What we found

Cleaning performance

Getting them dirty: We smeared specially prepared enamel panels with a mix of milk, sugar, juices, egg, flour, oil and fat. Then we baked them.

Getting them clean: We applied the oven cleaners using the label instructions and left the panels for the recommended times. We then wiped each panel with a damp sponge, gave it a moderate scouring followed by a heavy scouring - and assessed the cleaner's effectiveness.

Time: Most manufacturers gave a choice of leaving the cleaner to soak "overnight" or doing a "quick clean" (which had a soaking period of anything from five minutes to four hours). Our test results table shows the best results achieved after leaving the cleaner for the shorter time - we found little improvement in overall cleaning performance after waiting the maximum 12 hours.

Temperature: Mr Muscle Heavy Duty and Easy Off Heavy Duty cleaners offered the option of a "super fast" five-minute clean that required heating the oven to no more than 90°C. Both warned against allowing the product to dry. Cinderella Oven & BBQ cleaner suggested heating a neglected oven to a very low heat so it was also tested at 90°C.

All other products' instructions were for cleaning a cold oven only.

Our verdict
Six products shared first place for cleaning (see the Test results). These were demanding tests - and the "green clean" options (Cinderella Oven & BBQ Cleaner and our "home recipe" baking soda and vinegar paste) weren't very effective.

Ease of use

Here's where our tester got up close and personal with a real oven. "Ease of use" covers ease of application, coverage and adhesion. It's what made the difference in the overall scores.

Most of the products were aerosol sprays. But Cinderella Oven & BBQ Cleaner came in a trigger spray, Selleys Oven Plus Heavy Duty Gel was applied with a brush in the neck of the container and the vinegar and baking soda was applied as a paste.

Mr Muscle Odourless was the most user-friendly spray cleaner. It produced plenty of foam that stayed well on the oven surface, allowing you to see where it had been applied.

Both the Selleys Oven Plus Heavy Duty Gel and the vinegar and baking soda paste took longer to apply than the sprays.

An extractor fan was used during the test so we haven't assessed the fumes. However, safety directions on the aerosol cans warned against inhaling the spray mist.

Tip:
Leave spraying the roof until second-to-last, just before spraying the door. This will mean the cleaner doesn't drip on your arm while you're applying it to other surfaces.