Oven Cleaning

[combo52]

Cool Self Cleaning Oven Thread

I consider SCOs to be one of the 3 best appliance inventions in the last 40 years for the kitchen. Not only do they save at least an hour of work each time you have a really dirty oven, but they are also cheaper to clean compared to using chemical oven cleaners, much more environmentally friendly as well, AND they save far more power during normal baking than you could ever use during self cleaning cycles.

Hi Sandy, where did you find the 9KW figure for power usage during the SC cycle, I have cleaned at least a dozen different SC electric ovens in my shop over the years while they were attached to an electric meter, and have found they they consume only between 2 and about 4 1/2 KW hours of power for the cleaning cycle.

Hi Glen, I would be very careful about having a fan blowing on a SCO during the cleaning cycle, for one thing it is not needed, but more importantly if it blows air into the ovens vent it could cause a dangerous reverse flow of air through the oven, this could be an especially dangerous problem on a gas oven and it is the back of the electronic control that might need cooling.

 

[frigilux]

I cook a lot, so the ovens get cleaned about four or five times a year. Don't miss manual-cleaning ovens a bit.

Malcolm--- You'll find the electric range gives off far less heat than your gas range did, during both baking and self-cleaning.

 

[chachp]

LG Self Cleaning Ovens

LG has been advertising a new self cleaning oven that is supposed to take minutes vs. hours. Does anyone know anything about how these work or how good they are?

I also cook a lot and run my self cleaning function as needed and I suspect that's every couple of months or so. I don't use a spray can of anything vs. turning it on and walking away but that's just me. I'd like to say its about the smell or the use or harsh chemicals but it is neither of those. I just don't want to ruin a good manicure cleaning the oven. OK I'm honest!! I'll ruin one in a bowl of pizza dough but oven cleaner? Never!

 

[whirlcool]

Our GE P-7 was the first self cleaning oven we owned. We ran it for two hours the first time we cleaned it. We were in awe when it was done and cooled down. Only a light coating of grey dust remained. When we wiped that out the oven looked like new again.

What year did GE stop making the P-7 ovens? Anyone know?

 

[danemodsandy]

John:

That 9 kwh figure was something I picked up off the Internet; I certainly haven't hooked a meter up to a range like you have.

Your figure is very reassuring, but I wonder if the difference between your figure and mine isn't due to your reading being one for a 1960s GE P*7 range, and mine being for a newer model?

As you know, there are a lot of new ranges out there that are built so flimsily that it's a wonder they don't burn houses down in normal use, let alone during the self-clean cycle. A classic GE has much heavier insulation and a much more conservative oven window design, if it has an oven window at all. I can see how power consumption would be much lower for an older GE.

Consumer Reports used to regularly remind readers that self-cleaning ovens were capable of "payback." The feature cost more, but that cost was offset by savings on oven cleaner and a lowered cost on all oven operation due to heavier insulation. Haven't seen that claim in a while!

 

[NYCWriter]

Self-Cleaning ovens ...

If you clean up spills as you go, you'll never have to "clean" the oven. Ever.

Ditto with the microwave (which I never use anymore anyway).

That said, electronics and heat are never a good mix. I like my 2006 Frigidaire gas range (with knobs for the burners), but what I don't like is the oven controlled by electronic "touch" buttons. A couple of times I've turned on the oven by accident just during routine cleaning, wiping down the control panel. And I hate that my oven is always just one short-circuit away from turning on when I'm not home (a particular danger for those New Yorkers like myself who are cabinet-poor and use their ovens for storage).

If they MUST be electronic, there should be a good old-fashioned master power switch that's mechanical that you have to flip on before turning on the oven with the touchpad.

 

[danemodsandy]

NYCWriter:

Evidently you never make meat loaf, roast chickens, turkeys or ducks, bake hams, broil steak or make ribs.

You are not going to get an oven clean after these operations with a simple wiping. The one that is worst in my book is roasting a turkey. The spatters and the horrid smell of turkey fat are such a problem that I Will. Not. roast a turkey if I don't have a self-cleaner. Otherwise, the smell hangs in the house for days and days, or I must pay a heavy price for my holiday by dealing with aerosol oven cleaner.

 

[norgeway]

I dont want..

A self cleaning oven, I cover just about everything I bake and NEVER broil anything,if its going to be messy I use my roaster, I clean the oven maybe twice a year.

 

[retro-man]

I love the self clean ovens. I have a whirlpool electric range from 2010 and another from 2012. Both clean well except the cabinet near the door gets so hot that it actually melted the veneer from the drawers of the cabinets on both sides. I guess there should have been a spacer between the cabinets and the stove. Both stoves have done this. Had to have service on the newer one because it was not cleaning properly. The tech said I should pull the stove out a couple of inches while cleaning to avoid this problem. The reason the newer stove was not cleaning properly, he stated because you left the racks in the oven. When in cleaning mode it burns off some of the coating on the racks which in turn coated the temp sensor in the oven. He replaced that and all is fine. No more cleaning the racks in the oven during self clean. Which sucks as far as I am concerned. I remember my moms first self cleaning fridg stove and we were able to put the drip pans in along with the racks and no problems. I guess they have cheapened the racks to no longer be able to stand the heat.
Jon

 

[DADoES]

 
My racks are porcelain-coated, can be run through the self-clean cycle.

