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Thanks to searches on "self-cleaning oven" and "continuous-clean ovens," we got the dirt on stoves that take the elbow grease out of clean up. According to HowStuffWorks.com, standard self-cleaning ovens work their magic with extra heat. During the self-cleaning cycle, the oven heats up to about 900°F. The high temperature burns off cooking dirt and debris, leaving just a little ash that can be wiped away. These ovens come with an automatic lock that keeps the door securely closed during the cleaning cycle, preventing
accidental burns. Once the oven cools down, the lock opens, and you can use the oven as normal. Because of the cleaning feature, self-cleaning ovens include extra insulation. This makes them more energy efficient, since they use less energy for everyday cooking. However, if you use the self-cleaning cycle more than once a month, you'll consume more energy than you save. Consumer Reports notes that most ovens sold today offer a self-cleaning feature, except for pro-style gas models. To help the oven do its job a little better, wipe up
spills before using the cleaning cycle. This will lessen the production of smoke during the process and may help preserve the oven's porcelain enamel glaze. In particular, sugary messes from pies and carbohydrate-loaded drips from casseroles may damage the oven surface if they're burned off. If you have a pet bird, make sure to take it out of the house while you run a self-cleaning oven. Overheated nonstick cooking surfaces, as well as overheated cooking oils and fats, can create fumes that are dangerous to your feathered friend. Birds have very sensitive respiratory systems, and many household substances that are harmless to people can kill birds. Some ovens and toaster ovens offer continuous cleaning or catalytic cleaning. Instead of incinerating the soil like a self-cleaning oven, the continuous-clean oven has a chemically treated, textured finish that helps burn off splatters as they happen, at normal cooking temperatures. The continuous-cleaning surface spreads out greasy spills to help them oxidize quickly. This is great for fatty and oily messes, but it takes temperatures of 475°F or higher to remove milk, cheese, and sugary substances, so these ovens may not get as squeaky clean as their self-cleaning cousins.
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