Messy meals and stove cleaning

[Laura2592]

Having just come out of the holiday season we have had a few stays where guests obviously cooked large meals at our space. Guests are typically pretty good about cleaning counters and the stove tops, but opening the oven after a recent guest was like entering a deep circle of hell. My cleaners did the best they could but we had to finish it up so they could go to their next job in a timely manner. It took probably 3 hours to get the crud scrubbed off and the oven looking decent. I think some of what we removed was melted plastic.

We leave oven cleaner and our range is less than 2 years old. Its clear to me that some people are not familiar with cleaning an oven and don't notice that they have left a chaotic, greasy, splattery mess on the inside. Its not something that happens very often, but when it does, it is a real pain in the behind. Does anyone have any hacks on how to either a) clean a messy oven quickly and efficently or b) help guests to understand what to do (or not) to make a mess in the first place?  Maybe the easiest solution is to block off  "big meal" holidays?

[Lorna170]

@Laura2592   Look for the disposable removable trays that you can put in the bottom of the oven to catch the spills, etc.  They will help and your cleaner can just replace them as needed.  I also remove all but the one rack (mine had 3) in my gas oven which also makes for less stacking of multiple casseroles in the oven. If your oven has an exposed electric heating element on the bottom, leave the bottommost rack in with the disposable tray on it and a second rack above.  I do not leave oven cleaner as I do not want them to spray the oven without the the added effort to wipe it out and think that it is spray "magic" (younger people have no clue).  I no longer provide a pizza stone, as that was problematic and created spillage.  Yes, with the pandemic more of my guests are cooking and the oven is being used more often, so I have added an extra 1/2 hour to my housekeeper's expected time (and money). Along with the hot tub, the oven has become one of the first things to be checked.

[Ann72]

@Laura2592  Uugghhh!  Not clear, so forgive me if you already did this, but modern ovens usually have a self-clean feature.  My housekeeper is instructed to turn it on as soon as she arrives so it can do its thing while she's working.  At the end of the cycle, all you usually have to do is wipe the oven out.

[Lorna170]

I too have self cleaning ovens, but the cycle is longer than the housekeeper is onsite cleaning, and while I love her dearly, I cannot pay her to sit and wait for the oven.  

[Yvonne41]

This happens a lot with our oven. We have a great, easy water based cleaning cycle on it, but our housekeeper crews don’t really know how it works. So, often I am the deep cleaner when I visit. I make a paste mixture baking soda, with water and vinegar. I leave it on a couple of hours minimum. Then take vinegar that you can put in a bottle to spray on, or pour in the bottom. Let

it foam up. I also understand lemon can be used, but I never seem to have a lemon to try. My baking soda and vinegar method has had to be used a couple times to get things really bad to start coming up. Then I run the normal cleaning cycle. I also hear you can use dryer sheets to scrub the racks, which I plan to try soon. Magic erasers also can work well, especially on cooktops and on the oven door glass splatter.

...If you have any tips to get deep dings out of a stainless fridge - let me know. The YouTube tricks to freeze with canned air to pop out, and suction cups, haven’t worked for me at all.

Best of luck keeping on top of it all!

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Laura2592 @Lorna170 @Ann72 

True about people not knowing how or even bothering to clean ovens..... or the microwave!!!!! Especially if it doesn't belong to them. Different situation but I often find the office microwave totally disgusting - no one bothers to wipe splatters or overflow!!!! I'd assume most people are exactly the same when they are in someone else's home using someone else's oven/microwave. 🙄 😑 😒 

@Yvonne41 

For dings/dents on metal appliances, I would try heating the area (with a hairdryer) then gently pushing it out - but you'd have to be able to take the metal cover off to do this. 

[Mark116]

@Laura2592  I think the answer is 'no' that guests arent' going to clean the oven. Our stove is only two years old also and has already been repaired 2x. The oven is self cleaning, but that  doesn't really get the oven clean again, even after doing a cycle when the oven is very dirty, old fashioned oven cleaner is still  needed. 

[Kelly149]

we have no oven in the barn - thank goodness - but this reminds me of the people who coat the sofa in crumbs and spills. I silently thank them for allowing me to deep clean as I'm unzipping the covers, again, and just go on with life grateful that it isn't that messy usually. And, yes, I ding them on stars too.

But I very rarely do same-day turnovers so it's annoying but not a disaster.

I've seen folks with grills leave a note that says "please return the grill to clean, ready to use condition or if you'd rather leave a $20, the cleaners will do it for you"

[Christine615]

Most of the guests I have hosted that asked to do a holiday meal (in town to visit their children) have cleaned up pretty good. But there are always an occasional few who were raised in the wild and who think we are rich people that have unlimited cleaning services to clean up after their modest rental rates.

If the guest asks to cook holidays meals, make it clear they are to return the home in the condition they received it including spills and messes in the oven. Then bill them in the resolution center.

For a quick solution, I've found the baking soda and water paste trick (rub it all over the inside of the oven and let sit for a few hours) is pretty good. Clean with vinegar and then water.

But if you have one of those "useless" Easy clean blue surfaces, the baking soda trick doesn't work. it makes things worse. So I finally had to use a spatula to get as much of the gunk off, then turn on the regular oven cleaning cycle. If there is plastic, get all of it out first.

[Jill963]

Curious if you asked the guest to pay any extra cleaning fee? I just had some guests leave food splatter on walls etc and they lost their mind when I told them that their cleaning fee doesn't include my time to scrub walls.

[MariaCecilia22]

i  would ask for extra as well leaving your place a mess with food splatter on walls is unacceptable considering that your home was delivered in good and clean condition..

[Dorothy128]

Is 'stove' an american term for a gas oven? Airbnb are suggesting I add 'stove' to my list of amenities due to it being mentioned in a number of messages. My little stand alone gas oven is a bit 'retro looking' according to one guest, but I kept it while my kitchen was  being 'freshened up', coz it's a great wee cooker. Probably gonna jinx myself, having said that now 🤞. Could someone please tell me if it is indeed a stove? We had guests once, whose dogs left slever marks on windows, doors and walls. Can u imagine?! My poor housekeeper often has to get her husband in to help clean up after messy guests. Guests do get most indignant when asked for additional cleaning payments. Best wishes to All, Dorothy 

[Jennifer1773]

@Dorothy128 In my book, the appliance I see in your photo is a "range" that is made up of a "stove" on top and and an "oven" below... but I hear a lot of folks call the entire appliance a "stove." In my kitchen the two parts are separate--my stove (sometimes called a stovetop or cooktop?) is a set of burners over a base cabinet and my oven is mounted in a floor to ceiling wall cabinet. I think you can check the amenities boxes for both a stove and an oven since Airbnb does not offer range as an option. The stove selection in amenities lets you note if you have a gas, electric or induction model. I've always wanted a gas stove... and yours looks great! Is the oven part also heated by gas? Good luck with those messy guests :)--I've been there!

[Fiona256]

@Dorothy128  You live in the UK. In the UK we have cookers in our kitchens. So that is what you should call it. A range is bigger than a standard four-ring cooker, probaly with six rings and four ovens. If you can't tick cooker as an amenity, don't worry. The cooker is clearly visible in your photo.

If guests from other countries are incapable of understanding or researching unfamiliar terms used in the place they plan to visit, perhaps they should stay at home. Travel is an education. Or should be.