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Guide to Maintaining Your Oven

For your oven to function optimally and avoid having to hire oven repair professionals now and then, you should properly maintain your unit. How do you go about it?

Deep clean your appliance at least twice a year.

Of course, you should clean your appliance when you are done cooking at the end of the day, but this isn’t enough—you still need to clean your appliance thoroughly.

When cleaning, ensure that the unit has thoroughly cooled down. If cleaning it by hand using a wet piece of cloth, unplug it from the power to protect yourself from getting electrocuted. You will even be safer if you switch off the circuit breaker’s power.

Many people remove the knobs from their appliances so that they can properly clean them, but you shouldn’t do this. This is because the chemicals you use when cleaning can get behind the knobs and damage the wiring. You don’t want this to happen to your appliance, do you?

Use a wet cloth with a gentle store-bought vinegar or baking soda solution for the best results. You should wipe the solutions down the insides of the stove, then let the hard-to-clean areas soak before you scrub using a towel.

Always let the oven dry before you use it.

To have an easier time doing the annual cleanings, make it a habit to wipe down the stove and burners at least once a week or after every messy meal. You should never leave a thick food residue on the bottom of the oven as it can smoke or even cause a fire.

Regularly inspect the oven gasket.

Before you do the cleaning, check the rubber gasket around the insides of the oven door for tears, holes, or general wear. If the strip has any issues, replace it before you use the oven again.

When buying the gasket, don’t buy just any other—buy a high-quality one that will withstand the test of time.

Be cautious when using the self-cleaning feature.

Most ovens have a self-cleaning feature that sends the temperatures soaring to 500 degrees or even more to break up difficult debris.

Oven manufacturers recommend you use this feature when you have had messy baking, for example, when you have had a catastrophic lasagna overflow. It’s also recommended that you use this feature when your oven hasn’t received any attention in a long time.

While this feature is great and makes removing even the most problematic debris easy, you should use it sparingly to avoid damaging your oven. This means you shouldn’t use it every time your oven gets dirty—reserve it only for the necessary times.

Even when using the feature, ensure that you follow the instructions in the owner’s manual. As you are cleaning, never leave the oven unattended, as the high temperatures can easily get out of control, and when no one is attending to the stove, it can be catastrophic.

Replace the broken parts

If you regularly use your oven, some parts are bound to break. The most common parts that do are the burners. Most homeowners ignore them when they do, but you shouldn’t.

When you spot a deep red spot on the coil when baking, don’t ignore it, as it’s a matter of time before it goes off. Instead, you should turn off the oven and contact a repair professional to replace it.

Like the other parts, replace the burners with high-quality ones that will last a long time. Don’t cheap out on them, as the costs of replacing them can quickly add up.

Avoid messy dishes

To avoid having to clean and scrub the oven, avoid cooking messy dishes. When you do, place the recipes, such as pies and casseroles, on top of the baking sheet, preventing overflowing food from dripping down and staining the appliance.

As you are using the sheets, appliance repair Springfield advice you take care not to place them on the vents as this can prevent the heat from blowing. There is also the risk of the burners getting damaged.

Oven Repair: Oven Maintenance Tips

appliance repiar

For you to avoid undertaking constant oven repair, you need to take good care of your oven. The cool thing is that there are plenty of tips on how to go about it:

Take good care of the blower motor

The blower motor is one of the most important parts of the oven. For you to keep it in top shape, you need to keep it lubricated. If the blower motor has oil cups, lubricate it with at least five drops of non-detergent oil.

When lubricating the motors, follow the manufacturer’s manual. As a rule of thumb, avoid over-lubricating the motor as you will cause more problems than were originally there.

Keep it clean

It goes without saying. A dirty oven not only works harder than it should, it also tends to develop plenty of problems. For you to prevent this from happening you should keep your oven clean at all times.

During the cleaning, take a look at the insulation. It’s common for foreign materials to get caught here making the oven work too hard. For you to get rid of the dirt you should use a vacuum or air jet to keep the openings clean.

