From "Woman's Day," Jun. 19, 1990:

"Set oven at 'warm' 20 minutes; turn off. Put small dish ammonia and
large pan boiling water overnight on top and bottom shelf,
respectively. Air out; clean with soap and water."

(Note: Do NOT use an aluminum pan for either liquid, in this case.)

Lenona.

On Feb 14, 11:03*am, Lenona > wrote:
> From "Woman's Day," Jun. 19, 1990:
>
> "Set oven at 'warm' 20 minutes; turn off. Put small dish ammonia and
> large pan boiling water overnight on top and bottom shelf,
> respectively. Air out; clean with soap and water."
>
> (Note: Do NOT use an aluminum pan for either liquid, in this case.)
>
> Lenona.

My husband's grandmother used ammonia like this on a regular basis -
never needed boiling water, though.

N.

On Mon, 14 Feb 2011 10:25:53 -0800 (PST), Nancy2
> wrote:

> My husband's grandmother used ammonia like this on a regular basis -
> never needed boiling water, though.

Just set a glass dish of ammonia in a warm oven? I need to try this.
I wonder if it would help with the crud on the glass door of the self
cleaning oven?

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

"Lenona" > wrote in message
...
>
> From "Woman's Day," Jun. 19, 1990:
>
> "Set oven at 'warm' 20 minutes; turn off. Put small dish ammonia and
> large pan boiling water overnight on top and bottom shelf,
> respectively. Air out; clean with soap and water."
>
> (Note: Do NOT use an aluminum pan for either liquid, in this case.)

Easier still. Buy a self cleaning oven.

In article >,
sf > wrote:

> Just set a glass dish of ammonia in a warm oven? I need to try this.
> I wonder if it would help with the crud on the glass door of the self
> cleaning oven?

I followed the earlier thread on cleaning the glass on an oven [1987
Jenn-Air]. I tried the Windex on the opened door and wetted for thirty
minutes. I used the rough side of a Scotch Brite sponge and scrubbed a
bit. Stuff came off. I scrubbed some more and reapplied Windex. About
three applications and a bit of scrubbing and the glass was nearly
clean. Then I self cleaned the oven, and the glass is clean.
There wasn't that much scrubbing or I'd have lost interest. I didn't use
nearly enough pressure to break a sweat. I did it leaning over. I will
only do the bending at the waist bit for a minute or two.
Now that the door glass is clean, I ought to change the oven bulb that
burned out fifteen years ago. Without resurrecting the old thread, I
think I have Sheldon to thank for the method.
It really is no-sweat, a bit of patience and not enough elbow grease to
think about. It's also the first time the glass has been clean in a
generation.

leo

On Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:33:15 -0800, Leonard Blaisdell
> wrote:

> In article >,
> sf > wrote:
>
> > Just set a glass dish of ammonia in a warm oven? I need to try this.
> > I wonder if it would help with the crud on the glass door of the self
> > cleaning oven?
>
> I followed the earlier thread on cleaning the glass on an oven [1987
> Jenn-Air]. I tried the Windex on the opened door and wetted for thirty
> minutes. I used the rough side of a Scotch Brite sponge and scrubbed a
> bit. Stuff came off. I scrubbed some more and reapplied Windex. About
> three applications and a bit of scrubbing and the glass was nearly
> clean. Then I self cleaned the oven, and the glass is clean.
> There wasn't that much scrubbing or I'd have lost interest. I didn't use
> nearly enough pressure to break a sweat. I did it leaning over. I will
> only do the bending at the waist bit for a minute or two.
> Now that the door glass is clean, I ought to change the oven bulb that
> burned out fifteen years ago. Without resurrecting the old thread, I
> think I have Sheldon to thank for the method.
> It really is no-sweat, a bit of patience and not enough elbow grease to
> think about. It's also the first time the glass has been clean in a
> generation.
>
Thanks Leonard. I know Sheldon likes to clean oven racks with ammonia
in large garbage bags out in the backyard. I'll try this method soon.
Tonight - if I have any ammonia or Windex with ammonia.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

"Lenona" wrote in message
...


From "Woman's Day," Jun. 19, 1990:

"Set oven at 'warm' 20 minutes; turn off. Put small dish ammonia and
large pan boiling water overnight on top and bottom shelf,
respectively. Air out; clean with soap and water."

(Note: Do NOT use an aluminum pan for either liquid, in this case.)

Lenona.



I remember my late wife doing this many years ago...Reading this just
reminded me of her doing it....But it must have been an old suggestion as my
wife died in the 80's.....

Can't remember if it was successful or not though...

BB

In article >,
Sqwertz > wrote:

> Using Windex on a window? Who would have ever thought of THAT, eh?

