In today’s day and age, everything is about efficiency; what you can potentially multitask during your day to save time, streamline chores, maximize productivity, and so on and so forth.
Learning to multitask effectively can be an extremely beneficial skill, and there are many things you can accomplish simultaneously in your kitchen to be as productive as possible.
There is one kitchen appliance, in particular, that is multitasking by its very nature – your oven. Sure, we all bake things inside while frying on top, but what if your oven is in need of a deep clean, and you’re also hoping to whip up dinner? Can you both self-clean your oven and use the stovetop?
You can use the stovetop while your oven is self-cleaning, as long as you have a newer model of range and it is electric, not gas. Some older models will not allow you to operate the stovetop while the self-clean feature is running, and gas stovetops will not allow you to operate them due to the fire hazard.
We recommend that you wait until your oven has finished self-cleaning before you start cooking in it.
Even if you have a newer oven that allows you to use the stovetop while self-cleaning, there are some nuances that should be explored before making the decision to cook while your oven is self-cleaning.
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Keep reading to learn more about how your oven’s self-clean feature works, when you can use your oven after it has self-cleaned, and how to decide whether self-cleaning and cooking simultaneously is the best decision for you.
Can You Use the Stovetop When the Oven Is Self-Cleaning?
In order to evaluate your comfort level with using both your oven’s self-cleaning feature and the stovetop, it is helpful to understand how exactly the self-clean feature works, and what challenges this may pose to cooking on the stovetop.
Most of the ovens in homes today use pyrolytic cleaning to accomplish their self-clean feature – that is, heating to extremely high temperatures in order to reduce any remaining residue to ash.
This process does vary depending on the specific model, but generally, it takes around three hours from start to finish.
There are a few basic steps to follow when running your oven’s self-cleaning cycle:
- Remove everything from the inside of your oven, including the racks if it is possible to wash them by hand.
- Set your self-clean cycle. If there is a lot of food debris left in your oven, the cycle will likely create a decent amount of smoke, so be sure to stay close so you can properly ventilate the area if necessary. Speaking of multitasking – this is not the time to leave the house!
- Once the cycle ends, allow your oven to cool without touching it for another few hours, as the high heat is quite dangerous.
- Wipe out all ash and debris using a damp rag, and wipe down the inside of the front door, as the clean cycle may not have completely cleaned the door.
- Lastly, replace your oven racks – good as new!
While it is important to be present while your oven is self-cleaning, it is quite common to notice an unpleasant, burning plastic sort of smell while the feature is operating.
It is completely safe to be in proximity, but the scent alone may drive you to another room for the duration of the cycle. It is best to keep children and pets out of the kitchen for the duration of the cleaning cycle, just to ensure their safety and comfort.
The smell of the cleaning cycle alone may be enough to deter you from using the stovetop simultaneously, but it is also not safe to cook during the self-cleaning cycle if you have a gas stovetop.
Due to the incredibly high heat of a self-clean cycle, gas poses a fire hazard in close proximity.
Some electric stovetops will allow you to turn on the burners while the self-clean feature is in use – if the smell doesn’t drive you off, just be sure to use extreme caution, as you will still be very near a very intense heat source.
Our suggestion is to wait until the self-cleaning cycle has finished before you use the stovetop, or that you get in contact with the manufacturer to get their input.
How Long After the Self-Cleaning Cycle Can I Cook In the Oven?
Even if you choose not to use the stovetop while your oven is cleaning, you will eventually use your oven again to cook. If you are running your self-clean cycle, but plan to cook a meal in the oven that day, you are probably wondering how long you will need to wait before beginning to cook.
It is safe to resume cooking in your oven after the self-clean cycle has completed, your oven has cooled, and you have wiped the oven clean of all ash and debris.
Given that you must allow time not only for the cycle itself but also for cooling and a quick final clean, you must allow three or more hours before you use it for cooking or baking.
As long as the oven is cool enough to safely open and is free of debris, it is safe to use.
Can You Stop a Self-Cleaning Cycle?
If an urgent need arises while your oven is self-cleaning, and you need to leave your house, you can stop the oven mid-clean cycle. However, if you are stopping it because you realized you need to start dinner, it is not safe to use the oven right away.
Your oven automatically locks the front door when in self-clean mode to protect the user from potentially being exposed to such high heat, which would, of course, be extremely dangerous.
If you pause the cycle, or stop in the middle, the door will still remain locked for a while as the oven cools, also to ensure safety.
How Often Should You Run a Self-Cleaning Cycle In an Oven?
The boring answer is that it depends on a few different variables. However, we can provide a more useful answer by looking at these variables one by one, and then you can decide what timeframe seems suitable for you, depending on your situation.
So, what affects how often you should self-clean your oven?
- Usage: How frequently is the oven being used? If you’re cooking in it everyday, then there’s a big chance you’ll have to run the self-cleaning cycle more frequently than someone who uses other kitchen appliances combined with the oven.
- Food items: What kind of food items are you cooking in the oven? Greasy items tend to grease down the oven when they’re heated to high temperatures. Not only by dripping, splattering, or being in contact with the oven trays or racks, but also through the heated air that circulates the oven’s cavity.
- Manual clean: How often are you cleaning the oven manually? Do you remove the racks, trays and give the inside of the oven a little scrub once in a while?
For most people, running a self-cleaning cycle every four to six months will keep the oven in good condition. In some cases, when the oven is under heavy usage, and rarely cleaned manually, it may be beneficial to run the self-cleaning cycle every two to four months to ensure you’re cooking your food in a clean environment.
Can You Manually Clean a Self-Cleaning Oven?
You can clean a self-cleaning oven manually, just as you would with a regular oven that doesn’t have the self-cleaning feature. Some people deviate from using the self-cleaning function for different reasons.
Instead, they clean the oven using old-fashioned methods that seem to work just fine.
You can get your oven back to normal by scrubbing it with a wet sponge or cloth. It will, however, be harder to remove the burnt-on grease than it would be if you were using the self-cleaning function.
This is because the self-cleaning function reaches extremely high temperatures, burning most of the grease and grime.
How Do I Know If My Oven Is Self-Cleaning Still?
Knowing when your oven has finished self-cleaning is not going to be a problem. You won’t be able to use the oven until it has both finished self-cleaning and cooled down.
During the cycle, and while the oven is still at high temperature, the locking mechanism on the oven door will activate.
This makes it impossible (not impossible – but hard) to open the oven door. Once the oven has cooled down, the locking mechanism will deactivate.
The time it takes for the oven to cool down varies depending on the model.
Final Thoughts
To summarize, you can use electrical (not gas!) stovetops while running the self-clean feature of your oven, but we suggest that you don’t. It is important to use extreme caution when near the oven, and not to allow children or pets near the area.
Due to the odor that can be omitted by the clean cycle, it may be unpleasant to try to cook at the same time, so it may be a better option to order takeout for the night. The multi-tasking may not be worth the hassle!