While you are at it, you also should keep an eye on the blower wheel and extension shaft set screws. Tighten the screws as necessary. When tightening them, take care that you don’t over tighten them as you might crush the isolation or resilient washers.

Isolation washers are located behind the mounting screws and mounting plate. If you find the washers damaged, replace them.

Inspect the heating elements

Telltale signs that you have an issue with your heating elements is a drop in the performance of the oven or the oven takes a long time to heat up. For you to inspect the elements you need to use a digital multimeter.

For safety reasons, always turn off the power to the control system. After disconnecting the power, disconnect each element from the circuit and connect the voltmeter.

A high infinity reading means that the element is burnt out while a low reading means that you have a normal or good element.

You can also inspect the oven by inspecting the amperage of the elements. This requires you to use a clip-on ammeter to check the current draw.

Replace the gas

Do you have a gas oven? You should replace the gas when you notice it dropping. If you have been having your oven for a long time, the moving and swapping of the ovens often create a lot of movement and vibrations that cause leaks in the gas line.

You don’t have any other way out other than to replace the gas line. Buy a new gas line from the company that installed the oven for you.

Pay attention to where you place the oven

Where you place the oven is crucial as it determines how well it works. As a rule of thumb, don’t place the oven in an area where airflow around the blower is blocked. You should always be cautious of where the specimen or product is placed in the oven.

You should note that by restricting air inlets and outlets you reduce airflow through the entire oven, leading to premature oven failure. The oven also tends to function poorly.

Use the correct power

How much power is getting into the oven? You need to think about this. Some people use reduced power, which isn’t good as it leads to poor performance. At the same time, if you operate with a lot of power, you end up damaging the oven.

If you notice the oven is functioning poorly due to reduced power, consider connecting it to a buck-boost transformer.

Avoid unnecessary heat losses

To prevent the oven from losing a lot of heat, avoid unnecessary heat losses. For example, if your oven has a light, use a port plug in the light socket when not using the light. The port plug in the light socket reduces heat loss and at the same time prevents the socket from malfunctioning from the heat.

It’s common for the port plug to crack or get damaged. In such a case appliance repair Springfield professionals recommend that you replace it.

Oven Repair: 6 Ways To Maintain Your Oven

oven repair

For you to avoid regular oven repair, you should take good care of your oven. The cool thing is that there are plenty of ways of doing it. Some of these ways include:

Pay attention to the blower motor

The blower motor is one of the vital parts of the oven. One of the things you should do is to lubricate it. Is your motor equipped with oil cups? You should open them and apply the right amount of oil to them.

If your unit has ball-bearing motors, you should apply oil at the front and back of the motor.

When you are lubricating the motor, you also should remember to pay attention to the blower wheel and extension shaft set screws. You should tighten the screws as required. You should take care that you don’t overtighten the screws to the extent of crushing the isolation or resilient washers.

Inspect the heating elements

It’s common for the heating elements to burn out from time to time. This leads to reduced power and loss of performance. A telltale sign of a problem with the elements is a drop in oven performance.

One of the ways of inspecting the elements is by using a digital multimeter. You can also check them using an ammeter that checks the amperage of the elements.

If you don’t have these devices with you, you can always check the individual elements manually. When doing so, remember to set the controller to 100%.

Prevent unnecessary heat losses

It’s your responsibility as a homeowner to ensure that the oven is functioning at its level best. One of the ways of ensuring that this is the case is by preventing unnecessary heat loses. Does your oven have a light? You should always use a port plug in the light socket when you aren’t using the light.

The port plug in the light socket reduces heat loss and at the same time prevents the socket from malfunctioning due to the exposure to the heat. It’s common for the port plug to crack or get damaged every now and then. If this is the case, you should repair it or simply replace it if the damage is extensive.

Cool the oven properly

It’s recommended that you let the oven cool by itself, but if you have to speed up the cooling, you should do it properly. The best way of doing it is by using the cryogenic method of cooling. For proper cryogenic cooling, you need to follow a set of tips that include:

  • Don’t use regulators between the carbon monoxide siphon tank and oven
  • Avoid using manifolds at all times. This is to prevent making changes in the cross section of the liquid path that leads to the solidification of the liquid.
  • When cooling, always ensure that you don’t exceed the pressure rating of the solenoid valve
  • You should always use proper ventilation when cooling. This is to prevent suffocation.

