# What's hiding behind the stove



## CharlieD (Jun 8, 2017)

It is off topic, but since it is kitchen related it is not really that Off topic.
I had to move my stove out today. Oh my. I found a fork, a lead for a jar and a lid for ziplock container. And I am not even talking about abondance of grime, dirt, dust, and G-d knows what else. 

I am wondering, how often do you, if ever pull out your stove to clean behind? What can be done to prevent all this dirt building up behind the stove?


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## blissful (Jun 8, 2017)

> I am wondering, how often do you, if ever pull out your stove to clean  behind? What can be done to prevent all this dirt building up behind the  stove?


1. NEVVAAAAAAAAHHHHH (or when replacing stove or painting or wallpapering)
2. Never cook, or nothing.


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## Cheryl J (Jun 8, 2017)

Mine only gets moved when I get a new one.


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## Dawgluver (Jun 8, 2017)

Last time I did, I was looking for the razor scrapers I use to clean my ceramic stovetop.  Cleaning lady had knocked them off behind the stove and didn't bother to retrieve them.  After I pulled the stove out and got the scrapers I can understand why.  Yuck!


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## rodentraiser (Jun 8, 2017)

I think I have a spatula behind my stove, but I'm not looking till I have to move.


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## Steve Kroll (Jun 8, 2017)

My new stove was just installed in March, so it's pretty clean at the moment. But I had to give it a good going over at that time with a healthy dose of pine-sol.


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## Andy M. (Jun 8, 2017)

I moved my stove in 2008 when we had thee kitchen remodeled.  That was the first time in 8 years it was moved.  The next time it's moved it will be by whomever buys my condo whenever my family or I sell it.


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## Katie H (Jun 8, 2017)

No stove here.  We have a built-in cooktop and a wall oven, so there's nothing to move and no cracks for things to fall into.  Sounds like we're pretty lucky.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jun 8, 2017)

Nothing behind the new stove, but I could make a list out of what's behind the fridge.


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## Cooking Goddess (Jun 8, 2017)

At least a fridge is usually on wheels, *PF.* There is hope in that!

The last thorough cleaning under/behind the range was when we had the new one delivered - so about 8-10 years ago. Since my  range is electric, I have a bottom drawer for pot lids, cookie sheets, etc. I pull the drawer out about once a year so that I can run the vacuum cleaner underneath to get the lion's share of gunk. My bigger fear is what has run down between the side of the stove and the cabinet either side...


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## Cooking Goddess (Jun 8, 2017)

Dawgluver said:


> ...Cleaning lady had knocked them off behind the stove and didn't bother to retrieve them...


Pffttt, some "cleaning" lady.  I use razor blades, but they are in one of those metal contraptions you use to clean paint off of the glass when you paint a window frame. Pretty obsolete for its original use, but handy for glass-tops


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jun 8, 2017)

Cooking Goddess said:


> At least a fridge is usually on wheels, *PF.* There is hope in that!



I'll need help to move it.  It's sitting on top of vinyl planks on top of carpet and has sunk it's way down into it.


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## Dawgluver (Jun 8, 2017)

Cooking Goddess said:


> Pffttt, some "cleaning" lady.  I use razor blades, but they are in one of those metal contraptions you use to clean paint off of the glass when you paint a window frame. Pretty obsolete for its original use, but handy for glass-tops




That's what I use!  The first one um, disappeared, so I grabbed another from our paint supply.  It disappeared too.  I even velcroed them to the stove, so my CL must have been using a lot of elbow grease to dislodge them.


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## Kayelle (Jun 9, 2017)

My stove is pretty new so no worries there. When I had pets though, the stove and fridge were pulled out on a regular basis. The thought of wads of animal hair under appliances just grossed me out.


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## CraigC (Jun 9, 2017)

Wasn't there a line in the song "Thunder Road" about a place where angels fear to tread?


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## Just Cooking (Jun 9, 2017)

I thought I was always behind because I only pull out my stove and fridge twice a year but, reading this thread, I think I should reward myself with cake.. and pudding... and pie...yes, pie...  

BTW... There is seldom anything but a dust bunny or two behind them...


