oven's selfclean
 

Hey,
I have a gas oven that has some kind of self cleaning mode. I turned it on and it just seemed like the broiler turns on and the door locks.
Does this work by just heating up the oven so much that any crap in there gets vaporized? If so, how long should I keep it on for cleaning? Can I stick in the cooking surface of my grill to be cleaned as well?

Thanks,
Robert

The basic principle is that all food spillage is incinerated, leaving an ash residue to be wiped away with a sponge. Try a half hour for starters-the door won't unlock until it is safe to do so. I wouldn't put anything in the oven not approved by the oven manufacturer as nasty things can happen at high temperatures.

How hot does it get in there?

Up to around 900°F, hence the door lock. That blast of air would melt Gramma's wig in a heartbeat-a real Thanksgiving downer.

I believe the self cleaning function will shut off itself. The door will unlock when it's done. You've got the concept down, basically burn everything up and it's clean.

What onetime2 said...

Self cleaning is touchy, of the three ovens that I've owned, it takes between 3-4.5 hours. Just make sure that you clean up any excess spillage first.

-SF

Yes, that long. And you probably should open a window in the kitchen and point a fan out of it to draw the air, so that you can get the smell out of your house. And the heat.

Seems like a waste of energy when you could just use cleaning supplies.

Six of one half a dozen of the other...

Most cleaning supplies are extremely hazardous to your health and the environment... The amount of enery expended on the self-clean feature is relatively minimal.

i'm with kutulu...900 degrees for 4 hours seems like a big waste, unless you're doing it in the wintertime and need heat in the house anyways. i doubt that an SOS pad and comet would have *that* big of an environmental impact...

If you use your oven often and there is a lot to clean, a SOS pad and comet will take a LONG time to clean the inside. Using the self clean will remove ALL residue and make the inside of the oven look like it was brand new. I personally would spend the $0.30 that it takes to run the oven for 4 hours, rather than spending an hour of my time on my knees scrubbing.

-SF

How often should you clean an oven?

once a season?

So say I lived in Buffalo... I'd clean it twice since they have two seasons.. Winter and Construction :D

HEY! Thats the same as here in Ontario, just change it to road construction

In Florida, we have hot and wet season, and warm and dry Canadian snowbird season.