New Oven That Smokes
When you install a new appliance, you expect it to work at peak efficiency upon first use. This causes many homeowners to become distressed when they notice their new oven is smoking.
However, there’s really nothing to worry about when a new oven smokes. In fact, it’s pretty common for a new unit to smoke slightly or create a noticeable odor the first few times it is used. This is because the heat from the appliance is burning away a protective layer of oil used during the manufacturing process. This smoke and smell should disappear after the first few hours of use. If you’re concerned about this smoke, consider running your appliance for a few hours without any food inside, eliminating any oil residue along the way.
Why Do Older Ovens Smoke?
If you’ve had your oven for a while, you may periodically notice smoke coming from the appliance. This smoke is typically created when grease or food residue trapped in your unit begins to burn.
No matter what you cook, you’re bound to get some unwanted liquids or particles trapped in your oven. This occurs when cooking uncovered meat that has a high percentage of fat, or when cooking flaky frozen items like pizza or French fries. Airborne grease and food particles can gather along the walls or bottom of your appliance, and over time will burn and create smoke.
There is also the chance that your oven is creating smoke because it’s actually caught fire. Malfunctions in the unit’s heating elements or excessive grease within the appliance can create hazardous conditions that ultimately cause fires. If your oven has caught fire, you should immediately call your local fire department. Once the blaze has been resolved, you can contact a professional appliance repair technician to examine your unit and determine if it can be repaired or if it should be replaced. This situation is fairly uncommon, but obviously very severe.
How To Fix An Oven That Smokes
The most common cause of a smoking oven is grease or food particle build-up, and the easiest way to solve the problem is to clean the oven. If you have a modern oven, you can use the unit’s self-cleaning feature to eradicate any mess within its exterior. Self-cleaning cycles run the oven at an extremely high temperature while sealed to burn-off unwanted particles and grease, and may create a healthy amount of smoke along the way. Once the cycle is complete, be sure to wipe away any ashes left within the unit. This should solve your oven smoke problem.
You can also clean your oven by hand, using non-toxic oven cleaner to wipe food or grease off of the oven’s walls and bottom. If you use common household cleaners, you may notice that the smoke problem persists. This is because the unit is burning off chemical residue from you cleaner, which is very unhealthy.
If your oven has been properly cleaned and is still creating smoke, you may be facing a bigger issue in need of repairs. To resolve persistent oven smoke, you should enlist assistance from an oven repair expert.
Solve Common Oven Repair Problems Today
An oven that creates smoke can be very alarming, but in reality, it’s often not a huge problem. If you have a brand new oven, it’s completely natural for it to create some smoke while it burns off its protective layer of oil. Meanwhile, an older unit that smokes is almost always suffering at the cause of grease and food particles. Regular cleaning should ensure that your oven rarely generates smoke.
Should you be facing more serious smoke problems, you can contact a professional appliance repair service for additional assistance.