Monday, July 6, 2026

Bathtub Blues

           I have made progress in life, really. I’m no longer spreading newspapers on the kitchen floor, spraying caustic, lye-based, skin-searing cleaner into my oven, and then 20 minutes later on my hands and knees with my bright yellow rubber gloves (and breath held) wiping that cleaner out with 1,000 paper towels.

          Now I’m living large, with my lovely wall oven – good news for my knees.

          And my oven is self-cleaning. Except I’m too much of a wuss to feel comfortable about jacking it up to the 500+ degrees necessary.

 




         So I go old-school: baking soda and vinegar, backed up by SOS scouring pads.

Pretty much just as effective, without scary heat or smells.





          Living the condo life can mean a convenient wall oven, but I do have a bone to pick with the original owners – the ones who opted for two showers instead of at least one tub. There are times, like after a long day of gardening, when I’d like to lower myself into a bunch of water for a long, relaxing lounge.



        






  And I wonder if they realized that they'd be leaving the next owner with nowhere to soak the #!* oven racks.  

5 comments:

  1. I HATE cleaning the oven, and it is something I need to do...I just keep putting it off. Luckily we have a bathtub to soak the racks. Maybe I will get up the gumption and do it sometime soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It took me well over a year to get around to it.

      Delete
  2. Oven cleaning, a favorite task - not! Like you, I ignore any "self cleaning" feature for the same reason.
    No tub, though. I rarely use ours, but now I'm thinking maybe I should soak the oven racks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My elder daughter has a self cleaning oven and turns up the heat to let it do its thing, she says it is very convenient. I don't clean my oven at all, barely use it anyway, but the cleaner sets of my asthma and while I am able to kneel and bend I am unable to crick my neck to get the back and corners. I have a foil covered tray on the base to catch casserole spillovers, just haul it out and change the foil when necessary. Do you not have a laundry tub big enough for the oven racks?
    I REALLY miss bathtubs. My current home is the first I ever lived in without a tub.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, in spite of feeling like a block and tackle would be needed to get me out of one, I do wish I still had a bathtub.

      Delete

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