John, the oven vent is at center/bottom of the panel far as I can determine.  I moved the fan fully back to the corner after the pic was taken, so that it blew behind and across the face of the panel.  The range is electric, no gas in my house (would have to be propane if there was, natural gas is not available).

The window glass gets hot during self-cleaning but barely warm during normal baking.

 

[countryguy]

On my previous stove I left the racks in during the self clean cycle - the chrome turned a dull grey colour which the manual stated was normal. I would have to wipe some cooking oil on the racks afterwards in order to get them to slide smoothly. With my current stove I take the racks out during the clean cycle.

Gary

 

[NYCWriter]

Sandy ...

I do all that and more.

But I put everything over a giant cookie sheet to catch any drips (there rarely are, since I choose appropriately-sized cookware.

And I'm not sure why you get so many splatters -- not a problem here.

 

[chachp]

I have the problem with the splatters too...

..and let the self cleaner handle it.

My issue is I prefer to use convection baking for my baked goods and most of my meats. For meat and chicken the convection oven sears the meat and seals in the juices so the finished product is better in my opinion.

If I cover everything it defeats the purpose of convection baking. SOOOO, I just let it splatter all it wants and let the oven take care of the splatters. As a matter of fact for convection baking you want the most shallow pan you can use for that application because the higher the sides of the pan the more you restrict the air flow.

I think it just boils down to each person's personal preference. I've never had the issue with melted or damaged cabinets. Mine is a double wall oven so I don't know if that matters or not. Both are self cleaning and I hear that vent fan running whenever I am using the over whether it's to bake or clean. I haven't had a free standing type stove in years so I don't know much about them in this regard.

 

[danemodsandy]

NYCWriter:

If you don't have the problem, more power to you. I roast at high heat; perhaps that has something to do with it.

For those who have been talking about damage to adjacent cabinets: I remember the first self-cleaner I ever used, a Lady Kenmore smooth-top from 1974. The installation instructions recommended either a gap or heat-resistant board next to the range, to protect adajacencies from heat damage. I no longer recall just what board was recommended - at that time, probably something asbestos-based. I'm thinking Type X, fire-resistant gypsum board would probably serve the purpose today. Hardie Board would not work well, because while it does not combust, it transmits heat.

 

[cuffs054]

Washer111, this was even worse. Porcelene coated oven with a big "divot" in the floor. You fill up the divot with water and select clean. The oven basically steams, never get hot enough to even need a door lock. When done with that you use "special" cleaner to wipe down the walls. I mean, Really!

 

[parunner58]

I made lasagna the other night and even though it had about 3 quarters of an inch of space at the top of the dish it ran over the bottom of the oven. I am now cleaning it as the door was all potted from other things over the past months. I mostly use the convection to if things spill I can easily wipe up the bottom. I have had this stove for three years so this is the second time I am self-cleaning it. the first time I used the LO setting which is 2 hours and it was not that dirty and it actually made the window dirtier than it was to start. I found in my similar model one I had in my new kitchen in PA it did the same thing. This time I am using the STD which is 5 hours and see what happens. I just hope the window is clean this time it was a pain to clean the last time.

 

[parunner58]

I used my cooking thermometer and this is the temp of the cooktop after two hours

 

[parunner58]

This is the temp at the center of the oven door where the lock is after 2 hours.

 

[dj-gabriele]

Apart the HUGE power consumption of 9 kWh that made me dizzy (more than three times as much as a "standard" cleaning in a normal modern oven here), what scares (yup, scares!) me the most are the temperatures that those ovens reach on certain areas!
Gosh, it is illegal to have such hot surfaces over here!
The highest temperature the sides can reach must be less than 90°C and the front of the oven should be touched with no risk of burns! Even during the self cleaning cycle!

Sure I'd be wary of running them if such temperatures were to develop...

 

[thomasortega]

Euro-Style Electrolux oven here.
I got it when it was still a prototype and was supposed to be launched in Europe as Electrolux Icon.

On the very last minute they decided to change the name and it was launched as "Inspiro" and the name Icon was stored in the fridge until they decide to use it in the US years later.

Cleaning it is fantastic because it has both steam cleaning and pyrolitic options. After almost 10 years, it still looks like brand new.

I clean it once or twice a year and the only problem is that the kitchen heats up like there's a real fire. The only thing i hate is that the fire system goes off.

But I also noted that after some years, the white formica finishing right above the oven is now light beige.