02.Results
The following models scored the best results in our test
| What to buy |
| Brand |
Price |
| Coles Smart-Buy Oven Cleaner Non-caustic (300 g) |
$2.30 |
| Selleys Oven Kleen Fast Acting (350 g) (A) |
$3.20 |
| Selleys Oven Plus Heavy Duty Gel (400 g) (A) |
$5.00 |
| Easy-Off Oven Fume Free Cleaner (325 g) |
$3.00 |
| Easy-Off Oven Heavy Duty Cleaner 5 Minute Clean (325 g) |
$3.00 |
| Black & Gold Caustic Oven Cleaner (400 g) (A) |
$2.20 |
| Mr Muscle Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner (300 g) |
$3.29 |
| Amway Blast Off Oven Cleaner (400 g) |
$10.50 | |
(A) Discontinued.
Results table
Full results for all models are shown in the table below
| PRODUCT |
PERFORMANCE |
FEATURES |
SPECIFICATIONS |
| Brand / model (in rank order) |
Overall score (%) |
Ease of use score (%) |
Cleaning score (%) |
Best cleaning conditions |
Childproof cap |
Active ingredients (according to the label) |
Type |
Size (g) |
Price ($) |
Coles Smart-Buy Oven Cleaner Non-caustic
www.coles.com.au |
75 |
68 |
78 |
2 hours cold |
• |
Ethanolamine 12.2% w/w |
Aerosol |
300 |
2.30 |
Selleys Oven Kleen Fast Acting (A)
www.selleys.com.au |
74 |
66 |
77 |
30 minutes cold |
|
NaOH 39 g/kg |
Aerosol |
350 |
3.20 |
Selleys Oven Plus Heavy Duty Gel (A)
www.selleys.com.au |
74 |
66 |
77 |
30 minutes cold |
|
NaOH 50 g/kg |
Gel (brush) |
400 |
5.00 |
Easy-Off Oven Fume Free Cleaner
www.easyoff.us |
73 |
62 |
78 |
2 hours cold |
|
Alkaline salts 47.5 g/kg, DGAE 95 g/kg |
Aerosol |
325 |
3.00 |
Easy-Off Oven Heavy Duty Cleaner 5 Minute Clean
www.easyoff.us |
73 |
59 |
79 |
30 minutes cold |
|
NaOH 54 g/kg, DGAE 55 g/kg |
Aerosol |
325 |
3.00 |
Black & Gold Caustic Oven Cleaner (A)
www.iga.net.au |
72 |
68 |
73 |
5 minutes 90ºC |
|
NaOH 45 g/kg, DGAE 20 g/kg |
Aerosol |
400 |
2.20 |
Mr Muscle Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner
www.scjohnson.com.au |
72 |
61 |
76 |
5 minutes 90ºC |
• |
NaOH 42.4 g/L, DGAE 117.9 g/L |
Aerosol |
300 |
3.29 |
Amway Blast Off Oven Cleaner
www.amway.com.au |
71 |
57 |
77 |
30 minutes cold |
• |
NaOH 66.5 g/kg |
Aerosol |
400 |
10.50 |
Home Brand Caustic Oven Cleaner
www.woolworths.com.au |
66 |
65 |
66 |
30 minutes cold |
|
NaOH 36 g/kg, ethanolamine 40.5 g/kg |
Aerosol |
400 |
2.30 |
Mr Muscle Odourless Oven Cleaner
www.scjohnson.com.au |
65 |
70 |
63 |
4 hours cold |
• |
Alkaline salts 37 g/kg |
Aerosol |
300 |
3.29 |
Rubbedin Oven and Grill Magic Active Gel Cleaner
www.rubbedin.com.au |
50 |
47 |
51 |
30 minutes 50ºC |
(B) |
ns |
Pump spray |
300 mL |
6.53 |
| Cinderella Super Fast Oven & BBQ Cleaner www.cinderella.com.au |
47 |
67 |
39 |
5 minutes cold |
|
ns |
Pump spray |
500 mL |
6.00 |
| HOME-MADE OVEN CLEANER |
| Bicarb & vinegar |
42 |
41 |
43 |
5 minutes cold |
na |
Sodium bicarbonate, acetic acid |
Liquid & powder |
na |
na |
| |
Using the table
na Not applicable.
ns Not stated (no active ingredients that require labelling).
(A) Discontinued.
(B) No, but two of the three positions are 'off'.
Scores The overall score is made up of cleaning performance (70%) and ease of use (30%).
Optimal cleaning conditions Manufacturers usually recommend various times and oven temperatures for using their products. The results listed in the table are the best we achieved in the shortest soaking time.
Active ingredients as per product label: NaOH = sodium hydroxide, DGAE = diethylene glycol alkyl ether.
Price is recommended or average retail as of May 2008.
How we tested
Cleaning performance Our testers applied a special food mixture (measured quantities of milk, sugar, cherry and tomato juice, vegetable oil, dripping, flour and raw egg) evenly to enamelled test panels and baked them for an hour and a half at 250°C. Once the panels had cooled, they brushed on a second coat of food mixture and baked again, and once more the next day without applying more food mixture.
They then applied the oven cleaner, testing each product several times as recommended by the manufacturers — after five minutes, half an hour or two hours, for example. They scored the cleaners’ ability to remove the baked-on food mixture after wiping the panels with a damp sponge and scourer pad — the cleaner the panel and the less effort required, the higher the score.
Ease of use For this score the testers applied each product to the inside of the oven and rated it for its ease of application, coverage and adherence to the back, top, side and bottom surfaces. They also checked the instructions and noted any offensive odours and wafting mists during use.
Safety The testers also checked whether the product labels provide sufficient safety information and whether any of them seemed particularly noxious during use.