Self cleaning ovens.

[copperwindow]

When I bought my house, it came with a self cleaning oven. Apparently, all I need to do is push the "auto clean" button and walk away and in two or three hours my oven should be clean. My questions are: does it work, if so, how well, and how does it fare against a cloth and soapy water?

[KlondikeGeoff]

We've used these for years in three different homes (with four different ovens). They all worked very well.

If the oven is lightly soiled, then the soap and water treatment should work all right, is quick and does not use any electricity. If it is really grungy, the self-cleaning works wonderfully, just leaving a little pile of gray ash that you can wipe up with a damp cloth.

Because of this, we don't use it alll that often, waiting until it is really dirty before running it.

Cons: It does use a lot of electricity. It does make the kitchen pretty hot (although later models are better insulated and not so bad), and each one we had left a strong oder in the house.

We always always set the timer to start it around 1:00 A.M. so when we get up, it is all done.

You have to set the safety lever, so the door can't be opened, or it won't work. Each one seems to have a different setup, so read the manual first.

Try it, you'll like it.

[Patty O'Furniture]

It works, but IMO it's a huge waste of energy. They work by heating up to 900° and turning stuck-on residue to ash. Any big spills and larger food bits should be cleaned out manually before you start the cleaning cycle. The oven has an interlock that won't release while the temperature is over five or six hundred degrees, so your oven will be out of commission for about three hours altogether.

If you've never tried an oven cleaner like Easy-Off, try that first. That stuff liquifies stuck-on oven messes and allows you to wipe everything off in about 20 minutes.

[Shagnasty]

Self-cleaning works by pushing your oven way past its normal operating temperature with the door sealed shut. It basically turns itself into grunge crematorium and everything in it that wasn't build to handle those temperatures gets cooked to ash over the course of a few hours. If it is really dirty, it will easily beat soap and water because baked on food and fat is hard to clean well that way. If it isn't that dirty, self-clean will still work but it will use a buttload of juice so you be the judge.

[kanicbird]

Just a note, I've had 2 self cleaning gas ovens (and one continous clean gas over - but that's a different story). If you run the cleaning cycle during heating season the cost of energy is basically free - as the heat from the oven will offset the heat generated by your furnace/boiler. That is as long as you don;t superheat your kitchen.

This also applies for electric ovens IF you heat with electric resistance heat.

[danceswithcats]

Self-cleaning is best done when it's open windows weather. Depending on how tightly everything on the oven seals, and how sensitive your smoke detectors are, self-cleaning ovens can set them off.

We had a case where the homeowner set the oven to self-clean and went for a walk. A neighbor heard the smoke detector beeping, couldn't get an answer at the door, and dialed 911. The homeowner returned to an engine and truck company, and three police officers, and was pissed off that we'd booted in their front door.

[robby]

...We always always set the timer to start it around 1:00 A.M. so when we get up, it is all done.
I'm probably an over-conservative safety person, but having my oven heat up to 900 deg F is not something I'd do while I slept.

God forbid the insulation was insufficient, or the oven was never properly installed, and it set your house on fire.

I think I'd want to keep an eye on my oven when it was self-cleaning.

If you don't want to be around it, at least set it to self-clean when you're out of the house. Then if your house goes up in flames, at least your family is not asleep upstairs.

[gotpasswords]

Newer ovens have sensors that monitor the exhaust for smoke - the idea being that once it stops smoking, it's clean.

This results in two things - the first is that a cleaning cycle will have a variable length, depending on how dirty the oven is. The second is that if you can pre-clean a bit and scrape out the big blobs, you can lop a significant chunk of time off the process and save some gas.

[MLS]

If you've never tried an oven cleaner like Easy-Off, try that first. That stuff liquifies stuck-on oven messes and allows you to wipe everything off in about 20 minutes.
No, don't do that unless you have checked the manual very carefully; most self-cleaning oven manuals advise you that conventional oven cleaners will ruin a self-cleaning oven.

