Ah, oven cleaning – a hated household chore like no other.

Right up there with the likes of cleaning the gutters, weeding the garden and unblocking the toilet, there’s a special place reserved in the pit of the soul for chores like oven cleaning. A deep, dark corner filled with loathing resentment, but a reserved spot nonetheless.

In fact, a 2017 study of 1000 Brits by Anglian Home Improvements had “oven cleaning” placed at the very top of the list of most hated household jobs, beating off stiff competition from the likes of grouting bathroom tiles, defrosting the freezer and cleaning the barbeque.

Nevertheless, as a homeowner or long-term occupant, it’s a chore that does require your attention from time to time. If you’ve bitten the bullet, rolled up your sleeves and accepted your oven-baked fate, you may need a helping hand.

Luckily, we’ve got a few tricks to help make the process as pain-free as possible.

How to Clean Your Oven

While cleaning your oven may seem like a mammoth task akin to scaling Everest on a unicycle, it can actually be surprisingly straightforward… provided you haven’t let your oven degenerate into a cremated cornucopia of crust.

In fact, you don’t even need any store-bought oven cleaner to give your cooker the sprucy boost it needs. All you need is water, baking soda and steady supply of elbow grease.

Step by Step Guide: How to Clean Oven Inside

• Empty oven
• Remove/clean racks
• Mix ½ cup of baking soda with 3 tbsp water
• Spread paste on interior oven surface
• Do not paste heating elements
• Leave for 12 hours
• Grab a well-deserved cuppa or beer for getting this far
• Return to the scene of the crime
• Wipe off paste using a wet washcloth
• Spray vinegar in grooves
• Wipe clean to remove any remaining paste residue
• Bask in glory of shiny-clean oven.

Alternative Oven Cleaning Methods

If you really want to go to town on your oven, you can of course buy an over-the-counter oven cleaning product and follow the instructions accordingly.

There are a variety of store-bought remedies available from recognisable brands available in most supermarkets; however, results can vary dramatically and the fumes alone are enough to put you off for a lifetime.

Failing that, you can always get a professional to provide a comprehensive oven cleaning service. There are oven cleaning specialists available nationwide, many of which are available on coupon sites online, offering their services.

Self-Cleaning Ovens

Some ovens come with a “self-cleaning” feature. While this may seem like a gift from the gods of gadgetry, this is also a prime example of “if it looks too good to be true, it probably is”.

Self-cleaning ovens essentially fire up the internal temperature of an oven so that it rivals the depths of hell. The purpose of this is to burn off any remaining food residue, vapourising any evidence of its existence.

While this may seem like a sound strategy, it is somewhat flawed. As a result of the oven becoming a kitchen-based thermal reactor, it should come as no surprise that this can, at times, compromise major components of the cooker.

Naturally, these ungodly temperatures can cause a myriad of fiery damage, from melted circuit boards to charred wiring and broken heating elements. Imagine the scene of Sarah Connor’s nuclear nightmare from Terminator 2 and you won’t be far wrong.

As such, you may want to think twice before you activate your oven’s self-cleaning cycle and set off Judgement Day in your kitchen.

Beyond Saving

When it comes down to cleaning your oven and its internal components, you may find that some of the parts are simply past the point of no return. For example, you may find a tray/rack that’s simply tattooed with unidentified molten cement. In this case, your best bet is to simply buy a replacement tray/rack.

On the other hand, you may have attempted a self-clean and found out first-hand the effects of turning your oven into a fiery furnace. Should this be the case, you can again find replacement part right here at Cooker Spare Parts, covering everything from electric thermostats to grill elements.

For more information on oven cleaning and oven parts, drop us a line on 02920 452 510 or alternatively send us an email using the link below.

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A noisy oven can be a major annoyance for any homeowner, particularly if you spend a lot of time cooking or hanging out in the kitchen.

However, a riotous racket from your cooker could be an indication of something far worse than just audio irritation.

If your oven is turning your kitchen into a clamorous karaoke of cooker noises, don’t chalk it up to being “one of those things” – it’s likely a sign that your oven is need of some overdue TLC.

Investigating a Noisy Oven

In addition to ruining the kitchen ambience with its dinnertime din, a loud cooker can also raise serious alarm bells over the health of your appliance.

