I've been searching for a decent stove and oven cleaner in a spray foam format for ages, and I've tried loads of different products with no luck. Either they didn't cut it, or I had to put in a ton of elbow grease to get the job done. But when I saw these types of sprays being used by cleaning influencers like Aurikatarina, I knew I had to give it a shot. So, I finally found this product on Ozon called 'Barfin Kitchen Wonder Foam Anti-Grease Cleaner' for 199 rubles (it's not much more expensive now, around 200 rubles).
I wasn't sure whether to review this in an old thread or start a new one, but I decided to go with the latter since everything has changed: from the full name to the packaging and country of origin. The old Barfin stove and oven cleaner was made in Italy, but my new one is produced in Russia by OOO 'Aerosol Novomoskovsk' in Tula Oblast.
The product comes in a pretty big can with a blue label. I'm not sure how many milliliters it is, but it's around 300ml, and the foam format is super economical. The can is quite heavy.
Safety instructions and usage guidelines are on the back, and I was surprised by the massive list of precautions: Since the text is tiny and there's a lot of information, I'll highlight the main points:
Shake the can for at least 5 seconds – it's a total game-changer for getting the right amount of foam; I found that without shaking it, the spray just isn't as effective.Use protective gear like goggles and gloves (the manufacturer recommends full protective gear, but I just stuck with goggles and gloves).Avoid spraying near open flames or plugged-in appliances – it's just common sense.Wash your hands thoroughly after use.Store the can in a safe place, out of reach of kids and pets.The sprayer itself is pretty standard.
After giving it a good shake, just spray the surface from about 15-20 cm away.
I decided to test it out on my oven – check out the state of the door after one use:
I also gave the oven grate a good clean.
I started spraying the cleaner, but I wasn't exactly prepared. I grabbed some gloves and put on my regular glasses – no special safety gear, just the usual stuff. But, boy, this stuff sprays everywhere when you use it! You'll need to clear the area around you, including any dishes, pets, or kids. It'll spray a good 30 centimeters beyond the surface you're cleaning, so make sure you've got a clear space. You'll see the foam splatters all over the place in the next few photos. The manufacturer also warns to work in a well-ventilated area, but I opened a window and... ugh, the smell is awful! No amount of lemon-scented air freshener is going to cut it! And opening a window doesn't help much either. They recommend wearing special gear, but I'm not sure if they mean a gas mask or something? It says not to inhale the fumes, but if you don't wear a dust mask at least, you're going to breathe it in. The fumes fill the room in no time, and I started coughing and sneezing right away. It was a real pain to clean the oven, too, since it's basically a sealed box and all the stuff you spray in there just comes back out at you. The smell lasts for about 5 minutes, but you've got to keep the cleaner on for 15-20 minutes, which is a real challenge when you're cleaning a small apartment like mine. It feels like this cleaner is only meant for outdoor use or professional kitchens with super powerful ventilation systems – not for a regular home like mine.
The one thing I noticed is that if the product comes into contact with your skin, it's not a big deal - it just wipes off like nothing's there. But if there's a cut or irritation, even if it's healed, it'll start stinging like crazy. You need to rinse the area with a lot of water right away. And don't even get me started on wearing gloves - you can burn your skin and nails if you use it too much.
Despite that, the product actually works pretty well. The foam that comes into contact with the surface starts to expand and you can see the dirt lifting right off. The foam stays put until the end, barely falling off at all.
The foam comes off in one smooth motion, taking the dirt with it.
When you use it on vertical surfaces, the foam doesn't slide off like the liquid spray does - it keeps working.
I was amazed at how hard it was to get rid of the foam. I used a sponge, then rinsed it with water and scrubbed the surface multiple times with a damp sponge, followed by a clean, dry cloth that didn't come into contact with the product. Even when it looked like the product was gone, I still washed it a few more times just to be sure - that was my mistake. I'm worried that when the oven heats up, the fumes will start to evaporate even more and end up in my food. But cleaning the oven is a pain, so that's not the manufacturer's fault. Cleaning the racks, on the other hand, is a breeze - just rinse them under the faucet.
It took me about 30 minutes to clean the oven, 15-20 minutes for the product to work its magic, and another 10-15 minutes to scrub off the remaining foam. The results were impressive - I've never cleaned an oven so quickly and easily before.
However, the product didn't quite do the job on the racks - there was still a small amount of grime left behind, but it was soft and easy to remove with a scrub brush or steel wool. There were also tiny bits of grime left on the oven walls, about a millimeter in diameter, but I was able to remove them easily with a scraper. I could have left them alone or scrubbed them a bit harder with a sponge, but it was nice to have the option to just use a simple sponge instead of waiting for the product to break down the grime like I used to.
I've got to say, I didn't notice any damage to the surfaces I cleaned. The glass-ceramic finish was spotless, the metal hadn't oxidized (although the label specifically warns against using it on aluminum surfaces, mine's stainless steel), and the enamel was still intact. I even scrubbed the plastic trim around the stove and the plastic panel, and there were no signs of damage at all. The lamination hadn't peeled off. Of course, it's always better to err on the side of caution and test it out on a discreet area first, but I wasn't planning on cleaning it that often, anyway.
However, as time went on, I started to notice another issue: the stuff doesn't all come out of the bottle – it just kind of hangs there, which is really annoying.
After about 4-5 uses (I was cleaning multiple surfaces at once, so these were all done in one go), the can started to struggle with spraying. I'm not sure why – maybe it got clogged or something. It's still pretty heavy, and there's definitely something bubbling around inside when you shake it, but it just won't spray properly.
So, all things considered, I can only give this stuff 3 stars. It does a great job of cleaning, it's fast, and it doesn't damage surfaces – but it's basically impossible to use in an enclosed space. Maybe it'd be okay for cleaning grill grates, or something like that – but for my kitchen stove and oven, I'll be sticking with something else. And the fact that the can starts to malfunction after a few uses doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.