[teela brown]

The other problem with doing the self-cleaning oven thing as you sleep is that it emits a strong smell which would probably wake you from a deep sleep. I know that if I try to do it first thing when I get up at 5:30 a.m., the smell will awaken and greatly displease Mr. brown.

[solkoe]

It works, but IMO it's a huge waste of energy. They work by heating up to 900° and turning stuck-on residue to ash. Any big spills and larger food bits should be cleaned out manually before you start the cleaning cycle. The oven has an interlock that won't release while the temperature is over five or six hundred degrees, so your oven will be out of commission for about three hours altogether.

If you've never tried an oven cleaner like Easy-Off, try that first. That stuff liquifies stuck-on oven messes and allows you to wipe everything off in about 20 minutes.


Its a tradeoff between chemicals and electricity. Personally, I'll go with the chemicals. Think about it, you are paying $$ for a can of Easy Off. You cannot possibly be spending that much on electricity for self cleaning.

[MLS]

Its a tradeoff between chemicals and electricity. Personally, I'll go with the chemicals. Think about it, you are paying $$ for a can of Easy Off. You cannot possibly be spending that much on electricity for self cleaning.
Except, as I said before, for many if not all self-cleaning ovens, if you use the Easy Off you will ruin the oven. If you're convinced you'd rather get down on your knees with a pair of rubber gloves and wipe gunk out manually, go for it, but don't buy a self-cleaning oven.

[kanicbird]

What is the wattage of a electric oven, that will help clear up which is cheaper (easyoff vs electric self clean). And for that matter gas ovens, which may go up to 20,000 BTU's (both 10,000 BTU burners operate on one of my gas ovens)

[Zsofia]

It's also a way to restore a really f'ed up cast iron pan so you can reseason it, FYI. I mean, if you're running the self cleaning oven anyway.

[Annie-Xmas]

Of course, you could put a telfon cookie sheet under anything you cook in your oven, and wipe up spills before they get baked on. Oven cleaning is a job that is easy & best to be avoided.

[MsWhatsit]

Just in case the OP doesn't have the manual that came with the stove anymore: Our manual says to empty out the drawer underneath the oven before running the self-clean cycle. You should also not have anything sitting on top of the stove.

We use our oven a lot, and we have a fair amount of grease and crud build up in there over time. Running the self-clean for 3 hours, twice a year, is worth any additional costs in electricity (and we do always run it during heating season) so that I don't have to have my head stuck in an oven full of Easy-Off fumes for 45 minutes. Also, the self-clean gets my oven a lot cleaner than I was ever able to get previous ovens clean using Easy-Off, although maybe I just have poor oven cleaning skills or something.

[Taters]

I cannot use cleaning products on my self-cleaning oven, so there you have.

I run the self-cleaning option two or three times a year, depending on how dirty my oven is.

Frankly, this is my first self-cleaning oven, and I never want to go back to the chemical method. God, I hated cleaning my old oven.

[Bryan Ekers]

Has a self-cleaning oven been featured on an episode of CSI yet? Seems to me it'd be a handy way to reduce a dismembered body to an easily-disposable bagful of ash.

[pulykamell]

It's also a way to restore a really f'ed up cast iron pan so you can reseason it, FYI. I mean, if you're running the self cleaning oven anyway.

Great for grill grates too. I just did mine yesterday.

[Joey P]

It's also a way to restore a really f'ed up cast iron pan so you can reseason it, FYI. I mean, if you're running the self cleaning oven anyway.
I'll have to throw mine in next time, it's pretty bad as I've neglected it for several years.

Another tip is to start the self clean after you finish using the oven. It'll be hotter longer (or on for less time depending on when the timer starts) if you start the cycle when the oven is already at 350 degrees.

[Zsofia]

All of which, by the way, leads me to say - um, what's so bad about not cleaning your oven? I don't have a lot of spills, but I had my old oven (came with the house) for a year before I replaced it and never cleaned it, and now I have a self cleaning gas oven, and is there really a reason to clean it even if I did have a bunch of spills? Would it be dangerous?

