# Self-cleaning ovens are dangerous?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [April 14, 2023, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689 "2023-04-14T22:19:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2023, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/1 "2023-04-14T22:19:30Z")
I just read an article in a reputable magazine (Family Handyman) supposedly written by a professional applicance repair person, who says that you should never use an oven’s self cleaning feature. According to him, the heat from the self-clean cycle can damage oven components, such as the circuit board and high-limit switch, can melt (yes “melt”) the bake/broil elements, or can even cause a house fire.
I am shocked to read this. I have routinely cleaned my ovens with the self-clean feature for many decades and have never had a problem. I find it hard to believe that oven manufacturers can sell a feature that has even a remote chance of causing such damage without the CPSC or other regulatory agencies getting on their case.
Any thoughts (or anecdotes) about this?
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### Author:  [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2023, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/2 "2023-04-14T22:26:18Z")
After we got our Kitchen Aid oven about 10 years ago, I looked up the model online and read a few horror stories about ovens of this same model getting damaged (circuit board only) by the self-cleaning cycle. Of course you only read about the ones that fail, and maybe it’s better to have it fail while it’s under warranty. Still, we didn’t try the self-clean the first few years… until we found out that our housekeeper had used it a few times in that period.
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2023, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/3 "2023-04-14T22:58:54Z")
In my purely anecdotal sample of two, I’ve had two self-cleaning ovens and had to replace the bake element on both. I’ve never had to replace a bake element on any other oven. Take it for what it’s worth, but it seems logical that heating elements have a finite life expectancy, and that operating for long periods at high heat would reduce that life.
On the plus side, baking elements are typically easy to replace, but it’s usually best – and sometimes essential – to use proper replacement parts rather than some generic from Home Depot. Which makes getting a replacement – not to mention the prospect of a failed oven at an extremely inopportune time – perhaps a potential downside worth considering.
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### Author:  [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2023, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/4 "2023-04-15T00:21:07Z")
So now I have a rationale for being too afraid to ever use the self-cleaning function on my relatively new oven? Sweet!
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### Author:  [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2023, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/5 "2023-04-15T01:28:31Z")
Self-cleaning ovens work by getting hot. Very, very, hot! Much hotter than anything you have roasted. They burn away any food particles and turn it into ash. Can be problematic if you have a dirty oven.
I wouldn’t put it on clean and then leave it unattended. There are easier ways to burn down you house, but this one works too.
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### Author:  [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2023, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/6 "2023-04-15T01:39:35Z")
A friend of mine had to replace her oven after a self-cleaning cycle fried it. She had used it repeatedly before without incident, though.
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### Author:  [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2023, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/7 "2023-04-15T02:18:03Z")
I think the issue may be that the newer ovens have fancier circuit boards with more delicate components. The older ovens had simple electronics which were not as affected by the heat. I would guess that the high heat causes expansion and contraction of the circuit board, which could cause the delicate electrical components to break or the thin circuit lines to develop cracks. Ovens these days have touch screens with all kinds of fancy cooking and programming options. That means there’s basically a little computer running the whole thing. In the old days, the electronics would have been a simple thermostat and maybe a basic timer.
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### Author:  [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2023, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/8 "2023-04-15T02:24:04Z")
What I didn’t like about the one-and-only time we used the self cleaning mode was the slight scorching that happened on the top of the oven door. It’s visible only if the door is open, but it still bugs me.
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2023, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/9 "2023-04-15T13:48:04Z")
We’ve had our stove/oven for almost 19 years. I doubt I’ve used self-clean half a dozen times, mostly because I tend to cook (for 2) in the toaster oven. But when I do use it, I scrap up as much as I can ahead of time and I run it on the shortest possible cycle - I think 3 hours. So far, so good.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2023, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/10 "2023-04-15T14:55:54Z")
Our last electric stove had a lot of electronics in it, including a built in microwave. It was flaky enough that we didn’t want to try running the clean cycle. Just starting it by accident turned into a major affair that ended up with us resetting the stove by unplugging it. The door was locked and it wouldn’t stop the clean cycle with any buttons that we pushed.
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### Author:  [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2023, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/11 "2023-04-15T15:05:21Z")
I used it once on our last range, a KitchenAid. It got blasting hot and damaged the facing on a drawer and cupboard.
I wanted a steam cleaning oven on our next purchase. Didn’t get it but I vowed to hand clean the new range more often and I’m proud to say it’s still shiny inside 3 years later.
