To self clean or not to self clean?

That is the question!

There is much controversy over self cleaning oven. They are immensely popular with consumers, but in the appliance world...not so much.

Self cleaning oven uses high temperatures to burn off grease and debris leftover from normal use of your oven. It effectively eliminates the use of chemical cleaners and is the preferred way of cleaning given the convenience of set it and forget it. However they do pose some dangers.

A self cleaning cycle get get to temperatures upwards of 800 and 900 degrees Fahrenheit and the oven door locks closed as a safety measure. The problem is if your oven is too dirty these particles will create a lot of smoke and a heavy odor. The high temperatures also present the potential to set fire. There are plenty of house-fire horror stories out there from homeowners using the self cleaning cycle and certainly those are few and far between when looking at the big picture, but still a looming danger.

But the main reason to not self-clean your oven is the internal damage it can cause to your oven. If you talk to any technician in the field or even any good salesperson, they would more then likely recommend not using the self-clean cycle. The intense heat can burn out several very important and very pricey parts: locking mechanism, thermostat, touch panel, and wires. All of which will not be replaced under warranty. These repairs can be upwards of $500. Not a pleasant surprise expense for sure!

All-in-all our job is to educate our customers. So there's the truth on self-cleaning - don't do it!