A noisy oven can be a tell-tale sign of a serious problem with your cooker. Think of it as a cooker’s cry for help and your oven’s way of alerting anyone in earshot that it’s in dire need of assistance.

If your oven is making such a piercing plea, don’t read it the last rites and fork out on a replacement. The solution could be a lot simpler and a lot less expensive!

Diagnosing a Noisy Oven

More often than not, an uncharacteristically noisy oven typically points to an issue with the oven’s fan motor. That being said, most ovens have two fans: namely the cooling fan and the circulation fan.

Like any appliance, these components can and will wear over time as they reach the natural end of their lifespan. For oven motors, this often causes them to make a loud rattling noise when the oven is on.

To get to the bottom of it, it’s time to channel your inner sleuth and get inspecting. But remember, safety first, kids - be sure to disconnect your appliance from the mains before you do so.

Fixing a Noisy Oven

A noisy oven fan can be the result of something as simple as a loose blade or fixing nut. To eliminate this possibility, it’s worth tightening any loose screws/bolts to ensure everything is securely held in place.

Oven fans usually consist of three separate parts: the fan motor, the blade and the fixing nut. If all parts are securely in place and the noise still persists, you may need to replace a fan part.

If you have diagnosed your issue and would like a replacement fan/motor component, click the button below to browse our stock of replacement parts.

Browse Oven Fan Motor Parts

Replacing an Oven Fan

Once you’ve diagnosed the problem and identified the part that needs attention, you can now tackle the task of solving the issue and replacing the problem part. That being said, it’s often not as easy as you might think.

Replacing an oven fan can be both difficult and dangerous, particularly if you don’t know what you’re doing. What’s more, with so many oven brands, models and variations on the market, prior maintenance knowledge of one oven can be entirely different for another.

A botched DIY job could void your warranty, while a failed attempt of fixing the issue could exacerbate your problems even further. As such, if you’re unsure, your safest bet is to call in a pro to check it out for you.

That being said, if you are intent on flexing your mechanic muscles and intent on doing your own oven overhaul, be sure to do your homework beforehand. Consult your manual and research your oven’s make and model thoroughly before getting your hands dirty.

For more information on fan motors and oven fan parts, call now on 02920 452 510 or use the button below to drop us a message online.

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When it comes to keeping your kitchen cooking in heated harmony, nothing throws a spanner in the works quite like a dodgy oven.

A faulty cooker can be surprisingly impactful when it comes to mealtimes and bring your even the most basic of culinary capabilities to a screeching halt.

80s Hair Metal icons, Cinderella, said it best – you don’t know what you got till it’s gone – and this can most certainly be applied to any oven-less kitchen.

But fear not, oven-reliant foodies of the world: this blog has a whole host of tips tailor-made to help get you pie making, pasta baking and cheesecaking again in no time.

“My Oven Keeps Cutting Out – What Shall I Do?”

Before you read your cooker its last rites and put your oven plans on ice for the foreseeable, there are a few things you can do to help get your oven fired up again.

Overheating

A lot of modern ovens come equipped with a protective safety measure to stop them from overheating. This typically comes in the form of a circuit breaker, cutting power to the oven in the event that it gets too hot.

If your oven is cutting out, even for normal heat functioning, there may well be a problem with the safety thermostat. As such, this is a great place to start – after all, replacing your thermostat is a lot cheaper than replacing your oven!

If your thermostat is faulty and needs replacing, you can do so by ordering a spare part right here at CSP. Click here to find your make and model now.

Ventilation

If your thermostat is in working order, there may be an issue with your oven’s ventilation. Poor ventilation can cause the heat to build up to the point that the oven overheats and causes the thermostat to trip, again cutting out your oven in the process.

This can be a common issue for new installations and can be a fundamental issue with the oven cavity itself. As a precaution, call your fitter and seek their advice. They should be able to help you sort out the ventilation and have you up and running again.

Faulty Element

Another potential cause of your heating dismay could be the oven elements themselves. As a fundamental part of the oven’s operation, a broken or faulty element could put your meal prep on ice pretty fast.

This can usually be visually diagnosed by taking a quick look at the element for any obvious signs of damage/wear and tear.