Ross


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## GotGarlic (Jun 9, 2017)

blissful said:


> 1. Nevvaaaaaaaahhhhh (or when replacing stove or painting or wallpapering)
> 2. Never cook, or nothing.


^^^ this ^^^


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## CWS4322 (Jun 10, 2017)

I pull out the bottom drawer every month or so. The stove  CV six months. Same with washer and dryer.


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## rodentraiser (Jun 10, 2017)

CraigC said:


> Wasn't there a line in the song "Thunder Road" about a place where angels fear to tread?



The Bruce Springsteen song? I just looked through the lyrics and I didn't see anything. Maybe that line's in a different song.


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## caseydog (Jun 11, 2017)

Katie H said:


> No stove here. We have a built-in cooktop and a wall oven, so there's nothing to move and no cracks for things to fall into.



Same here, but, I bought a new filter for the fridge about this time last year. Still in the box. 

On a related topic...

I borrowed a professional leaf blower from a friend who owns a landscaping company. 300-plus MPH. Seemed like a good way to blow out my dryer vent. 

I wrapped a towel around the nozzle, jammed it in the inside tube, and let it rip. 

What came out the other end was amazing. Shot it into my neighbor's yard. Lint, bird's nest, stuff I left in pants pockets. Even the coins made it a good fifteen feet airborne.

My friend was watching from the outside, and had to run for cover. 

Crude... but effective. 

CD


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## taxlady (Jun 11, 2017)

That's pretty funny CD.


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## Andy M. (Jun 11, 2017)

caseydog said:


> ...What came out the other end was amazing. Shot it into my neighbor's yard. Lint, bird's nest, stuff I left in pants pockets. Even the coins made it a good fifteen feet airborne...



I guess I'd better clean my dryer vent...


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## Whiskadoodle (Jun 11, 2017)

I have a leafblower...


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jun 12, 2017)

Andy M. said:


> I guess I'd better clean my dryer vent...



I would pay to see that...


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## caseydog (Jun 12, 2017)

Andy M. said:


> I guess I'd better clean my dryer vent...



Very common cause of house fires are clogged dryer vents. I'm not advocating you do it my way, but it worked, and was rather entertaining. 

Not quite as exciting as when my dad's cheap-a$$ extension ladder buckled and I rode it down with a running chain saw in my hand. 

CD


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## Cooking Goddess (Jun 12, 2017)

on the Ladder-and-Chainsaw ride.

We've cleaned our vent hose out in the past with a long bristle brush on an extension rod - primitive and semi-effective. Recently, a bevy of friends have been FB sharing a device that attaches to a hand drill. You just bore out through the tube with some whirring bristles while it crawls its way through. I checked the price, though, and this drill attachment rings in at around $40-50.

I told Himself about  your method. He said his leaf blower blasts at about 200MPH. We might give it a go. Sadly, his latest "toy" would not work - but it would be funny if it did. He got an I-Robot Looj to clean the gutters. Cost less than calling the gutter guy, and we had to pay for it only once! Better yet, it was half the retail price on eBay and it worked perfectly.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jun 12, 2017)

Maybe you should rent out the Looj thingie to your friends...


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## CakePoet (Jun 12, 2017)

I pull out the  stove every second months, so 6 time a year and clean behind. Why? I hate getting bugs inside and the stuff that ends up there is disgusting.

Also I pull out my  fridge freezer  every 6 months to remove  dust, because  it is a common cause of apartment fire here.  We removed a   big ball of dust when we moved in here.


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## Andy M. (Jun 12, 2017)

My dryer is on the main floor and the vent pipe goes down through the floor and runs along the basement ceiling to the outdoors.  The vent pipe is 4" stove pipe so I can disconnect it in sections and run a towel on a broom handle through it. Works great and all I really need is a little duct tape to return it to it's operating condition.


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## Addie (Jun 12, 2017)

Our dryers get cleaned out once a month when they come to collect the money. So not a problem for us to worry about.

My son pulls out the stove and fridge for me about every three months so I can wash the floor behind them. Both are right up against the wall so there is not way anything can get behind them except for dust balls. Spike tiled the walls right behind them even though it is against the rules. But when maintenance saw it, they mentioned it. All I said was, "Did it increase the value of the property?" Of course the answer was Yes and smiled. He knew I was right. I just should have asked first for permission. But the head maintenance man knows Spike's work and never complains when he does work for me. Spike could build a house from ground up.


