Cleaning the oven

The active ingredient in most oven cleaners is concentrated lye. When lye is concentrated, it is highly corrosive to organic materials. The good news is that it will dissolve food deposits. The bad news is that humans are also made of organic materials.

Fatalities are rare, but it is of utmost importance to use protective gear when using nasty oven cleaning chemicals and use in a wellventilated area, as inhaling fumes can cause coughs and sore throats, say the experts.