I wish I'd have taken a picture and not shown it to anyone. Can you
imagine an oven window that hadn't been cleaned since 1987? I originally
assumed that self cleaning would do it. On my first cleaning, I was
proven wrong.
The grease turned into a near polymer as did everything else the manual
told me to clean before self cleaning. Read the manual first. Duh!
Seriously! No excuses. I'll be working on the oven door jamb next.

leo

On Feb 15, 12:46*am, Sqwertz > wrote:
> On Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:03:36 -0800 (PST), Lenona wrote:
> > From "Woman's Day," Jun. 19, 1990:
>
> > "Set oven at 'warm' 20 minutes; turn off. Put small dish ammonia and
> > large pan boiling water overnight on top and bottom shelf,
> > respectively. Air out; clean with soap and water."
>
> > (Note: Do NOT use an aluminum pan for either liquid, in this case.)
>
> Does it work?

It did the last time I tried it. I'm guessing it would be very helpful
for an oven that hasn't been cleaned in years - or one that looks that
way.

Lenona.

On Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:12:45 -0800 (PST), Lenona >
wrote:

> On Feb 15, 12:46*am, Sqwertz > wrote:
> > On Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:03:36 -0800 (PST), Lenona wrote:
> > > From "Woman's Day," Jun. 19, 1990:
> >
> > > "Set oven at 'warm' 20 minutes; turn off. Put small dish ammonia and
> > > large pan boiling water overnight on top and bottom shelf,
> > > respectively. Air out; clean with soap and water."
> >
> > > (Note: Do NOT use an aluminum pan for either liquid, in this case.)
> >
> > Does it work?
>
> It did the last time I tried it. I'm guessing it would be very helpful
> for an oven that hasn't been cleaned in years - or one that looks that
> way.
>

Do you know what will happen if you *do* use an aluminum pan?

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

On Feb 15, 12:19*pm, sf > wrote:

>
> Do you know what will happen if you *do* use an aluminum pan?


If you use it for the water, the pan will discolor, perhaps
permanently, but I don't know if there's an extra reason to avoid
that. (After all, we all know it's dangerous to, say, mix ammonia with
bleach, so who knows what will happen if you use the pan for food
later on?)

Lenona.

On Tue, 15 Feb 2011 09:36:10 -0800 (PST), Lenona >
wrote:

> On Feb 15, 12:19*pm, sf > wrote:
>
> >
> > Do you know what will happen if you *do* use an aluminum pan?
>
>
> If you use it for the water, the pan will discolor, perhaps
> permanently, but I don't know if there's an extra reason to avoid
> that. (After all, we all know it's dangerous to, say, mix ammonia with
> bleach, so who knows what will happen if you use the pan for food
> later on?)
>
Oh, okay. Discoloration wasn't a concern. I visualized a disposable
pie tin that would be thrown away anyway. I was wondering if the
heat, ammonia and aluminum created some kind of fume we should be
aware of.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

sf > wrote:

>On Tue, 15 Feb 2011 09:36:10 -0800 (PST), Lenona >
>wrote:
>
>> On Feb 15, 12:19*pm, sf > wrote:
>>
>> >
>> > Do you know what will happen if you *do* use an aluminum pan?
>>
>>
>> If you use it for the water, the pan will discolor, perhaps
>> permanently, but I don't know if there's an extra reason to avoid
>> that. (After all, we all know it's dangerous to, say, mix ammonia with
>> bleach, so who knows what will happen if you use the pan for food
>> later on?)
>>
>Oh, okay. Discoloration wasn't a concern. I visualized a disposable
>pie tin that would be thrown away anyway. I was wondering if the
>heat, ammonia and aluminum created some kind of fume we should be
>aware of.

I'm surprised some chemistry major hasn't popped in to either say this
is a wives tale-- or 'watch out!'. I'll put it out there so I
can be corrected. [or not]

My understanding was that as it corrodes the aluminum pan it is
creating hydrogen gas. Not poisonous, but ignites with a giant pop!
No idea how much it creates.

No personal experience-- and chemistry was a losing prospect for me in
the 60's. If I learned anything then, it is long since forgotten.

Jim

In article >,
Jim Elbrecht > wrote:

> I'm surprised some chemistry major hasn't popped in to either say this
> is a wives tale-- or 'watch out!'. I'll put it out there so I
> can be corrected. [or not]

It turns out I have a BSChem. I left the field in 1977, and any advice I
might give will be highly suspect. I have not kept up and am forgetting
what I once learned at an accelerating pace. I'm sure a google for
"ammonia aluminum" would be enlightening.

leo

On Feb 16, 6:47*pm, Leonard Blaisdell >
wrote:

>
> It turns out I have a BSChem. I left the field in 1977, and any advice I
> might give will be highly suspect. I have not kept up and am forgetting
> what I once learned at an accelerating pace. I'm sure a google for
> "ammonia aluminum" would be enlightening.


Here's a little information:

http://www.instructables.com/communi...nia--Aluminum/

Note the photos near the bottom, with its comments.

It seems that if you let anything made of aluminum soak in ammonia, it
will be permanently damaged. (Not surprising - as I mentioned, even
just using the pan for the WATER is a bad idea when there's ammonia
gas in the oven!)

But it could be even more dangerous than that, though there aren't
enough details here.

Anyway, just don't use an aluminum pan.