Auto Self Clean Oven

So I started using my oven recently. Got my cookie trays from Costco. Bought a box of Otis Spunkmeyer cookies from Costco and when using my oven, I noticed a latch. I thought it was to lock the oven from accidentally opening, but apparently, the moment I latch the door, the “auto self clean” light turned on. Of course I undid the latch, but it got me wondering how an oven can clean itself, or what exactly does the auto self clean do. Is a water source connected to it and would come out and swirl around like a dish washer? Turns out it was not quite what I had expected.

From Yahoo! Answers:

How does the auto clean feature on an oven work?

Self cleaning ovens work very well. The oven is heated up to 950 degrees F. and that burns off the dirt and turns it to a gray ash that you wipe off with a damp cloth.

You should remove the racks before cleaning or they will turn an ugly blueish color and eventually an ugly grayish color unless they are porcelain coated as some of the newer ones are. You should not let the dirty broiler pan in the oven or it could start on fire. You should also wipe(not scrub) the interior with a wet soapy cloth to remove the excess spillage, grease and spatter.

The self clean cycle is usually a four hour process that slowly heats the oven taking almost an hour for it to get up to cleaning temperatures and the door latch locks so you cannot open the door once it reaches 550 degrees F. and it will remain locked until it cools to below that temperature at the end of the cycle or you abort the clean cycle for any reason. It can take a while for the latch to unlock so if you attempt to unlatch the door and the lever will not move do not force it just wait longer. Many newer ranges do not have door latch handles and latch and unlatch on their own.

You can self clean an oven up to three times for the price of a can of oven cleaner so it is more economical as well.

Source(s):
40 years major appliance repair.

So at 950°F, I guess everything just burns to ashes. Interesting way to “clean” an oven. Good thing I didn’t leave that “auto self clean” thing on or my cookies may have actually caught on fire.