[Joey P]

Would it be dangerous?
Not so much dangerous, but when you cook, all those spills let off a lot of smoke which smells bad and fills the house. Not to mention that it could ruin the taste of the food.

[RedfishHunter]

Since I've worked in alot of Commercial kitchens over the years I yet to figure out this American Habit.The most I have ever seen an oven cleaned in in a commercial kitchen is a floor mop ran over the floor of the oven to pick up the goo from some overflowing Blueberry Pies.I'm sure a woman chef will respond soon on a different tack.Next time save yourself some time and money.Turn the oven to 500 for 10 minutes let the oven cool and sweep out the ashes with a small broom.

[muldoonthief]

Doing the math for my oven:

220V oven, 30 amp circuit. Assume it draws a full 30 amps for cleaning, which I'm certain is too high, but is the definite upper limit:

Power = Voltage x Current

220 x 30 = 6600 Watts = 6.6kW

run for 3 hours, get 19.8kW-hours.

19 cents per kW-hour (the rate for Newton, Massachusetts), gives an upper limit of $3.76 for a cleaning cycle. Personally, I'd happily pay that much to avoid doing the whole Easy Off treatment.

[Dead Cat]

No, don't do that unless you have checked the manual very carefully; most self-cleaning oven manuals advise you that conventional oven cleaners will ruin a self-cleaning oven.Well, of course the manual would say that - the self-cleaning oven manufacturers want to put the chemical cleaners out of business so that everyone has to buy expensive self-cleaning ovens! :)

[Shalmanese]

Doing the math for my oven:

220V oven, 30 amp circuit. Assume it draws a full 30 amps for cleaning, which I'm certain is too high, but is the definite upper limit:

Power = Voltage x Current

220 x 30 = 6600 Watts = 6.6kW

run for 3 hours, get 19.8kW-hours.

19 cents per kW-hour (the rate for Newton, Massachusetts), gives an upper limit of $3.76 for a cleaning cycle. Personally, I'd happily pay that much to avoid doing the whole Easy Off treatment.

In practise, it would likely be less than a third of that. Once the oven reaches temp, all it has to do is maintain it which, if the insulation is any good, shouldn't take that much energy.

[kanicbird]

Since I've worked in alot of Commercial kitchens over the years I yet to figure out this American Habit.The most I have ever seen an oven cleaned in in a commercial kitchen is a floor mop ran over the floor of the oven to pick up the goo from some overflowing Blueberry Pies.

This brings me back to the continous clean oven which I brought up earlier. It is a coating that is suppose to allow gunk to burn off with normal use of the oven. This is for home use. In a comercial oven, I would wag that the constant use of the oven would have the same effect. Also when people spill things in the oven, it is normally at the end of the cooking cycle, and the oven is on it's way to cooling off. In a comercial oven it runs far longer, giving stuff the chance to burn off.

[Sunspace]

Has a self-cleaning oven been featured on an episode of CSI yet? Seems to me it'd be a handy way to reduce a dismembered body to an easily-disposable bagful of ash.I was wondering about that. I have a vague memory of some horror story that ensued when someone left the turkey in the oven and then started the self-cleaning cycle... and then couldn't stop it when the heat and interlock were on.

I've never lived anywhere that had a self-cleaning oven. Does the self-cleaning cycle have an Emergency Stop button?

[Sunspace]

It's also a way to restore a really f'ed up cast iron pan so you can reseason it, FYI. I mean, if you're running the self cleaning oven anyway.How does that work again? What is the heat doing to the pan?

[Zsofia]

How does that work again? What is the heat doing to the pan?
The old-fashioned way to "restart" your pans is to build a fire, stick the pan in the hot part, and come back the next day. The idea is to burn everything off it and start over again.