Alternatively, turn your oven on and take a look at the element as the oven warms up. If it no longer glows red during cooking, you have yourself a faulty element.

If this is the case, why not head over to our cooker elements section and pick up a replacement element part.

Electrical Faults

The host of complex wires, cables and circuits within the make-up of an electric oven can make it a whole different beast, with a variety of additional issues that are extremely hard to diagnose.

Electric ovens can easily cut out if there is a fault with one of the components inside. Even issues with the clock and the switch can cause the oven to shut off, so pay close attention to these electrical oven parts in particular – both are tell-tale signs that you need professional assistance.

That being said, some electrical ovens also have the ability to make things a little easier at times, particularly if they display an error/fault code. If the display shows an error code, simply refer back to the manual (or type the code in online) to accurately diagnose the issue.

If no such code is visible, your best bet is to call in a pro to get to the bottom of it once and for all.

For more information on oven maintenance and replacement oven parts, why not give us a call on? Drop us a line on 02920 452 510 or send us a message using the link below.

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If your oven is taking longer to heat up or you find your meals aren’t cooking evenly, it may be due to valuable heat escaping from your oven.

If your cooker is unusually venting heat, the most common cause of this issue is a worn oven gasket. The gasket operates as a seal, insulating your oven and preventing the hot air from escaping.

Naturally, any wear and tear to this seal will likely result in a dip in performance, not to mention a potential hazard, causing your oven to run less efficiently.

If this sounds familiar, don’t get hot under the collar or blow a gasket yourself – help is at hand!

Prepare for the Worst

Like any kitchen appliance, an oven won’t last forever. Sadly, when it comes to oven cooking, Sod’s Law will usually dictate that your cooker will go to pot at the least convenient time.

Nevertheless, there’s never a good time to receive bad news, so the best way to limit the impact is to get ahead of the curve and prepare for the inevitable.

It can be wise to inspect your oven regularly, particularly at the first sign of an issue. This can help you to pre-empt a major fault and allow you to rectify the problem before your oven becomes completely unusable.

Diagnosing a Faulty Door Seal

While it can be both annoying and frustrating when your oven seal does eventually go down, it can also be largely foreseen if you know what to look for.

The tell-tale signs of a faulty gasket range from an unusually hot outer door to melted cooker knobs. Meanwhile, it could be something as simple as undercooked food.

If you spot any of the above, be sure to check the seal for any obvious signs of wear or damage. Cracked, split or eroded seals are not fit for purpose.

Next, turn the oven on and inspect the perimeter of the door for escaping heat. If heat is unusually permeating from the door, you’ll need to replace the gasket.

These steps should help identify any issues with the seal; however, if no seal issues are evident, you may want to enlist the help of an expert.

Replacing a Door Seal

Once you have identified the problem, your next port of call is to take appropriate action. For a broken seal, replacement is in the best place to start.

Luckily, replacing a cooker seal is fairly straightforward. Simply head over to our dedicated section of oven door seals and gaskets, locate the model required using our easy-to-use search tool and order your replacement door seal.

Once your substitute seal has arrived, it’s time for out with the old and in with the new!

Remove a Damaged Door Seal

Before you go any further, be sure to unplug your oven or switch it off at the mains. If your oven is hot, wait for it to cool before you attempt any repairs.

Once it’s safe to do so, remove the damaged seal by opening your oven door and locating the gasket. This will either be on the door itself or on the outer border of the oven opening.

The seal will often be held in place by small clips or pins at select points (often the corners). These can be easily removed by gently wiggling them out of place.

Once removed, prise away at the meshy perimeter to loosen it from the oven wall and proceed to gently pull away in a methodical manner.

Working around the boundary of the oven, pull away until the seal has been completely removed.

Fitting a New Door Seal

To replace the oven seal/gasket, you have to effectively work in reverse. With that mindset, feed the seal around the perimeter so that the pins/clips line up with the relevant holes.

Fasten the clips into place and ensure that the remaining lining is nestled comfortably in place around the outside.

Once the new gasket is securely in place and the clips have been fastened into their corresponding holes, feed any remaining excess into the two bottom holes provided to create the full air-tight seal.

