A woman is calling on IKEA to redesign a plastic serving tray after she used it in her oven thinking it was a baking tray.
Tiana Lowe, 24, from Greater Manchester, was left with a melting mess when she used the £1 tray.
After popping it in the oven, Tiana could smell a strange burning from the kitchen - and when she opened the oven door she was met with a cloud of smoke and a pool of dripping plastic.
Advert
"We could smell burning, so we opened the oven to find a big puddle of melted plastic and lots of black smoke coming out," said Tiana.
"It was all dripping from the tray, then I checked and realised it wasn't an oven tray, it was clearly plastic and it'd melted all over the entire oven.
"The entire house stunk of burning plastic, so we had to spray the whole kitchen top to bottom and open all the windows. I stayed up for two hours cleaning everything.
"A few days before I'd spent a good hour rubbing the oven completely clean, so a couple of days later I'd had to throw the oven racks away and scrub it all again.
Advert
"I had to clean everything in the kitchen as well because of the fumes from the plastic that would have gone on everything.
"I was wondering what I'd actually bought, so I got the receipt and got my friends to Google it and they saw that it was the plastic tray.
"I must admit, I didn't read the sticker on it. It didn't feel plastic or look plastic. It felt a lot lighter [than metal]. But I thought that was because it was smaller and it was only £1.
"It was called TILLGANG and who knows what a TILLGANG is, but I thought it was a bargain so I went for it. I've checked the reviews and it turns out I'm not the only person who's done it.
Advert
"[Ikea] need to make them actually look plastic and maybe change the colour, or put a giant warning sign on them. But it's my error not theirs.
"I found it hilarious. It's something I'd do. I have my ditzy blonde moments. I wouldn't say I'm not intelligent but I do have my moments."
Tiana took to Ikea's Facebook, sarcastically thanking them for 'making serving trays look like baking trays', but it backfired when users said 'don't buy a chocolate teapot'.
Advert
However, according to Ikea's website, a couple of other customers have made a similar mistake, based on reviews.
Tiana admits it was 'her error' but thinks Ikea should switch the tray's colour from metallic silver or redesign it so it doesn't look oven-suitable.
She claims she hasn't minded the online mockery, adding: "Some of the comments were a little bit harsh, but when I posted it I fully expected a roasting and I do well with banter so I was just laughing them all off. I appreciated the sympathy as well.
"I've learned my lesson. I'll be reading the description in future. Don't judge a book by its cover as they say."
An IKEA spokesperson said: "The TILLGANG tray is not a baking tray, but a serving tray made of plastic.
Advert
"Whilst this is communicated on the IKEA website and in store we appreciate that its look can be misleading and will take this feedback with us for future development.
"We're sorry for the inconvenience caused."
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media