Time to clean the oven

[retropia]

Our Kenmore-by-GE oven needs cleaning.

It has self-cleaning, which I've never tried. I've always been paranoid it's going to get so hot that it sets the cabinets on fire or causes the oven enamel to flake or peel. Unfounded fears?

The only alternative, I suppose, is to use a caustic oven cleaner chemical like Easy-Off. I've gone that route before (not on this oven) and found it to be a dreary procedure.

Any advice or suggestions? Thanks!

-Doug

 

[mixfinder]

Don't!!!

What ever you do, do not use any chemicals on a pyrolitic surface. It will forever ruin the self cleaning oven interior. I simply push clean and come back 4 hours later to a spotless oven. If you leave the racks in they lose the shiny chrome but if all you see is food and grease shiny doesn't hold much sway. It doesn't get that hot, it has extra insulation, fan cooling and over limit thermostats. After 45 years of use if self cleaning ovens posed a threat they wouldn't be on the market. You use three time the energy washing and rinsing the rags, $6.oo for oven cleaning which is worthless because the good chemicals have been legislated away to say nothing of fluorocarbons.

 

[cleanteamofny]

If you are using the oven clean cycle for the first time, open your windows and set the oven for 5 hours if heavily soiled,
4 hours should be the default and three hours for lightly soiled!
(REMOVE OVEN RACKS) Do Not leave in oven during cleaning cycle!!!

If the glass on the door is dirty, wipe with a wet soft cloth to loosen any crusted stains then close the door and begin cleaning cycle.
If the glass is still stained, wet the cloth with hot water and clean the glass while the oven is hot/warm to steam off the grease.
Dont be afraid to use the oven cleaning cycle and don't use easy off or any other oven cleaners.

Good luck with your 1st cleaning cycle.

P.S.
Areas that does not get cleaned well will be be the door frame and the front edge of the oven floor.

 

[mattl]

My oven will not go into self cleaning mode if the rack are in, great idea. My older oven racks looked like crap after a few times through the cleaning cycle.

Also, afterward be sure to oil the racks with some vegetable oil to keep them sliding smoothly.

 

[maytagbear]

Even with high Ohio Edison rates,

running the cleaning cycle is a LOT less than paying for a can of toxic waste. In my area, about 75 cents as opposed to several dollars for the toxic waste.

I MISS having a self-cleaning oven. (last two apartments had self-cleaning Hotpoints. Oh, so wonderful!) Self-cleaning is nice for gas ovens, but to me, essential for an electric!

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[duet83]

I share the concern about using the toxic spray cleaner. It will be a mess.

If you don't want to use the self clean feature, that is understandable. Use a piece of aluminum on the bottom when baking and remove when dirty. For spots use baking soda and soaking to remove those stains.

 

[rp2813]

Use the self-clean feature and discover one of the perks of modern domestic life.

I'd say remove the racks. Our Electrolux Icon won't let you start the clean cycle until the racks are removed.

You can also buy heat-proof sheets to place on the floor (or in some cases, the bottom rack) of your oven to protect it and extend the amount of time between cleanings. I find that splatters can still happen on the walls, so the sheet won't entirely eliminate the need to use the cleaning cycle.

And yeah, open the windows and if you can, close the kitchen off. Otherwise you'll smell the stuff being incinerated all through the house. DON'T do this on a hot day.

 

[DADoES]

Oven cleaning products do not ruin SELF-cleaning ovens. They have a standard porcelain finish.

CONTINUOUS-cleaning ovens, yes, it does ruin them. They have a special, porous, treated finish that absorbs, spreads and breaks down grease and food soil at normal baking temperatures.

The danger of using a cleaning product in a self-cleaner is that cleaner residue left behind will emit toxic fumes the next time a cleaning cycle is run. Use a cleaning product if you really wish to, but if you do, you'll convert your self-cleaner to a manual cleaner from that point on ... NEVER EVER use the self-cleaning feature again.

My GE Profile has porcelain racks that can be left in for cleaning, although they do need to be lubed with a bit of oil. Chrome racks will discolor. It does emit more heat when cleaning than during normal use. I usually set it to run before going to bed. The last time, I ran it during the day and monitored it. Didn't realize how hot the control panel got due to the oven vent being beneath it. I set a fan to blow toward the controls, helped a lot.

