Any type of auto-function seems as if it is a blessing at first. Unfortunately, as it’ll come to self-cleaning ovens, there are disadvantages which may outweigh possible benefits. Before thoughtlessly activating your oven’s self-cleaning solution, the Phoenix appliance repair services of SRB Appliance Repair is going to go over the potential risks, advantages, as well as benefits.

Self-Cleaning Oven Benefits

• Convenience: It’s the most obvious advantage of self-cleaning ovens. Rather than spending hours scraping and scrubbing food residues, it’s possible to relax or focue on other household tasks. You ought to expect a minimal amount of hand-cleaning before beginning the process of self-cleaning.
• Safety: A self-cleaning oven allows people to avoid harmful chemical solvents and cleaners. In the majority of instances, you’ll just need a moist cloth along with lemon juice or baking soda to finish the job.
• Energy-efficiency: If you run the oven after preparing a meal, it’s possible to decrease the overall energy expenses. However, to appreciate measurable advantages, you should not utilize the self-cleaning functionality more than 6 times per year.

Self-Cleaning Feature Disadvantages

• Odors and Smoke: Self-cleaning ovens use extremely high heat to cook away food buildup, as well as grease. This process pretty much always results in smoke and foul odors. If the unit is especially dirty, it’ll probably smoke excessively, setting smoke alarms off and causing irritation to the eyes and lungs. Smoke is more common in ovens that are stained with sugary food sources.
• Dangerous: Because they’ll reach very high temperatures, self-cleaning units are extremely hot to the touch. That means they can’t be left unattended whenever children and pets are at home. Birds in particular are sensitive to smoke, as well as gas; therefore, it is better to remove them in the process. If you or your kids suffer with asthma, the self-cleaning procedure also could trigger an attack. There’s also a fire risk which requires people to supervise this process.
• Not a Thorough Process: Even if the oven has first-rate self-cleaning abilities, you’ll still have to do some of the work on your own. Expect a bit of hand cleaning around the frame, seal, and door edges. You’ll also have to chisel away big chunks of food sources before you turn on the self-cleaning functionality. Racks also will have to be hand washed and removed, since higher temperatures might damage them.
• Risk of Damage: Newer units have concealed heating elements under the oven floor, as well as above the oven ceiling. While it’s a great improvement over older units, it may make it more challenging to keep air circulating, as well as vent the heat from these elements. It might be a particular issue as temperatures go over 1000-degrees Fahrenheit. In specific cases, control panels may burn out and fuses might pop. When issues occur, concealed heating elements may lead to greater repair expenses.

Should you Use your Oven’s Self-cleaning Function?

If convenience is your goal, the oven’s self-cleaning feature might be too challenging to resist. If you are set on using this feature, consider operating it for a small quantity of time, like one hour instead of multiple hours. This may decrease the risk of issues, while still offering adequate benefits. In addition, you should follow the manufacturer’s self-cleaning instructions and take steps to ensure that you and your loved ones aren’t exposed to dangerous or irritating fumes.

New Technologies

If you want a brand-new oven and need to avoid the existing self-cleaning solutions, Bosch and Whirlpool have presented their technologies:

• Bosch w/ Eco-Clean—features a ceramic coating on the oven’s back wall (side walls and ceiling may be upgraded) to decrease spills from sticking.
• Whirlpool w/ Aqua-lift—utilizes a unique coating which activates with low-temperature heat and water to release debris and dirt for convenient removal.

In Summary

How you care for your oven is a personal preference; however, remember that an extremely high percentage of service calls are because of failures associated with the self-cleaning function.

Always look over the self-cleaning oven’s owner’s manual for suggestions for using the clean mode on the appliance, as well as be confident that SRB Appliance Repair is going to be there to be of assistance if any problems arise.