Clean the oven regularly

This is a no brainer. You need to clean the oven for it to look good and also last for a long time. At the end of the working day, you should clean the oven. It’s also wise to give the unit a thorough cleaning at least twice a year.

The cool thing is that cleaning the unit is easy. All you need is soap and a moist piece of cloth. When cleaning the insides of the unit, remember to turn off the power to avoid damaging the unit, or even hurting yourself.

Take a look at the burners

What is the condition of the burners? You need to find out about it. At least once a year, take a look at the burners and inspect them for deformities. If they are damaged, you should find out whether you can repair them or you should go ahead and replace them.

When the oven is cooking, you should take a look at the coils. A small spot on the coil that is redder than the rest of the unit means that the piece is about to short out.

You can hire an appliance repair Northern VA professional to help you with the inspection or do it by yourself if you have the time and skill to do it.

Oven Repair: Signs Your Oven Is On Its Way Out

Regardless of the type of oven you have in your home, it will come a time when you will have to replace it. Oven repair professionals report that an oven that is on its way out always gives signs. Some of the signs that you should be on the lookout for include:

Failure of the oven to cook the food right

You put all the necessary ingredients in the food, but the recipe doesn’t come out right. This usually comes about when the different components of the oven wear out or break, bringing about fluctuations in temperature. The fluctuations lead to poor results when you make your food.

When you are having this problem, it means that the oven is no longer able to properly regulate the temperature and you need to replace the thermostat.

The heat might also be escaping out of the oven. Before you run into a conclusion that your appliance needs to be replaced, check the seals around the door and ensure that thy are in good shape. If they are worn out, it’s time to replace them.

Pilot problems

If you have a gas oven, one of the clear signs that it’s time to think about replacing it is having consistent pilot light problems. If your oven isn’t lighting automatically, you might be having a broken switch.

As a gas oven owner, you should be cautious of carbon monoxide poisoning. If you notice the oven burning with a yellow orange flame instead of a vibrant blue one, it means that it isn’t receiving enough oxygen. This should be a case of concern.

Sometimes the pilot light will light up but keep on going out. When you are having this problem or any other, you should contact a repair professional to inspect the unit and identify the source of the problem. If the issues are due to old age of the appliance, you have no way out, other than to replace it.

Failure of the electric oven to heat up

Many people prefer electric ovens due to their convenience. Unfortunately, just like any other appliances, they tend to develop problems that you should have them fixed. One of the most common problems is their failure to light up.

This is often due to problems with the heating element that might be have broken or worn out. If your heating element isn’t glowing, you should think about replacing it. Sometimes you might find that the oven isn’t heating up at all. In such a case, you have a serious problem in your hands that you should have it looked into by a professional.

Scorching worktops

There should be no scorch marks on your worktops when you are cooking; therefore, when you notice them, you have a reason to be worried. The marks often come about when there isn’t enough space between the oven and cupboards. The seals on the oven might also be worn out, hence making the heat escape.

When you are having scorch marks when cooking, the first thing you should check are the seals and confirm that they aren’t worn out. If they are, replace them.

In some cases, you might find the oven doors and knobs overheating. This is usually due to failure of the cooling fan. Unless you have the skills, you should avoid trying to fix the issues. The best way out is to simply hire a professional and ask them to inspect the unit.

An oven that is problematic to clean

One of the ways of maintaining your oven is to regularly clean it. In addition to cleaning leaving your oven looking great, it also increases its efficiency as you get rid of the annoying dirt that might have built up.

You also tend to get rid of odors that might have been caught up in the grease and food spills. A good oven should be easy to clean even with a simple moist piece of cloth.

If you find yourself having problems cleaning oven surfaces, the tops might be damaged or too old and you have no way out, other than to replace them.

Before you pull the plug, ask an appliance repair Alexandria professional to inspect the unit and make the necessary recommendation.