[Balthisar]

I've never lived anywhere that had a self-cleaning oven. Does the self-cleaning cycle have an Emergency Stop button?
For an electric, "fuse box" (or rather, "circuit breaker" in this day and age).

For a gas oven... good question. There's electric ignition and thermostats and so forth; am I right in imagining that there's a failsafe for when power is lost? If that's the case, then there's no provision for using the over when the power fails. Back in the old days, one could use a chimney match to start them. Of course my oven is electronically controlled, so without power there's no way to even set a burner level.

[UncleRojelio]

For a gas oven... good question.
On mine, I can cancel the cleaning cycle, but the interlock won't let me open the door until it cools down to a reasonable temp.

[Sailboat]

I've heard that they can also emit fumes that can be dangerous to pet birds. I don't have a cite, but I have pet birds, and I'd be wary.

Sailboat

[Joey P]

I've heard that they can also emit fumes that can be dangerous to pet birds. I don't have a cite, but I have pet birds, and I'd be wary.

Sailboat
Fumes from what?
I've heard the fumes from teflon (heated to very high temps) can kill birds, but I'm not sure about fumes from anything else mentioned in this thread.

[kanicbird]

For a gas oven... good question.

Most every gas oven I had, well all of them, require electricity to continue running. Barring that shuting off the gas valve for the oven or the house would work.

[muldoonthief]

In practise, it would likely be less than a third of that. Once the oven reaches temp, all it has to do is maintain it which, if the insulation is any good, shouldn't take that much energy.

Oh sure. It just seemed that some posters in the thread thought they were spending hundreds of dollars to run the self-clean cycle. I was just pointing out the absolute upper limit that the appliance could draw without tripping a breaker or causing a fire would still only be a couple of bucks. I'd actually be shocked if it's more than 50 cents of electricity.

[Skammer]

One time a friend of ours threw a baby shower for my wife and invited about 30 women from the church to her home. She was making an egg/cheese casserole, but accidentally set the oven to self-clean instead of bake. By the time she realized her mistake, smoke was pouring out of the oven and it was locked. The whole party had to move outside and her husband came home to a foul smelling house and a not-insignificant amount of smoke damage in the kitchen.

I don't know why she 1)apparently engaged the safety lock to cook a casserole, or 2) nobody thought to flip the circuit breaker.

[kanicbird]

I don't know why she 1)apparently engaged the safety lock to cook a casserole, or 2) nobody thought to flip the circuit breaker.

Well can't speak for the safty lock (though one oven I had had a auto lock - it engaged when the oven was on clean and exceded some preset temp - if it failed the clean cycle would stop), but why not just turn the dial to off or press cancel? Resorting to the breaker or gas valve is more for when your oven become self aware and decides that human dwellings must be destroyed.

[Anne Neville]

Resorting to the breaker or gas valve is more for when your oven become self aware and decides that human dwellings must be destroyed.

:D I'd better get home and clean my oven NOW, before the crud in it evolves into something that decides to do this.

I don't know why she 1)apparently engaged the safety lock to cook a casserole, or 2) nobody thought to flip the circuit breaker.

I can't answer #1, but for #2 I suspect that most people haven't faced this sort of situation, so don't have experience with how to fix it. And a kitchen full of smoke is going to make a lot of people panic, in which case they'd be unlikely to think to go for the circuit breaker.

[Mesquite-oh]

I tried cleaning my self cleaning oven with soap, water, and a stiff brush. It got off some gunk, but it was still nasty- especially the glass in the door.

I decided to use the self-cleaning feature this past weekend and it worked very well. It took 3 hours to bake the stuff, one hour to cool down (auto lock disengaged), and about 3 minutes to clean it up. I did have to wipe up a tiny bit of ash on the bottom of the oven, and I did have to use a scraper to take off tiny grey ash flecks that were left on the glass. I opened a few windows and had two fans going in the kitchen to get the smell out during the process. The smell was totally gone about one hour after the cleaning.

