a steelwool once a month, which takes 20 minutes and works perfectly, but most months I forget and end up spraying it with that poisonous foam stuff you can buy, where you have to put the oven on and leave it overnight and leave the country for a year.

I was very disappointed when the Ecover cleaner arrived with the instructions 'Spray onto surface. Leave to work for 1 minute.' Well, that clearly wasn't going to work.  I sprayed it, with a heavy heart. But it did work, dear reader, it did, and also the stuff cleaned the extractor hood so well that I found a whole load of scratches that I didn't even know were there! You know I'm a skinflint, but I'm buying this from now on.

I took a picture of it for you on my front step. Why? Because I don't have the type of kitchen where one can take photographs of cleaning products without them looking like a big bag of irony. There is nowhere in my house where I can take non-ironic photographs of cleaning products. Except, now, my extractor hood - but it just slid off when I tried it.


In other news, have you seen this? (It has nothing to do with oven cleaner.) I love the song 'Staying Alive' by the Bee Gees. It's my ringtone, for heaven's sake. Who knew it could even save a life?






23 comments:

  1. "...give it a quick scrub with a steelwool once a month, which takes 20 minutes..."

    Once a month?? I feel like such a lazy slattern now... I rely on moist oven spillages drying then carbonising.

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    Replies
    1. Read the sentence again. "My intention is always to give it a quick scrub with a steelwool once a month". See the difference?

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  2. Before the Tories and George Osborne took away all my disposable income I used to get Ovenclean to come and clean the oven once a year - there was something quite joyous about someone else was cleaning it. The last guy who did it spent a long time telling me that he owned 2 dysons - one upstairs and one downstairs. He was definitely in the right job.

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  3. Yes, once a month would be v v impressive. If mine gets done once a year it's been a good year. Which may explain the wafts of smoke that emerge every time I open the door. Must give this a try.

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  4. You have to clean ovens?! Who knew? {Wanders off, shaking head and musing.}

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  5. I have a self cleaning oven. That means I don't actually have to clean it. Right?

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  6. Replies
    1. Aren't they great! I love the sound of their leather jackets creaking.

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  7. I haven't cleaned my oven once in the 7 years we've owned it. That is awful, isn't it? But I just wanted to say that your last post didn't seem at all dire to me.

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  8. Come and clean my oven then, Mrs Keen. It's filthy.

    Oh, and I think that is the best advertising campaign EVER. I loved the original with just Vinnie ... here's one I made earlier ... brilliant!

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    Replies
    1. I do not want to clean your oven. Let's get this very clear.

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  9. A nontoxic oven cleaner that works? Tell Ecover they need to expand their range to the Czech Republic. I use their window cleaner already and am a big fan.

    Happy birthday a few days late!

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  10. But you said you were happy! I even went back and read it, because I knew you were happy the first time. (Or maybe we're both just miserable?!?)

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  11. I think the very problem is that you announced you were happy on a blog where you've already identified yourself as a cynic. I'm a cynical reader, and I tend to read things like, "I'm happy," as meaning, "Given my current circumstance in which nothing is terribly wrong, I feel guilty than I'm not happier than I am."

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  12. oh my. I think this could be the first time I've ever read a review and thought, oh I want to buy that. but then my oven is at a critical filth level, the smoke alarm goes off whenever you open the door................

    the bhf campaign is brilliant

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  13. When I redid the kitchen I thought I was saving money by not getting the expensive oven with the self cleaning feature, well I regret it now of course!

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  14. There are many ways in cleaning of ours. But having your comfortable way and having that assurance on your practice of cleaning will be factors as well.

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  15. Cleaning an oven is often a problematic and chaotic process, but with the right approach you can get through it effortlessly. As you may have imagined, the best way to keep your oven clean is to have it regularly scrubbed and maintained. That way, when it comes time to bake that cake, you won’t have to scrape off months of buildup.



    Oven Cleaning Gold Coast
    BBQ Cleaning Gold Coast

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  16. Great post! Had to just comment and thank you. Over the last few weeks I've been reading a fair few similar posts and one thing I often see forgotten is the value of professional cleaning companies to people, especially those who either don't want to or aren't able to do their own cleaning. If I may I'd like to recommend a few I'm fond of, which you can be confident that they'll do a great job while maintaining the harsh chemical free method, too. They are oven cleaner solihull and oven cleaner medway. Thanks again, keep the posts coming :)

    ReplyDelete

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