DO NOT place foil on the bottom of an electric oven that has a hidden bake element (beneath the oven floor). The foil can melt and bond to the oven due to the high heat passing through.

 

[whirlcool]

Our Maytag self cleaning oven gets so hot that it would char all the kitchen cabinets if we hadn't of stopped it. It damned near melted the over the stove microwave. The Auto Clean cycle lasts for two hours. After 45 minutes we shut it down so it wouldn't burn the house down.
When it cooled, it was perfectly clean.

We now take great care to ensure we don't make a mess in the oven and are waiting for winter time to run it again.

 

[countryguy]

Not using the self clean feature is like rinsing the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. In other words, why do extra work when there is no need to.

Gary

 

[toggleswitch]

1- You can use Brillo /s.o.s (steel wool-soap pads) and on the area the won't come clean.

This includes the first two inches of oven cavity behind the door, and about an inch or so of the door near the gasket. DO NOT RUB/SCRUB THE GASKET!

Stated differently, scrubbing the areas around the gasket/seal can save you an hour of pyrolytic self-clean time.

Some cycle times include a cool-down time. Older ovens do not include this cool-down time in the timer's count-down. If your oven has a manual lock lever, DO NOT FORCE IT. It will take about half an hour for the oven to get down to normal cooking temps (600*F or less) such that it will unlock.

Pyrolysis is the process of cleaning by heating to the point that the grease, food, and dirt spontaneously combust. (Say 800*f to 900*F). The door is locked for safety from high temperatures and to limit inflow of air and oxygen which would cause little bits of flame to be seen as the food burns-off; And we don't want to see that! So the cleaning is accomplished via anaerobic respiration/combustion just as the cells in your body use fuel with creating flames!

Electric self-cleaners came out way before gas ones where the trick was to provide primary and secondary combustion air to the flame, yet not excessive air during the self-clean process/cycle. Basically the broiler was moved to the oven cavity. In some cases the venturis (that mix gas and primary combustion air) are located OUTSIDE the oven cavity! Air intake accommodations are engineered to be of a certain small size!

You will smell burning. This is normal. You will also smell the insulation CURING during the first two or three times you do a self-clean cycle. Gas self-cleaning is hotter than hell. Electric not as much, but still hot! Turn on an exhaust fan and open the window.

BTW oven rack from 30" wide stove can fit into a 24" wide dishwasher if you put them in on an angle and get creative.
Racks form smaller ovens normally fit right on top of the glass on the top rack of a DW.

OH and let the oven cool COMPLETELY before opening the door. after a s/c cycle. Hairline cracks can develop in the porcelain if the oven cools too quickly. Not dangerous but perhaps unsightly.

 

[rp2813]

Dad's Correct

If you choose to use a liner for the bottom of your oven, placement is key. I think that since ours (it's electric) has a hidden element, the only option was to place it on the lowest rack. I presume this would be the case for gas ovens as well. That was something we decided wouldn't be convenient, so we gave up on the liner idea.

 

[jerrod6]

Go a head and use the self cleaning feature

If you are worried about something catching on fire, stand around and watch the first cleaning cycle.

I think my oven cleans at 900F to 1000F and the kitchen gets warm but nothing near the oven goes up in flames. I think there is also a fan that runs at the same time probably to keep the outside surface cool. Once the temp reaches over 500F the oven door locks and can not be opened until the temp drops below 500F. I remove the racks since my manual suggests you do so to avoid discoloration. They aren't dirty anyway.

Problems have been reported with some KA ovens blowing their fuses during the self cleaning cycle rendering them dead and needing repair. I don't know if this problem has been fixed but you don't have a KA.

 

[retropia]

All good information; thanks, everyone.

Ours is an electric oven. I think I'll try the self cleaning feature, and remove the racks. The manual says the default time is three hours; it can be reduced to two or increased to four.

I'll keep an eye on it during the first hour. If any of my vintage Tupperware in nearby cabinets starts to melt, I can always press the cancel button.

Opening the kitchen window sounds like a good idea, and I have a small window fan I can place in it to exhaust excess heat and odors. We have a combo microwave with exhaust over the stove, but it doesn't do a very good job of ventilation. I suspect it wasn't installed correctly.

