Automatic oven cleaning

I don't know. All I do know, is that, if you have a self-cleaning oven, do NOT use chemical cleaners on it! The inside has a special surface that the chemicals wreck.

My DH was an appliance repair person... so I now know lots of cool stuff.

Oh, and to mitigate the energy usage, be sure to clean your oven on really cold mornings, to harvest the heat for the house!

 

There are two types of self cleaning ovens: catalytic and pyrolytic. Catalytic ovens have a special lining that causes food soils to burn away at normal oven temperatures. Don't use cleaning chemicals with this type, as it may damage the catalytic interior.

Pyrolytic ovens use high temperature to burn away food soils. Generally this type of oven has a normal interior, so you could use cleaning chemicals. Still, you want to be careful. The high temperatures put a lot of stress on the oven coating, so it needs to be in good shape.

Personally, I don't see why you would use cleaning chemicals. You buy a self cleaning oven so that it can clean itself. Why short circuit the process by doing it with chemicals? The energy expenditure for the chemicals is probably more than the electricity used for cleaning. Also, as Ray points out, sometimes the heat is not a loss. Anytime during the heating season it's just another way to heat your house.

Tom

 

Throw in the BBQ grill grates and metal tongs while you're at it. I've also cleaned aluminum cookie sheets that were covered with baked on grease.

 

I use dish soap and elbow grease.

 

I find the self-cleaning option tends to leave stains on the interior. Baking soda seems to do a fine job. With stubborn splotches, drizzle some vinegar on the baking soda and let the bubbles do the scrubbing. No need for harsh chemicals or excess energy use.

And once it's clean, be more diligent about using a drip pan that can go in the dishwasher.

 

The instructions about removing the racks are because the high heat will darken the stainless steel. It won't hurt it, but it won't be bright and shiny after self cleaning.

I always leave my oven racks in the oven during cleaning. I cook way too much to worry about keeping oven racks shiny. If your racks drag after cleaning, wipe the edges of them with a tiny bit of cooking oil. That will make them slide in and out easily.

Tom

 

I keep a tray in the bottom of my oven. My oven hardly ever needs cleaning because I cover all food likely to make a mess.

 

I always assumed that Pat ate the food before it got to the oven.

Tom

 

Personally... i line the bottom of the oven with aluminum foil. When it gets too dirty, i throw it out and put some more down. It's cheap, affective, and requires very little work. Very rarely does anything splash enough to hit the top or walls - most of the time it's drips and spills that you need to clean up.

 

My oven has elements on the bottom and top, so lining it with foil, or putting in a pan will stress the oven, and it wont work properly. I think we used the cleaning cycle once.

 

Use gas.

 

After eating 4 or 5 raw carrots for tea I find it hard to argue with this.

 

Just a question... how will lining the bottom with foil stress it? In every oven i've seen, the bottom is flat and the heating elements rest a few inches above it on standoffs. It's easy to arrange foil underneath - and the reflective properties of foil aren't too unlike that of your oven walls... from a thermodynamics standpoint, it's almost like the foil isn't there.

 

I can't see where it's a problem, as long as the foil is under the element.

Tom

 

Too many standoffs.

 

That depends on the heating element. It seems every oven has a different design. Some only connect at the back and have free-standing standoffs. With these it's easy to slip foil underneath.

That said, I never use foil. I let the self-cleaning oven clean itself.

Tom

 

The standoffs in mine are clipped to the floor and the element, and there is only 1/2" of clearance, so trying to get foil under it is a pain and not worth it, we have had a fire happen once trying to do something like that, wasn't pretty, and took weeks to get the smell out.