Can You Use an Oven Cleaner on a Self-Cleaning Oven?
The short answer is no, you shouldn't use a commercial oven cleaner to clean a self-cleaning oven. The reason being that self cleaning ovens creates an intensely hot environment to clean, sanitize, and remove grease residue from inside the oven. Commercial oven cleaners may overheat, burn, and release toxic fumes when heated.
Instead of using a commercial or chemical oven cleaner, go for food-safe oven cleaners like baking soda, vinegar, salt, and lemon juice. These components are organic, and organic material will simply blast away during the self-cleaning feature of the oven without releasing toxic gas. You'll get a fume-free, deep cleaning!
A baking soda paste made with lemon juice or white vinegar, salt, and baking soda works wonders to remove stuck-on grime from the oven, and works as an effective oven cleaner for both self-cleaning ovens and regular ovens. However, the self-cleaning feature can remove the grime automatically, removing the need for an oven cleaner, even an organic one.
How Self-Cleaning Ovens Work
Self-cleaning ovens work by blasting away grime and food residue from the oven door and walls. A self-cleaning oven can reach temperatures up to 900-1000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is meant to completely obliterate the stuck-on food particles and oils from the oven. Using the self-cleaning function is a convenient way of keeping the oven pristine.
Modern households prefer using the self-cleaning cycle of their ovens over manually cleaning the oven with a cleaning solution, which can take hours, and require manual labor. The self-cleaning function is a one-touch operation - just set the oven to its self-cleaning mode, walk away, and let the oven clean!
Using Cleaners in a Self-Cleaning Oven
Using commercial cleaners in a self-cleaning oven may incinerate chemicals in the cleaner. These will release dangerous fumes that can be dangerous to the health. These chemical cleaners can damage the self-cleaning oven as well as cause discoloration in the oven interior, or reduce the effectiveness of the self-cleaning cycle.
How to Remove Oven Cleaners from Self-Cleaning Ovens
If you've already added commercial cleaners into your oven, you will need to remove it before you activate the self-cleaning cycle. You may be able to remove as much of the cleaner as possible using a damp cloth, and a bit of dish soap to completely remove traces of the cleaner.
Cleaning self-cleaning ovens may sound counterproductive, but removing as much of the cleaner as possible is essential to preventing damages to your clean oven. You will need to manually clean out the oven cleaner from the interior of your oven.
Step 1: Wipe Away the Cleaner with a Paper Towel
Take a paper towel, and remove as much of the oven cleaner as possible. Remove the oven racks, and clean these separately under running water. You will need to remove the racks during the self-cleaning process anyway, so it is best to clean these parts separately.
Step 2: Clean with a Damp Cloth and Dish Soap
Take a scrubbing sponge or a clean cloth, and dampen it with some mild soapy water. The soap should break down the chemical cleaner without leaving traces of residue, and is safe to use in small amounts. Scrub away any residue.
Step 3: Wipe with Plain Water
Take a clean cloth or towel, and dampen it with plain water. This will remove any remaining harsh chemicals, and strip away remaining dish soap solution. Go over the walls and door of your oven, as well as the heating elements, being careful not to soak these components.
Step 4: Let Dry, then Activate the Self-Cleaning Cycle
Let the oven dry completely by leaving the oven door open. Facing a fan towards the oven will help dry the interior faster, but this is unnecessary. Once the oven is dry, you may activate the self-cleaning mode for a clean oven without the elbow grease!
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