For more information on replacing a cooker seal of replacing an oven gasket, why not drop us a line? Call now on 02920 452 510 or get in touch online using the button below.

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When it comes to cooking do’s and don’ts, there’s a long and varied list of things that can (and usually will) go wrong – particularly if you’re a white belt in culinary kung fu.

Luckily, the trusty oven usually provides a fantastic “Get Out of Jail Free” card for anyone who has not quite graduated from the foundation level of student cooking standards.

That being said, oven cooking isn’t always as simple as throwing a few potato smilies in with a fistful of fish fingers; there are still plenty of problems that can arise from even the simplest of oven cooking.

To help prevent any catastrophic kitchen nightmares, we’ve collated a mini list of oven cooking do’s and don’ts to stop you getting hot under the collar and keep mealtimes casualty-free.

Cooking Do’s

It’s often said that a bad worker always blames their tools. While this may be true at times, it’s far from the rule. After all, sometimes the tools really are to blame!

When it comes to the kitchen, the tools at your disposal can make all the difference and an unreliable appliance can hold the fate of your meal in its molten, steely hands.

With that in mind, here’s a few preparatory pointers to help keep you cooking and set your nutritional voyage off in the right direction.

DO use timers and clocks

Keeping track of cooking times can be the difference between bon appetit and burnt offerings. Worse still, failure to set your alarm can be a real recipe for disaster when it comes to kitchen safety.

To keep your meal prep running like clockwork, make the most of your oven timer. This can be invaluable when you’re cooking a variety of dishes: whether you're frying a steak, boiling pasta of roasting a Christmas turkey.

DO keep your oven in working order

Figures published by Which? in 2018 showed that cookers and ovens were the cause of 11% of house fires, more than any other cooking appliance.

Meanwhile, GOV.uk maintains that cooking appliances account for a sobering 48% of all house fire ignition from April 2017 to March 2018.

Bottom line: keep your oven in working order. Failure to do so could not only land you in hot water but could quite literally see your home go up in smoke.

DO use oven mitts and handles

While it may seem logical to use a wet mitt or cloth to protect yourself when handling hot pans and trays, heat travels extremely fast through wet material, leaving your hand unprotected.

Always use a dry oven mitt (or, if absolutely necessary, a dry tea towel) to handle hot items. This should provide ample insulation to prevent your hand from the burning.

The same also applies for grilling. If you don’t already have one, avoid feeling the burn by taking additional precautions and investing in a pan handle for your grill.

Cooking Don’ts

Isaac Newton rightly once theorised that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the kitchen, this is just as applicable and for every “DO”, there’s an equally important “DO NOT”.

So open wide and prepare for a freshly baked batch of sugary glazed “DO NOTS”, as we run down a five culinary faux pas that you’d be wise to avoid.

DON’T use ovens with damaged doors

The smallest crack could lead to big safety issues once temperatures rise and can even cause your oven glass to break completely.

Similarly, microwaves with damaged doors can be just as dangerous, if not more so. An unsealed microwave door can lead to radiation emission that has the potential to provide a nasty burn.

To play it safe, if your oven door is faulty, be sure to get it replaced or fixed before you turn up the heat and get cooking.

DON’T overload your oven

Overloading an oven can not only increase cooking time, it can also affect how your items cook, preventing heat from adequately circulating.

More importantly, it can also increase the risk of a hazard, especially if you’re trying to cram too many items on a single tray (we’ve all been there).

If your oven is beginning to look like a game of Tetris at mealtimes, it may be worth investing in additional oven trays and grill pans to avoid unnecessary stacking.

DON’T ignore a wobbly cooker

If you have a free-standing oven, a wobbly cooker can be a major annoyance at the best of times. Worse still, it can be extremely dangerous at the worst.

Wobbly ovens often mean an unstable stove. When you subsequently use that stove, it can become very dangerous very fast, particularly when you’re using the stove for boiling water, soups and sauces.

Spills and mishaps can occur with effortless ease when your cooker is unsteady. Avoid a rocky horror kitchen stove by securing your free-standing cooker with level cooker feet.

For more information on safe oven cooking and cooker maintenance, why not drop us a line today? Call now on 02920 452 510 or use the button below to get in touch online.

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