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### Author:  [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2023, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/12 "2023-04-15T22:55:39Z")
I read an online story years ago about a guy who was trying to reverse-engineer the pizza from his favorite New York pizza joint. Not only did it involve years of testing to get the dough, cheese, sauce and pepperoni just right, he needed to cook it at pizza oven temps, which are upwards of 900 degrees, while home ovens top out at 500. He figured out a way to hack his oven so that he’d cook the pizza on self-cleaning mode without the door locking so he could get the pizza out before it turned to charcoal.
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### Author:  [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2023, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/13 "2023-04-15T23:04:50Z")
Yea, oven cleaning cycle hacking is definitely a thing in the pizza scene.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the kitchen, your refrigerator explodes.
> **[r/CatastrophicFailure - April 2023 - Woman's refrigerator explodes, damaging...](https://old.reddit.com/r/CatastrophicFailure/comments/12mqk5m/april_2023_womans_refrigerator_explodes_damaging/)**
>
> 1,541 votes and 160 comments so far on Reddit
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2023, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/14 "2023-04-15T23:15:41Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#):
>
> I wouldn’t put it on clean and then leave it unattended. There are easier ways to burn down you house, but this one works too.
Not gonna dispute that, but one thing I’ve noticed about self-cleaning ovens is they tend to be better insulated than regular ones. Doesn’t mean the rest of the stove doesn’t eventually get hot from ordinary oven use, but it takes much longer and probably doesn’t get as hot. So, an advantage of self-cleaning ovens even for those who never use the self-cleaning feature.
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### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2023, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/15 "2023-04-15T23:33:45Z")
In these days of microwaves and toaster ovens plus my outdoor grill, I didn’t have a lot of occasion to use my circa 1984 oven and broiler. I went though a baking phase and broiled salmon a few times. I don’t think it had a self cleaning function but it well might have. Even if it did, my oven didn’t really get dirty. What were you doing that made the oven so messy?
I can’t look at it anymore because it got hauled to the dumpster last week when they were demo’ing the kitchen for a remodel. I won’t have the new range installed for another month but it does have a self clean function…and WiFi.
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2023, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/16 "2023-04-16T04:30:16Z")
> [@hajario](#):
>
> I won’t have the new range installed for another month but it does have a self clean function…and WiFi.
I presume the WiFi is to contact you by phone to tell you that the self-clean cycle has melted the heating element. 😉
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2023, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/17 "2023-04-18T13:18:01Z")
Yeah, that was Jeff Varasano:
> **[Pizza So Good, He Broke The Oven](https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111479872)**
>
> "In order to properly bake a Neapolitan-style pizza, the most important aspect is heat — hot heat," Jeff Varasano says. Conventional kitchen ovens don't get hot enough, but Varasano found an expensive solution.
Apparently, he’s also a speed-cuber (Rubik’s), which I didn’t know until reading his Wikipedia page. He held the US speed record back in 1981. But, yeah, I remember his quest for a home cooked pizza to rival La Vera Napoletana in NYC back about a dozen some years.
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### Author:  [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2023, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/18 "2023-04-18T14:54:49Z")
Jeez, didn’t know about all of his oven mishaps. He’s lucky he didn’t burn his house down or get seriously hurt. Seems like he could have invested in a moderately expensive pizza oven and spared himself all the grief to his kitchen oven. But maybe there weren’t all the consumer-level pizza oven options at that time that there are now. I bought a $100 pizza cooking insert for my kettle grill which works pretty well.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2023, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/19 "2023-04-18T15:48:23Z")
> [@solost](#):
>
> But maybe there weren’t all the consumer-level pizza oven options at that time that there are now.
Yeah, I don’t remember anything like that being available for a reasonable price back then. The flood of pizza ovens seems to have come some time in the mid-2010s, maybe slightly earlier? The Oonis came out in 2012, it seems, so about then. I see posts by Jeff on [pizzamaking.com](http://pizzamaking.com) that go back to 2005 regarding the cleaning cycle technique. I feel I became aware of him around 2007/2008.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [May 11, 2023, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/self-cleaning-ovens-are-dangerous/982689/20 "2023-05-11T21:57:09Z")
I use my oven all the time. And when I roast meat, fat splatters, and it’s a pain to clean. So yes, I use the self-cleaning feature regularly. I wouldn’t buy a new oven without that. If it dies sooner, I guess that’s just part of the cost of the oven.
Have you ever cleaned a greasy oven by hand? Never again.
I also bake, and I suppose the incinerate feature is superfluous if that’s all you use the oven for. But it’s awesome if you roast or broil.