Using A Self Cleaning Oven

You’ve finally got yourself an oven that cleans itself…great! Right?

Well, only if you know what you’re doing. Too often those of us that are lucky enough to have an oven that does their own dirty work don’t know how to use them.

The bad news is that not properly using a self cleaning oven doesn’t just mean that you’re cleaning unnecessarily – it can actually mean that you’re destroying its inborn cleaning capabilities.

The good news is that there are a few easy steps you can follow to ensure you’re getting the most out of your metal maid.

How a Self-Cleaning Oven Works:

Understanding how your self-cleaning oven works is important to ensure that you’re both using it correctly and getting the most out of it.

Basically, the oven cleans itself by getting really hot. We’re talking molten lava hot – around 900 degrees.

Don’t worry though – the oven has a locking mechanism to ensure no one accidentally opens the oven while it’s blasting its heat.

The high level of heat burns away anything in its wake. It may leave behind a pile of ash, but other than that you’ve got yourself a clean oven.

Before Cleaning:

While it’s not necessary to get in there and do a thorough cleaning before running the self-cleaning cycle, if there are any major fresh spills you may want to quickly wipe them up.

Smoke is produced when your oven is cleaning itself and the less debris you have in the bottom, the less smoke will be produced.

However, make sure you’re not doing a deep clean. Many people damage the surface of their ovens by scrubbing them themselves.

The surface in your oven is specially made for self-cleaning and removing that surface can affect its ability to effectively clean itself.

Once you’ve wiped the inside down, you can close the oven, turn it to the ‘clean’ cycle and step away for several hours.

The Self Cleaning Process:

Now you know the basics of oven cleaning. Now lets get down to it.

1. Take out the oven racks
2. Remove any large chunks of burned food that will come out easily- Save yourself from extra smoke
3. Wipe up any large pools of grease as this creates a lot of smoke too
4. Close the oven door
5. Turn the locking mechanism enable self cleaning mode
6. Turn your oven setting to self cleaning

The oven will self clean for a several hours and turn off by itself.

The oven will stay locked until the temperature is at a safe level again. When you are able to unlock the oven, wipe out any ash that’s accumulated inside.

You can then begin cooking as normal – well, as normal as it is for you to cook in a clean oven.

Enjoy!

How Often To Self Clean:

Of course the short and simple answer is that you should run your self-cleaning cycle when you need it.

If you notice food has spilled over, if you notice debris in the bottom of your oven – it’s time to get the cleaning going.

However, one thing to keep in mind is that self-cleaning ovens have thicker insulation, which can translate into an energy savings for you, as they’ll use less energy for your day to day cooking.

But if you use the self-cleaning cycle an average of more than once a month, you’ll end up using more energy than you save.

Ideally you’d use your cleaning cycle every few months and only on days when it’s not too hot.