The kitchen is the central hub for many households; every meal starts and ends there. Moreover, your oven makes cooking more convenient. It can also be a healthier alternative compared to frying food in a pan with oil. The downside is that you must clean your oven when it becomes riddled with leftover food debris and grease spots. What if there was some way for your oven to be able to clean itself? Well, there is! A self-cleaning oven takes the chore of deep scrubbing your range and saves you time and money.
The longer you leave your oven without being properly cleaned, the more it can spoil the food you cook inside it and deteriorate the interior over time. Utilizing an electric oven’s self-cleaning feature keeps it ready for cooking and provides a more accessible alternative to the typical hand-cleaning required.
Atlanta Appliance Services takes you through the value of having a self-cleaning oven and what you can do to get the most out of it.
Types of Self-Cleaning Ovens
Many types of ovens offer different benefits to make your cleaning duties easier. They all have advantages, but the value of having a self-cleaning oven is unparalleled.
An easy-clean oven is one without a feature that offers a self-clean. Without this, you must roll up your sleeves and get to work using heavy-duty chemicals and scrubbers. The only real difference is that easy-clean ovens come with a different finish on the interior.
This unique finish makes it harder for food and grease to stick to the walls of your oven cavity. While this makes cleaning a little easier, it doesn’t eliminate the need for hard work like a self-cleaning oven does.
Ranges with a self-clean cycle are typically one of three categories.
- The first is a catalytic method which is similar to an easy-clean oven with a uniquely finished interior. However, they also offer a self-cleaning feature. This aids in removing all the food debris stuck inside your oven but doesn’t work quite as well as pyrolytic or steam cleaning cycles.
- Pyrolytic cleaning systems involve the oven heating itself to high temperatures, usually between 500- and 700 degrees Fahrenheit. It can burn away all the leftover fat and food in the oven by heating itself to such a high temperature. Afterward, all that is left is just an ashy residue that can be easily wiped out after completing the self-cleaning cycle. Before the cleaning starts, a latch manually secures the oven door to ensure your safety. The cleaning length depends on your oven’s model, typically taking between two to four hours.
- Another type of self-clean feature that comes with certain ovens is steam clean. Steam cleaning can be perfect if you are trying to avoid smoke created from high heat cleaning. You load a few cups of water into the bottom of your oven, where there will be a specific spot for this. The best thing to do is read your oven’s manual to figure out exactly where to put the water before starting your steam cleaning cycle. Steam cleaning is much quicker than pyrolytic cleaning. Still, it requires more removal of food residue inside your oven to get the most thorough clean.
Pros of Having a Self-Cleaning Oven
Less Time Spent Cleaning:
Everyone wants more time to be able to do what they deem most important. It can be frustrating when your free time away from work is spent on your hands and knees scrubbing out your oven. A self-cleaning oven does the hard work for you.
Start the cycle and wipe out any remaining ash or residue after completion. At this point, it should come out quickly, and within moments your oven will be clean and ready for use.
Save Money:
Self-cleaning ovens are usually slightly more expensive than your typical range appliances. However, they end up paying for themselves by saving you money on years of buying hefty cleaning supplies. Another reason it saves you money is the finish of the interior.
Since these ovens can withstand such high temperatures, the heat used for cooking food is well insulated and stays trapped within your oven. And because it doesn’t need to constantly adjust its temperature due to heat escaping because of poor insulation, it saves big on your energy bill.
Chemical Free:
Not using the heavy-duty chemicals required with a standard oven is a huge bonus to a self-clean range appliance. These chemicals must be strong enough to eliminate the leftover grease and fat that loves to stick to the inside of your oven. If not appropriately ventilated, these cleaning products can cause respiratory issues or worse for anyone inside your household.
Eliminating the need for these creates a safer cleaning process so you can relax and live your healthiest life.
Self-Cleaning Procedures
Leaving food inside your oven can lead to unwanted smoke and spoiling the food you are trying to cook, so it’s essential to keep up with the self-cleaning cycles. Typically, the more you use your oven means you need to use the self-cleaning more often.
Each oven with such a feature is unique and specialized to fit that specific appliance. If you aren’t sure how frequently to perform the cleaning or how to even start it, consult your oven’s manual.
Here are some general tips to make sure that your self-cleaning oven is doing its best job:
- Remove any prominent food remains or grease spots inside your appliance. If you have too much of this inside your oven when you start a high-heat cleaning cycle, this can create a ton of smoke and even start a small fire. Your self-cleaning oven will take care of the rest.
- Remove your oven racks to keep them in the best condition possible. This step isn’t necessary, but pyrolytic cleaning can lead to dull-looking racks if you leave them in.
- Ensure you lock the securing latch and stay clear of the oven door and surrounding trim during the cleaning cycle. Since it uses high temperatures to purge the inside of the oven, the surroundings will also get hot to the touch. Also, it’s a good idea to clear any personal belongings off the top of the stovetop before beginning the cleaning cycle. Things made out of plastic can get warped and melted.
- Make sure to give the interior of your oven a good wipe-down after completing the cleaning process. Leaving the ashy residue inside can cause buildup that can transfer its taste and smell to any food you cook. – Yuck!
Atlanta Appliance Services
If you are having any appliance issues or need professional help with a new installation, we are here to help.
Atlanta Appliance Services is proud to offer appliance installation and repair services. Our expert technicians are well-equipped to help you with your modern appliance needs. Our technicians will triple-check your satisfaction after the completion of services to ensure you are more than happy with the completed job. We also offer preventative maintenance services to keep your appliance in the best possible condition.
No one wants to be without the vital equipment in our homes that make our lives easier.
Contact Atlanta Appliance Services today to get your appliance service scheduled!