An Astonish-ing clean! (Astonish Oven & Hob Cleaner)

Member Name: hypno06

Product:	Astonish Oven & Hob Cleaner
Date:	30/01/09 (302 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Effective oven cleaning without the pong!

Disadvantages: Still not "spray and wipe"

I detest housework, I claim to be no good at it, with no time for it, but the truth is that I dislike doing it and can almost always find something much more pressing to do.......oh, and I am a bit lazy too.....

But having said all of that, I hate my house being a mess (although it quite clearly is, most of the time) and when I do get the urge to clean, I do so with a vengence......and on those days, my husband and children leave home for fear that they will either get roped in, or attacked with a mild abrasive cleaner......

My first cleaning target is always my kitchen - My mum used to say that I only cleaned my oven when I was going to move house......and she wasn't too far wrong. But I now have an overworked oven, which gets very dirty very quickly with the amount of cooking that goes on here, and needs a great deal of cleaning to make it look clean.

I have tried many cleaning products on my oven, and they are ok - but even those spray products proclaiming simple "spray and wipe" grime busting properties still need a fair bit of elbow grease added in. And most oven cleaners release a smell that permeates the whole house.

The other items I have difficulty with are my baking trays - I bung these in the dishwasher, and whilst they come up clean, they seem, over time, to be developing a stubborn layer that does not seem to budge with even the most powerful powerball enhanced tablets.

So, when my husband came home once from a friend's house with a tub of "Astonish" saying that said friend said it was fab, my first thought was "Oh my goodness they discuss my slovenly ways, oh the shame of it" and my second thought was "put the kettle on, I will do it later".....

Anyway, Astonish comes in a plastic tub (dark blue, not white as in the pic above) with an easy-open lid. The tub says that this paste cleans all types of:
- enamel
- porcelain
- ovens
- cookware
- patio furniture
- and even hands (!)

It is NOT suitable for:

silver, gold, highly polished stainless steel, brass and copper, plastic or acrylic baths.

So........opening the tub, you see a thick grey paste that looks a bit like putty or tile grout......whilst it smells of "cleaning product" it does not smell strong, or offensive, and certainly doesn't smell offensive.

Using the paste is simple - either using a scouring pad (for ovens and pans) or a damp cloth (for glass surfaces and chrome), "scoop" a dollop of the paste out of the tub, and apply to the required area, rubbing in well. If the area has heavy grease or burnt food on, then leave the paste to dry, before rinsing off with a clean damp cloth. Otherwise, just rub in and rinse off....

Yes, I know that all kitchen/oven cleaners proclaim the same thing, but this one does do what it says it will do......getting right through the layers of grease and old grime, and allowing me to have a sparkly oven and roasting tins I am actually happy to put food in again.

I have glass doors on my oven, and have used this very successfully on them, but it should be remembered that this is a mild abrasive cleaner, so on delicate glass you should be careful, in case you scratch your glass.

Whilst this is not recommended on highly polished metals, I have used it many times on my stainless steel hob, without adverse affect - using a damp cloth and some gentle rubbing-in, and am always pleased with the results.

This paste is not acidic, and contains no phosphates and no animal products. It is biodegradable and the company who manufacture it have banned animal tests and ingredients on their products.

This is not something I would have bought and tried myself - I would have probably stuck with the Mr Muscle type cleaning products, and opening all windows, evacuating all pets etc to avoid the smell, but I will certainly be buying this tub of paste again.

Finally, the very fact that it says it is suitable for use on hands, shows that it is not harmful to skin......no need for the rubber gloves then!

Summary: It does exactly as it says on the tub!