Some warnings came with my 2 year old Kenmore Oven:
1. Dont use oven cleaner
2. Don't use cleaning materials on the fabric oven door gasket.
3. Remove the oven racks and stuff from the oven drawer- racks will turn blue
4. Remove excessive spillovers on the oven floor or else it will smoke up.
5. Outside of oven can get hot, keep kids away, don't try to pry open door
6. Move birds to a well ventilated room, fumes can be harmful.

[Sunspace]

Why birds, especially? Why not other pets as well? Or kids?

[Mesquite-oh]

Why birds, especially? Why not other pets as well? Or kids?I am not a vet, but I have always understood that birds have sensitive respitory systems as compared to other animals (like the cliche "canary in a coal mine"). After reading a few googled articles, it seems that when you turn on your self cleaning oven, it creates fumes from the resins that come on new ovens as well as other oils that may be present on your dirty oven.

[Uncommon Sense]

Has a self-cleaning oven been featured on an episode of CSI yet? Seems to me it'd be a handy way to reduce a dismembered body to an easily-disposable bagful of ash.
Can you imagine the smell that would give off? Not to mention the amount of smoke...

[SkeptiJess]

I have experience with all three methods of oven cleaning (the chemical method, the 'continuous clean' method, and the self-cleaning oven method).

The chemical method is the one I have the most experience with -- for most of my life I have had standard stoves that needed to be cleaned with chemical oven cleaner. I am not an extraordinarily messy cook but, IME, ovens need to be cleaned at least once and, sometimes, twice, a year. Chemical oven cleaner is expensive -- around $5 for Easy-Off right now. Generic stuff can be cheaper, but doesn't -- again, in my experience -- work as well. I used dollar store oven cleaner once and it left a film on my oven that was hell to remove. After that, I stuck to brand-name oven cleaners. Cleaning an oven with chemical oven cleaner is extremely messy -- oven cleaner turns the grunge inside the oven into a thick, black ooze that needs to be wiped out of the oven with a sponge. The ooze often runs out of the oven, down the outside of the stove, and onto the floor. Chemical oven cleaner also reeks. And, given that you've got your head in the oven while you're wiping it out, you're up-front-and-personal with the smell. Plus, no matter how carefully I tried to wipe out the ooze, I always missed some someplace and the oven would smell terrible for that first post-cleaning use. Cleaning the oven was absolutely one of my all-time least favorite housewifely chores.

We also rented a house for a couple of years that had a continuous clean oven. Didn't work very well, IMO. The continuous clean feature didn't get hot enough to really clean the oven, but I wasn't allowed to use chemical cleaners (would have voided the warranty). When I had a spill, I ended up trying to chip it clean with a spatula while the oven was hot. If I waited for the oven to cool, then the spill would be too hard to chip out and if I waited for the oven to clean up the spill on its own, then it would take several uses of the oven before it would finally be gone. So, rather than being 'continuously clean,' I found my oven was 'usually dirty.'

I've had a self-cleaning oven since we bought this house 3 years ago and it is the only way to go as for as I'm concerned. It does stink up the kitchen a bit -- but no more so than the chemical cleaners did. I can set mine to turn itself on with a timer. I always set it to be done first thing in the morning. As soon as the cooling cycle is complete, I open the oven and vacuum out any ashes that were left, then wipe the oven down with a damp sponge. Done. It does use some energy -- but using muldoonthief's figures (which are probably a bit high) it's still cheaper than buying chemical cleaner at $5.00 a can. And so much esier!

[Cerowyn]

Well, of course the manual would say that - the self-cleaning oven manufacturers want to put the chemical cleaners out of business so that everyone has to buy expensive self-cleaning ovens!
I recently moved into a place that had a Jenn-Air self cleaning gas stove. The owner had the place cleaned by a professional crew, who elected to use Easy Off on the oven. The stove had to be replaced -- the oven surface was heavily pitted and the racks no longer fit.