Ovens can get extremely dirty and grimy. Pizza cheese can ooze out, oil splashes make the oven grill greasy, or the food drippings can build up and become hard to remove.
Soon this build-up food residue burns and changes into a hard black crust. The burnt-on grease and grime may cause smoke, and odor and decrease the life of the oven.
That’s why removing grime from the oven is essential. Ages ago, ovens could only be cleaned by scrubbing out the accumulated grease which is considered one of the toughest chores. To simplify the oven cleaning procedure, General Electric, in 1963, introduced the self-cleaning oven range. However, owing to the harsh nature and dangers of self-cleaning ovens, new steam-cleaning ovens were introduced.
Must check our top recommendations for the best steam cleaner for ovens and the best steam cleaner for the kitchen and bathroom.
Steam Clean Vs. Self-Clean Ovens
The main difference between steam cleaning and the self-cleaning oven is the heat pressure. Let’s dive into this article to find out the actual comparison.
| Self-Cleaning Oven | Steam Cleaning Oven |
| Self-Cleaning ovens can heat up to 930-degree Fahrenheit (500-degree Celsius), which consumes a lot of energy. | Steam cleaning only needs up to 250-degree Fahrenheit which means less energy consumption. |
| The self-cleaning oven can get too hot during the process due to high temperature. | The steam-cleaning oven remains relatively cooler during the whole process. |
| The cleaning cycle can take up to 4 hours. | The steam cleaning cycle is of only 30 minutes. |
| It emanates a strong unpleasant smell. | It doesn’t give off any unpleasant odor. |
| The fumes are toxic to kids and pets. It may also cause nose and eye irritation. | It doesn’t cause fumes and is safe for pets and kids. |
| Self-clean ovens clean the interior thoroughly. However, you may need to clean the outside wall and interior glass. | Steam cleaning may require additional cleansing of interior walls as it doesn’t use as much heat. The exterior sides also need to be cleaned. |
| The process can be used only twice a year. | You can use steam cleaning more often. |
How Self-Cleaning Range Work
Self-Cleaning ovens work on the principle of utilizing extremely high temperatures that can go up to almost 930-degree Fahrenheit, which can burn the food residues inside the oven.
I have personally tried the self-clean method on my ge oven and it works like a magic!
The high heat causes carbonization of the food residue, which turns into ash. You can wipe down the ash after the cleaning cycle is complete and the oven is cooled down.
How to Steam Clean OvenFF
Before talking about how actually steam cleaning works. A question also arises what is a steam clean oven?
As compared to self-cleaning ovens, steam-cleaning oven ranges are simple, and these also work on the principle of utilizing high heat to melt the stuck-on residues.
The difference is steam cleaning requires a much lesser temperature 250-degree Fahrenheit approximately.
You simply need to pour 1 cup of water at the bottom of the oven tray and set it to the option of “steam cleaning.” The water will heat up and turn into steam. The hot steam will soften the grease and food residues which can be easily wiped away after the completion of the process.
Tips to Use Self-Cleaning Oven
- Check your manufacturer’s instructions before starting the self-cleaning cycle.
- Before starting the self-cleaning cycle, wipe out your oven to clear large bits of food spills. It will reduce the burning odor during the process.
- Ventilate the area properly by opening windows and turning on your ventilation fan, so the fumes and odor can disperse.
- Do not use any oven cleaners; if the interior gets damaged by using them. It won’t be covered by the warranty.
- Take out all the trays and stainless steel racks from the oven as the high heat can damage them.
- It’s always better to be on the safe side and use the self-clean option when kids or pets are not around.
- Some self-cleaning ovens have an auto-lock mechanism that seals the oven when you start the process. If the self-lock mechanism isn’t available, then you should lock the oven manually.
- The most important thing is to allow it to cool down once the auto-cleaning cycle is complete before removing ashes from the oven.
- You can use any cleaning solution to wipe out the ashes.
Tips to Use Steam Cleaning Ovens
- Steam cleaning the stove or oven should be done frequently without waiting for the food spills to get hardened, which will be difficult to remove.
- Do not use any cleaning agent with water during the process as the steam will react with the cleaning agent, and the residue of the cleaning agent may later react with the food and can cause food poisoning.
- Do not start the steam cleaning when the oven is hot.
- Always wipe clean the oven first for removing grease from the oven. But never use any hard scraper to clean stuck-on spills as it can damage the interior enamel coating.
- You can use the stovetop during the steam cleaning process.
- After the steam cleaning cycle is complete. Let it cool down before wiping the moisture from the interior cavity of the oven.
- Steam cleaning might require additional cleaning of any remaining spots and spills if they weren’t cleaned during the process.
How to Steam Clean Oven with a Steam Cleaner
If you do not own an oven with a steam-cleaning function, you can use steam cleaners for deep cleaning stains from the oven. It has all the benefits of using the self-steam cleaning option of the oven.
Tips to Use Steam Cleaners
- Vacuum the oven first before starting the cleaning process. Or you can simply clean out all solid residues manually.
- Use a brush attachment for scrubbing the oven’s interior.
- If the oven has grime layers that haven’t been cleaned in ages, you can use any dishwasher liquid. Spray it over and let it sit for 30 minutes.
- Wipe it down before starting steam cleaning.
Advantages of Using Steam Cleaners to Clean Ovens
- No toxic fumes or odors are emitted during the process, so it’s completely safe to use it around kids.
- It doesn’t use as much heat or energy as self-cleaning ovens.
- It eliminates the dangers that are associated with self-cleaning ovens.
- There is no need to use harsh chemicals. Steam itself is enough to clean the grease and melt the build-on dirt.
- Steam cleaning oven grills are also safe and can be easily done with steam cleaners.
- It reduces the cost of cleaning as steam cleaners can be used for steam cleaning kitchen appliances too. Not just this, you can use steam cleaners to clean tile grout lines and grease on kitchen floors.
Steam Cleaning Vs. Self-Cleaning Ovens – Which is Better?
While both can effectively clean the oven, steam-cleaning ovens take less time and energy. It doesn’t release toxic fumes and unpleasant burning odors. You can also find oven ranges that have both options: steam cleaning and self-cleaning. However, if you own an oven that doesn’t feature these options, you can safely use steam cleaners to deep clean your oven.
We recommend you our top pick machines that are best for cleaning ovens and stoves.
We assure you our recommendation will not disappoint you. Have a joyful cleaning!
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