Should You Use Your Oven’s Self-Cleaning Setting? It Depends.

Both the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) told us that high-heat self-cleaning settings are not a statistically significant cause of fires, injuries, or complaints about broken stoves.

Robert DellaValle, who helps oversee testing of cooking appliances for UL Solutions, said electric ranges and ovens with UL certification and gas ranges and ovens with American National Standards Institute (ANSI) certification go through safety testing that includes high-heat self-cleaning cycles. (Virtually all major manufacturers in the United States get these certifications for their products.) One of the most important tests administered for high-heat self-cleaning cycles, he said, is making sure that the oven door locks once the interior temperature hits 600 °F. This prevents oxygen from getting into the oven cavity and potentially causing a fire.

The testing also measures carbon monoxide levels in the room during a high-heat self-cleaning cycle and the temperature of exterior components. “We assume the worst-case scenario,” said DellaValle, explaining that at UL Solutions, the tests are done in small, poorly ventilated rooms or other real-world settings.

If you need your oven in the next six weeks (or can’t afford to fix or replace it), we strongly suggest cleaning it manually instead of using a high-heat self-cleaning setting—especially if your oven is out of warranty. (You could also use a less-intensive steam-clean setting, if your oven has one.)

Appliance repair expert Christina Mucci, whose family has run Fifth Avenue Appliance Service in New York City for five decades, said that her company gets lots of calls around the holidays about ovens that just stop working. The first thing her technicians ask is, “Did you self-clean?”

If your stove is already compromised, said Mucci—that could mean malfunctioning fans or a worn-out insulating door gasket—the heat, smoke, or moisture from a self-cleaning cycle can break the oven. Occasionally, Mucci pointed out, the problem is a family of mice that has taken up residence behind the stove. Unfortunately, most of us have no way of spotting these issues without calling a repair tech for an inspection.

These repairs can be expensive and time-consuming because they typically require replacing the oven’s control panel and its computerized control board—not a quick fix. Unlike other parts, Mucci said her company doesn't keep control boards on hand because they can easily be broken or compromised by moisture.

Luis Alberto, who has managed B & A Appliances in Brooklyn for 20 years and also specializes in refurbishing extremely dirty ovens, is one of many cleaning experts who doesn’t think that self-cleaning settings are very effective at cleaning older or well-used ovens with baked-on stains.

“For the first year, it’s gonna work great,” he told us, “but don’t touch it after a year.”

Consider that, according to the CPSC, you might have to run a high-heat self-cleaning setting multiple times to remove really heavy food residue, which is not ideal for most households. A CPSC representative also told us that high-heat self-cleaning can damage an oven’s finish, resulting in discoloration, loss of gloss, and hairline cracks.

If you do decide to run your high-heat self-cleaning setting, read your oven’s manual and follow the instructions to the letter, said Robert DellaValle of UL Solutions. Expect the process to produce bad smells and smoke—particularly if your oven is really dirty.

To help minimize this, the CPSC recommends wiping out any loose food before you clean. Their additional advice includes making sure your oven door gasket is in good shape and creating a sufficient seal (cleaning, rubbing, or moving it will compromise the seal) and that all oven vents and fans are clear. It’s also smart to take everything out of the oven and off of the cooktop, including broiler pans, grates, and spoon rests, and to remove anything near the stove that can burn or melt, like paper towels or plastic items.

During the cycle, get as much fresh air into the kitchen as you can. We have guidance on proper ventilation for gas stoves that should work for self-cleaning modes, too. Because the oven door and cooktop can get super hot on some models during this type of cleaning, the CPSC recommends keeping kids out of the kitchen. Most manuals also recommend relocating pet birds, who can be affected by the fumes, to another well-ventilated room. (We’d advise keeping all pets away.)

Finally, make sure that everything is fully cool at the end of the cycle before opening the oven door—if not, some oven glass can shatter with the fluctuation in temperature.

The real key to avoiding a major cleaning session is regular maintenance. What makes an oven so difficult to clean is the fats that aerosolize with each use and stick to every surface, explained Christina Trunzo, a cleaning specialist with Great Green Cleaning in New York City. Going forward, do what she does: Wipe the inside of your oven down with a damp cloth every time you use it—while it’s still just a little warm.

This article was edited by Ingrid Skjong and Brittney Ho.