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## Snip 13 (Jun 12, 2017)

Mine is built in so a wall lol. Fridge well dust, possibly things with feelers and feet. No wheels on my fridge so I only move it when feeling suicidal. It is bigger and heavier than me. Takes forever and I have come very close to making a fridge sandwich of myself .


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## HeidiCooksSupper (Jun 12, 2017)

1. When replacing burner controllers while nursing a stove 'til the end.
2. When installing the new stove.


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## CakePoet (Jun 12, 2017)

Our next door neighbor has moved, heck knows what he did  to the cooker and floor.  But the cooker came out with the  floor! They lifted it out  and ripped off the  flooring.  They have not been in there for more then 2 years.  Yes in Swedish apartment  you rent, it comes with cooker, fridge/freezer.


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## GotGarlic (Jun 12, 2017)

CakePoet said:


> Our next door neighbor has moved, heck knows what he did  to the cooker and floor.  But the cooker came out with the  floor! They lifted it out  and ripped off the  flooring.  They have not been in there for more then 2 years.  Yes in Swedish apartment  you rent, it comes with cooker, fridge/freezer.


Yes, American apartments come with stoves, ovens, and a fridge/freezer as well.


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## CakePoet (Jun 12, 2017)

Well in Scotland they dont ( unless your are lucky, and find a landlord who will) and some other European  countries too, you have to buy them   and maintain them  yourself.


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## taxlady (Jun 12, 2017)

In Quebec an apartment comes with fridge and stove and possibly more. A "flat" doesn't usually come with appliances. An apartment generally is in a building with a main entrance and all the apartments have a number or letter, but the same street number. A flat is part of a duplex, triplex, four-plex, ... and generally the entry to the flat is from outside. Each flat has a separate street address.


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Jun 12, 2017)

Me! Her husband came home early.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jun 13, 2017)

Sir_Loin_of_Beef said:


> Me! Her husband came home early.



Then who was the guy in the closet?


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## CakePoet (Jun 14, 2017)

Here comes the problem , I was taught that  apartment meant Lägenhet, how ever  this according to my husband a flat ( he is Scottish). So here is the problem  I live in Sweden, we dont use  our flat numbers that often, we use the  street number .    Which can be, if the flats are put on property  4 A,B, C  ( all different doors but connected by the walls)  or as here just  19 and we have a main door to the communal stairwell. Unless the house i built in loft style then separate doors  but same address or separate number.  Confusing? Yes, sometimes but logical  if you understand the city grid.  Yes, by law you cant  rent out a  flat/ apartment/ four walls and roof, with out   fridge/freezer, stove, toilet and some where to shower and  clean clothes.   
Anyway I pulled the stove out today and found  glitter, sparkles and  five hearts and some gold stars.


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## taxlady (Jun 14, 2017)

CakePoet said:


> Here comes the problem , I was taught that  apartment meant Lägenhet, how ever  this according to my husband a flat ( he is Scottish). So here is the problem  I live in Sweden, we dont use  our flat numbers that often, we use the  street number .    Which can be, if the flats are put on property  4 A,B, C  ( all different doors but connected by the walls)  or as here just  19 and we have a main door to the communal stairwell. Unless the house i built in loft style then separate doors  but same address or separate number.  Confusing? Yes, sometimes but logical  if you understand the city grid.  Yes, by law you cant  rent out a  flat/ apartment/ four walls and roof, with out   fridge/freezer, stove, toilet and some where to shower and  clean clothes.
> Anyway I pulled the stove out today and found  glitter, sparkles and  five hearts and some gold stars.


So, would an apartment be a "våning"?


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## CakePoet (Jun 14, 2017)

Taxlady.  Well that is a grey zone, yes and no. Våning can be apartment but that is most likely an apartment with several rooms like  8 or 10 in a posh area or the upper floor  which has the bigger  apartment. It aint cheap.  But is also floor/ story.  I live in a lägenheten on  våning 2 in a 3 våningshus  ( three story house).  

Isnt Swedish confusing?  Thank God at least we  Swedes most likely know what we are talking about.


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