# Self-Cleaning Oven?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 4, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387 "2012-01-04T16:26:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/1 "2012-01-04T16:26:57Z")
I am familiar with the basics. You lock the oven latch and turn the thingee to “Clean.” The oven heats to a very high temperature that burns the stuff off the interior surfaces.
My wife is out of the house and so I am cleaning the place. I have the oven set to clean. Now how long (about) will it take to clean itself? What do I do when it is done?
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### Author:  [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/2 "2012-01-04T16:35:02Z")
Normally about 4 hours is the cycle time. After it’s done and cooled down, there should be some white powdery residue from the burned off bits and pieces left in your oven. Just wipe those out with a damp paper towel.
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### Author:  [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/3 "2012-01-04T16:38:06Z")
It is self-cleaning so it should clean up after itself, ie. you don’t do anything except say “ta-daa! honey I cleaned the oven.”
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### Author:  [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/4 "2012-01-04T16:40:18Z")
OK, so about 3.30 then. Thank you.
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/5 "2012-01-04T16:40:26Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#):
>
> It is self-cleaning so it should clean up after itself, ie. you don’t do anything except say “ta-daa! honey I cleaned the oven.”
If you leave the door open will it do the whole house too?
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/6 "2012-01-04T16:41:00Z")
It sounds like it’s too late for you but the manual for my oven says to take out the stainless steel racks before starting the self-cleaning cycle as the extreme temperatures can discolor them.
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### Author:  [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/7 "2012-01-04T16:43:01Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#):
>
> If you leave the door open will it do the whole house too?
If you can figure out how to defeat the lock it probably will - though you may not like its idea of what a clean house looks like.
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### Author:  [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/8 "2012-01-04T16:46:31Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> It sounds like it’s too late for you but the manual for my oven says to take out the stainless steel racks before starting the self-cleaning cycle as the extreme temperatures can discolor them.
Oh, oh.
Well, we will see.
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### Author:  [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/9 "2012-01-04T16:48:31Z")
Mine is a GE Profile (1995) and you can set the cleaning time from 2-4 hours. I suppose 4 would be an upper end for one where you can’t set the time.
> [@Joey\_P](#):
>
> If you leave the door open will it do the whole house too?
Yes, everything will be turned to a fine white ash all the way to the walls. Takes about 11 days. Wipe with a damp paper towel afterwards.
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> It sounds like it’s too late for you but the manual for my oven says to take out the stainless steel racks before starting the self-cleaning cycle as the extreme temperatures can discolor them.
It will cause some discoloration and also change the surface texture to make them a little harder to slide in and out. But it’s not a disaster if you leave them in. I’ve done it several times.
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### Author:  [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/10 "2012-01-04T17:04:28Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#):
>
> It will cause some discoloration and also change the surface texture to make them a little harder to slide in and out. But it’s not a disaster if you leave them in. I’ve done it several times.
Yup. The manual for my oven recommends that if you choose to leave them in, you should rub them with vegetable oil afterward to make them slide more easily again.
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### Author:  [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/11 "2012-01-04T17:37:52Z")
Be aware that after the actual CLEANING is done by the oven, a safety feature keeps the oven door locked until it has cooled down. The cooling cycle takes longer than the cleaning does. And if you have high hopes of using the oven at a certain time, you are SOL until the oven reaches a “cooled down” temperature and the lock releases. You cannot circumvent this safety feature.
~VOW
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/12 "2012-01-04T17:38:05Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#):
>
> Yes, everything will be turned to a fine white ash all the way to the walls. Takes about 11 days. Wipe with a damp paper towel afterwards.
Do I have to worry about the teflon coating on the pots and pans harming the parakeets while the oven vaporizes the house?
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### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/13 "2012-01-04T17:41:35Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#):
>
> Do I have to worry about the teflon coating on the pots and pans harming the parakeets while the oven vaporizes the house?
Perhaps you are kidding, but I sure hope you aren’t putting teflon-coated pots in the oven during a cleaning cycle.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/14 "2012-01-04T17:51:05Z")
> [@Musicat](#):
>
> Perhaps you are kidding, but I sure hope you aren’t putting teflon-coated pots in the oven during a cleaning cycle.
On the other hand, this is a good way to clean your grill grates. And if there’s some cast iron you want to strip all the way down and start all over with.
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### Author:  [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/15 "2012-01-04T18:03:23Z")
> [@VOW](#):
>
> Be aware that after the actual CLEANING is done by the oven, a safety feature keeps the oven door locked until it has cooled down. The cooling cycle takes longer than the cleaning does. And if you have high hopes of using the oven at a certain time, you are SOL until the oven reaches a “cooled down” temperature and the lock releases. You cannot circumvent this safety feature.
> ~VOW
Sure you can. You just need a decent toolbox, ambition, and a reckless disregard for danger.
> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> On the other hand, this is a good way to clean your grill grates. And if there’s some cast iron you want to strip all the way down and start all over with.
Pizza stones too - makes them look brand new.
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### Author:  [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/16 "2012-01-04T18:05:36Z")
> [@VOW](#):
>
> Be aware that after the actual CLEANING is done by the oven, a safety feature keeps the oven door locked until it has cooled down. The cooling cycle takes longer than the cleaning does. And if you have high hopes of using the oven at a certain time, you are SOL until the oven reaches a “cooled down” temperature and the lock releases. You cannot circumvent this safety feature.
> ~VOW
I was trapped by this once : the cleaning cycle had been finished for an hour but the door was still locked, and we needed to put the turkey in there. My solution was to turn off the breaker at the fuse box. When power was restored, the oven unlocked the door.
(This anecdote describes circumvention of a safety feature. I’m not responsible for the cost of burned-down houses, or for replacement of dead parakeets.)
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/17 "2012-01-04T18:07:50Z")
I remember seeing a blog or a website from a guy who was interested in making pizza in a really hot oven, so he hacked his oven to allow him to use it for baking during the self-cleaning cycle. So it is possible, but probably crazy dangerous.
And as for cleaning cast iron, someone was asking about that here a few weeks ago. One of the websites that comes up in a search about that says that some people who tried it ended up with a fire in the oven. (Presumably from the grease and other stuff on the cast iron.)
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### Author:  [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/18 "2012-01-04T18:09:18Z")
> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> On the other hand, this is a good way to clean your grill grates.
That’s a fantastic idea. Is there any way to do that without leaving the regular oven racks in? Can I just stack them on the floor of the oven between the heating element? Put something else on the oven floor then stack them? Or should I just keep the racks in?
> [@muldoonthief](#):
>
> Pizza stones too - makes them look brand new.
Is there any way to use the self-cleaning cycle to heat them up for use later? Will they retain their heat though the cool-down cycle or will they prolong it enough to negate the effort?
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/19 "2012-01-04T18:12:28Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#):
>
> If you leave the door open will it do the whole house too?
Yep. Just be sure not to leave the fridge door open, too, or they’ll cancel each other out.
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### Author:  [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-oven/608387/20 "2012-01-04T18:13:45Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> . . .
> And as for cleaning cast iron, someone was asking about that here a few weeks ago. One of the websites that comes up in a search about that says that some people who tried it ended up with a fire in the oven. (Presumably from the grease and other stuff on the cast iron.)
In Girl Scouts they taught us to move any kitchen fires into the oven and shut it if at all possible. (i.e. if a greasy pot caught fire - pop it in there and shut it.) I can’t think of a safer place for a fire than inside a closed oven. Even safer than the open fireplace. . .
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