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Health & Fitness

Resist the Urge to Self Clean That Oven Before Company Comes

Hold on running that Self-Cleaning Cycle, see why!

The holidays are here and you are entertaining and using your ovens.  Many families choose to really clean the house up from baseboard to walls and every appliance in between.  Cleaning and order just makes the holidays seem to feel even better. There is one appliance you might have a self-cleaning mode on that you should not engage until AFTER the holidays:  a self-cleaning oven. 

Here at Don's Appliances, we fix so many ovens each year and time after time, we find the same thing, the self-cleaning cycle is the grim reaper of an oven, no matter the brand. Our advice is to not use the self-cleaning cycle until after the holiday has passed, in case a component fails during the clean cycle.  Get through your holiday and then use the self-cleaning cycle, this way if it does cause components to fail you are not about to have a gathering ruined because your oven won't work at the last minute. 

WHY MIGHT THIS HAPPEN:

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Often the self-cleaning cycles reach temperatures of over 1000 degrees, while a normal cooking cycle is only 350 degrees. This high heat can cause an oven to pop a fuse or even create the control panel to burn out. (This is the very generic version.)

WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR A QUICK, CLEANER APPEARANCE:

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If the thought of not cleaning your oven has you shaking your head because you have to clean it up, try the basics:

1) Make sure the handles areas are clean, wipe them up, and shine them up.

2) Clean the baking racks in the oven. Remove them, wipe them clean and replace them.

3) Clean the glass on the inside and out and remove the build up by hand, (take special care NOT to get water in the vents on the tops of of the oven doors, as any water that gets into this area will be trapped and his will create a cloudiness between the glass).

4) Wipe the inside of the oven with a warm, wet, disposable (so you don't have a mess to deal with) cloth, to get any lingering gunk, debris, etc. 

5) When you do run the self-cleaning cycle after the holidays, don't run it for the full 3 or 4 hours, it may be more prudent to run it for 1/2 the time and still receive the same benefit. 

"We repair all brands of ovens on the market, and we can not tell you how often we repair ovens during the holidays because a self-cleaning cycle created a component to fail after being used. We recommend waiting until after the company has gone, and after the need for the appliance is done."

 

 

Disclaimer:

*We are no recommending this for ovens that are truly in need of a cleaning as they can be hazardous when used dirty. We do recommend regular upkeep of an oven as it is used with any frequency. We repair all brands of ovens. 

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