How to Clean a Whirlpool Self Cleaning Oven

Slide-in range

In Grandma's time, oven cleaning was a chore worthy of the name, and dangerous, to boot. A dirty oven required lots of elbow grease, and lots of time. Commercial oven cleaners helped, but upped the danger factor because they dissolved grease and carbon with caustic chemicals, including fumes, that could chemically burn lung linings and skin. Then came self-cleaning ovens. Now it's easy to take an oven from carbonized grease to sparkling cleanliness--while you do something else. All you have to do is prepare, let the oven super-heat, and wipe up afterwards.

Things You'll Need

• Household cleaner or de-greaser
• Plastic scrubbing pad or scrub brush
• Damp rags
• Bucket partially filled with water for rinsing rags
• Gloves

Instructions

Preparing

1. 

   Remove everything from inside the oven that isn't permanently affixed: racks, broiler pan and foil liner included.

2. Clean by hand the outside inch or so of each wall, the floor, the sides and door edges, avoiding the gasket. Use the mildest cleaning solution your level of soil allows: plain water, dilute solution of water and dishwashing liquid, spray-on all-purpose household cleaner or household de-greasing spray.

3. Clean the inside, sides, top and bottom of the oven door in the same fashion. Focus on those parts that will not be heated when the oven is closed, and again, avoid the gasket.

4. Clean the gaskets with a damp rag, carefully. Cautiously displace gaskets and get dirt from between them and the metal oven surfaces, but do not clean so enthusiastically that you damage the gaskets.

5. Wipe any loose soil from the bottom of the oven.

6. Remove anything plastic on the cooktop and storage drawer. Empty the storage drawer.

Super-Heat

1. 

   Close and check the oven door. If equipped with a mechanical lock, engage it, then pull lightly to be sure the door is locked.

2. Check the "Use and Care Guide" for your oven's succession of steps to begin the cleaning cycle and for the minimum and maximum times you may select. "Auto-clean" or "Precise Clean" are good options on many models of Whirlpool ranges or ovens.

3. Press "Start." The controls display soon will show that the cleaning cycle has begun, and usually will show what stage the cycle has reached.

4. Do not interrupt the cycle while cleaning. The cycle includes an adequate cooling period before the oven automatically unlocks.

5. Press "Off," "Cancel," "Clear" or some similar choice from your control panel, should the message indicating the cleaning cycle has finished continue to display after the door unlocks. Most appliances will return the display to the time of day when all cleaning cycle steps are complete.

6. Wipe out any ashes that remain on the floor, walls, ceiling or oven door.

7. Clean the inside of the window, if it's still dirty, with window cleaner, or fine steel wool (size 000). By cleaning the window thoroughly before the self-cleaning cycle, you will avoid this step.

Tips & Warnings

• Cleaning cycle time (automatic settings) is between 2.5 and 4.5 hours. A self-cleaning oven works by reducing soil to ashes--burning it to bits in high heat. Several appliance parts may not work during the cleaning cycle, including the oven light and cooktop burners. To keep oven racks shiny, never leave them in the oven during a cleaning cycle. After the oven is clean, lubricate oven tracks with cooking oil to make racks slide more easily. If you have lost the user manual for your range, oven or stove, download a fresh one from the Whirlpool USA website. Always clean food spills as soon after they occur as oven temperature permits. This will keep the oven cleaner, reduce cleaning cycle duration, which saves energy, and avoid oven chamber stains. Run the self-cleaning cycle more frequently, rather than allowing the appliance to get very dirty. While it cleans, a dirtier oven, emits more smoke and uses more energy than a lightly soiled one does.

• An appliance in self-cleaning mode gets hot. Keep children and pets away, and do not touch it yourself. Never block oven vents. Be sure air can flow freely around the appliance and around the room. Fumes from burning oven soil can sicken or kill some birds. Take them to another room, and make sure the entire house is well ventilated during the cleaning cycle. Do not use oven cleaners on the surfaces of a self-cleaning appliance.

References

• Whirlpool.com

Resources

• Replacement User Manuals