With spring upon us, it’s time to start spring cleaning your oven for all the BBQ (I know I’m being a little optimistic here) and Easter visitors. Cleaning my oven is not one of my favorite jobs I have to say, however with most range cookers being the focal point of the kitchen, spending that little bit of time, properly cleaning your AGA will really prove worthwhile, and completely make your kitchen sparkle. As well as being more hygienic, better for your healthy and prevent the smell of burnt and smoke of burnt on fatty food and grease. 

To begin with, it’s always best to try and keep your oven as clean as possible after use to prevent the oven cavity and cooking surfaces from becoming heavily soiled and more difficult to clean. Here are some top tips, that we recommend to do this.

• When something spills in the oven or boils over on the cooktop, try and wipe it up as soon as possible to prevent it from burning on, but be careful if it's hot.
• To prevent food from burning on to the base of the oven use some Bake-O-Glide, this is a thick re-useable sheet of non-stick liner (not suitable when the base element is used).
• If you are doing a lot of roasting it may be beneficial to use steam to soften the food residues and prevent those roasting juices to bake on. Simply pour about a cup of cold water and very small amount of washing up liquid or lemon juice into a clean roasting dish and place on the lowest shelf of the fan oven, turn the oven to 250ºF fan function for 20 minutes. After this time the whole oven will be coated with steam and when cooled slightly, can be wiped out.
• Never keep extra trays or racks in your oven when the oven is in use, you are just making the additional trays and wire racks dirty and burning foods for no reason, always keep your ovens empty, with accessories and baking trays in the storage drawer in spare cupboard and just use what you need.
• Try and place pie dishes and baking dishes on baking sheets to catch any drips and spills from the dish and prevent it baking onto the oven floor or grid shelves.

I know this can be hard at times and we are all guilty of not doing these little things, so don’t worry if you don’t manage to do these, there is usually a way of bringing your oven back with a little bit of work and elbow grease.

Guide to Cleaning Your AGA Elise or Mercury Range

The table below shows the best way to clean use on all the different parts of the oven if it does need cleaning.

* If the finish on the range cooker is stainless steel then ensure you use a stainless steel cream cleaner. Always follow the manufactures instructions on any cleaners that you use, and if you are unsure of a particular clean always do a patch test, in a small inconspicuous area to determine whether the cleaner is suitable for your product.