It’s the holiday season. You want your kitchen to look perfect. You open your oven to find – to your horror! – that it’s caked in cooking grease and grime. What to do?

Self Cleaning Mode

Many ovens these days have a self cleaning function that works by heating your oven up to approx.. 900 degrees, and those ultra high temperatures then burn off any residue left on your oven from baking. The cycle typically takes about 3 hours, and during the process, the oven locks itself closed so that you cannot open accidentally. The beauty of the self cleaning cycle is that there are no harsh chemicals used – just heat. After the cycle is completed, you typically open your oven to find what looks like soot in the bottom. Just wipe it out with a damp cloth and your oven is as good as new.

Is this the best option?

For most, the self cleaning cycle will work like a charm. However, there are some caveats. First off, we’ve seen some issues in the past with the high heat temps actually causing issues to key elements in your oven, causing you to call a Dallas oven repairman asap. Why? One of the big reasons is that many newer ovens have hidden heating elements beneath the upper and lower oven cavity. Sometimes the self cleaning mode just makes the oven too hot, and those fuses pop and bust.

Another point to be aware of? Some research suggests that Teflon coated items in the oven can release odorless fumes that are harmful to animals.

A Safer Way to Clean

Since most oven’s these days have hidden cleaning elements, one of the easiest ways to clean the oven is with a little baking soda and water! Rub baking soda and a little water inside the oven to make a paste. Let it sit and the wipe off with a damp cloth. Easy as that!

Having issues with your oven? Remember you can always call your friendly Dallas appliance repair at Appliance Rescue!