I'm looking forward to trying this new, space-age convenience!

 

[DADoES]

You might run the micro-exhaust fan on low.  My micro is also an OTR, and since heat rises from the oven vent, it tends to get a little warm up there ... although probably not as much as running the micro to cook something for 20 or 30 mins!

 

[duet83]

Another option for catching spills is to use a sheet, like a cookie sheet or large broiler pan, on the lowest shelf when cooking. if anything boils over, easy clean-up to remove the mess, soak if need be, etc.

Good luck.

 

[sensi-temp]

I have a fairly old Hotpoint electric that you have to raise a sheild to protect the glass in the oven door & you set the clean time yourself. Works perfectly, no noticeable extra heat or odors at any time. When the lock light is on, you can't open the oven, stays on after cleaning is done till oven is at safe temp to open.

 

[whirlcool]

The Maytag we have that's hotter than hell is gas. When we ran the self clean the kitchen heated up to 95 degrees and the over the range microwaves plastic control panel became very soft and the microwave started to cycle on and off all by itself. It did all this in 45 minutes. When it starts the self clean cycle it blows air out of the oven ventilation slot, which is under the ranges control panel. The control panel contains the stoves electronics and gets extremely hot as well. So hot you can't touch it without getting burnt.

Now we have had self cleaning electric ovens before and they didn't get nearly this hot. And they did a good job too. The best was our GE P7 stove from our last home.

 

[xraytech]

We have a Frigidaire made Kenmore electric range, we use the self-cleaning on it 2 or 3 times a year, the whole stove gets hot to the touch, and the cabinents on either side gets warm as well as the formica countertops.

I just ran the self-clean cycle last night for 4 hours, I noticed that the bread in the cabinent next to the stove was warm when I went to make a sandwich while the oven was cleaning.

I just take caution to not store things that are very temp sensitive near the stove, I keep all myvintage Tupperware products in the pantry.

 

[mixfinder]

Silk Purse from a Sow's Ear

The Kitchenaid range is merely a Whirlpool in a prom dress. A metal prom dress that wraps too much heat with the cabinet. Every time it run the self cleaning cycle it blows the overlimit fuse knocking out the electronics. Its an average $188.00 repair. The slide in models do okay but if the appliance is stainless steel you're more at risk. There is a similar flaw with the side by side and a small plastic flapper that prevents ice from dispensing if the door is open. There is no way to the take the door apart if the flapper breaks. You have to order a new door if you want ice. Average cost? $750.00

 

[iheartmaytag]

Only Cats are self-cleaning

But self cleaning ovens are close to perfection. Our first was a GE P-7 system. That baby got hot, I believe the operating temp was 880 degrees F. You had to slide the window shield up and away it went. It did a wonderful job with nary a complaint in teh 25 years we had it. Now I have a Maytag and I can't say it is as good as the GE in cleaning. I don't really like the darker oven liner of the Maytag as it always looks dirty, but I don't have to do anything but wipe it out afterwards so I'm a happy camper.

Another difference. The GE had a bake element that would swing up to wipe underneath. The Maytag has a larger element that is fixed so you have to wipe around it.

The GE cleaned approximately anywhere from once a month to several times a year the entire time we had it and never had an element replaced. The Maytag has had the bake element replaced three times now in the last 14 years.

 

[retropia]

With the weather so hot and muggy now, we've decided to wait to run the self-cleaning cycle until it's a bit cooler outside.

That way it will be more comfortable to leave the kitchen window open.

In the meantime, I tried washing the oven racks in the dishwasher. By removing the lower dishwasher rack, I was able to place one oven rack at an angle, and clear both the lower and middle wash arms.

They weren't super-dirty to begin with. Both racks definitely look cleaner than before. They don't look like new, but they are acceptably clean.

 

[iheartmaytag]

Another great way to clean the racks without running them through the self-clean cycle that dulls the chrome finish. Put the racks in a large trash bag, pour in a cup of Amonia and seal the bag. Leave it ouside overnight. Next morning, open the bag slowly and hose off the racks with your garden hose. You may need to do a little scrubbing if there is something stubborn, but mostly everything will wipe clean.