Are Self-Cleaning Ovens a Good Investment?

Our professionals at Capital Appliance Repair have worked with all types of ovens. From visually-impressive wall ovens, to the more traditional ones, we’ve worked with every type and model imaginable. More recent ovens are truly some of the most impressive we have ever seen. This is particularly true for the many features that are available to you. We now have ovens that are smarter, faster, and more varied in their potential uses than ever before. If you are buying a new oven in the near future, then you have certainly picked just about the best time to do so.

Do Self-Cleaning Ovens Work?

Cost, size, and additional features are among the things you will likely consider. Some of us love the possibility of getting something with cool new features traditional ovens don’t have. One feature that always seems to intrigue people is the self-cleaning one. This is something that has come standard with ovens for a little while now. Oven manufacturers love to emphasize this feature in advertising and product descriptions.

So the idea is great, but the whole process is a different matter. When you get down to it, do self-cleaning ovens really work? Is a self-cleaning oven worth it? These are fair questions to ask. Your oven is a very important appliance, which always translates to a significant initial investment on your part. Ovens can cost anything from several hundred dollars, to high-luxury ideals that run several thousand dollars. But what about the self-cleaning feature? Is it worth the cost? We think the answer is going to surprise you.

The Truth About Self-Cleaning Ovens

In order to fully understand whether or not self-cleaning ovens really work, let’s break things down into a few important categories. While there might be some advantages, there are also some distinct potential disadvantages that must be observed, as well. The decision is largely going to come down to your preferences. Here are some considerations you should keep in mind:

• Convenience: The top potential benefit of a self-cleaning oven is definitely connected to the notion of convenience. Most of us know how long it takes to get the grime, grease, and other undesirables out of our oven. This is the kind of project that can eat up a whole Saturday afternoon! While a self-cleaning oven can do some good, remember that you are going to still be responsible for cleaning your door frame, your seal, and the edges of your door. You will also still want to remove large bits of food by hand, and you will also need to make sure the oven racks have been completely removed from the unit.
• Energy: Ovens that feature strong insulation makes it easier for ovens to hit the right high temperatures during a self-cleaning period. Heat is also retained while you’re cooking food, and all of this can come out to high energy savings. You can even run self-cleaning after cooking something, which can give you even better energy savings.
• Costs: Provided you don’t use the self-cleaning feature on a steady basis, the operating costs associated with a self-cleaning oven are roughly on par with the operating costs of ovens that do not offer this feature.
• Smoke/odors: This is one of the biggest considerations associated with self-cleaning ovens. Basically, self-cleaning ovens use high heat to burn off tiny remnants of food, grease, and other things from your oven. As you can imagine, this can generate a good deal of smoke. It can also generate a lot of bad odors, which naturally depends on what you are trying to remove from your oven. The combination of food and other odors can be absolutely dreadful. Furthermore, the smoke can be so severe that it might trigger your smoke alarm.

So at this point, you should be able to see the differences between self-cleaning ovens and non-self-cleaning ovens pretty clearly. When you know how to use a self-cleaning oven correctly, it’s easy to take note of the many benefits it offers.

The challenge on your end is going to be to determine whether or not those benefits are really worth it. Self-cleaning ovens can be useful, but it helps to have a realistic understanding of their potential.