What is a fan oven?
A fan oven (also known as fan-assisted or a convection oven) is an oven which has a fan and an exhaust system. The fan is placed at the back of the interior. It blows hot air around the oven so food can be cooked more evenly and more quickly. Regular ovens lack this system and just surround the food with hot air, instead of circulating it.
Now when that’s out of the way, let’s get down and dirty, literally…
How to clean a fan assisted oven?
You can use 3 methods. Before doing so, however, make sure to get any trays and racks out. They can be cleaned separately. Once that’s done, let’s start with:
Self-cleaning feature option
Most modern ovens have this cool-sounding feature: self-cleaning. Sounds like you can just turn it on and go read a book, while the oven takes care of itself. Unfortunately, it’s not like that. The self-cleaning function heats the oven to extreme temperatures of about 900°F (482.°C). The heat reduces all the leftover grease and food bits to ash, making it easy to wipe away. That doesn’t mean no effort is involved.
- Remove the racks and trays as the extreme heat will likely damage the chrome plating. These need to be cleaned separately. Fortunately, you’d have time to do that since the self-cleaning feature takes several hours to finish. Learn how to clean oven racks naturally here.
- Switch the self-cleaning option on and set the amount of hours. Make sure the oven door is closed properly so no fumes or heat would escape.
- Vacate the room of any children and pets, and open all the windows and doors once the cleaning procedure starts. Depending on your oven model, the self-cleaning cycle may take around 4 hours. Check the user manual for details.
- Once the cleaning procedure finishes, the oven will need several hours to cool down.
- Clean the ashes from the oven interior by giving it a good wipe down.
Eco-friendly option – Using baking soda and water
- Sumaišykite kepimo soda ir vandenį, kad susidarytų pasta. Kadangi valysite visą orkaitės vidų, jums reikės bent puodelio kepimo sodos. Įdėkite jį į plastikinį indą ir užpilkite šiek tiek vandens. Nepamirškite išmaišyti. Įpilkite tiek vandens, kad formuojanti pasta sutirštėtų, nepersistenkite.
- Mentele arba minkšta kempine uždenkite orkaitės vidų pasta. Pabandykite plonu sluoksniu paskleisti visą paviršių. Įpilkite papildomo mišinio tose vietose, kur matote sunkių dėmių. Orkaitės inžinierius visada patars neuždengti kaitinimo elementų ir vidinių ventiliatorių pasta, kad vėliau išvengtumėte remonto darbų.
- Uždarykite orkaitės dureles ir palikite valymo mišinį kelias valandas, kad suskaidytų riebalus ir maisto daleles. Dar geriau, palikite per naktį.
- Nuvalykite pastą virtuvine kempinėle arba drėgnu skudurėliu. Visas maisto daleles turėtų būti lengva pašalinti, bet jei susidursite su užsispyrusiomis, apipurkškite jas baltuoju actu. Cheminė reakcija padės atsikratyti kietų nešvarumų.
- Pašalinus visus riebalus ir nešvarumus, nuvalykite orkaitę švaria šluoste, pamirkyta švariame vandenyje. Taip užtikrinama, kad neliktų maisto dalelių ar valymo pastos likučių. Baigę išskalauti orkaitę, galite leisti jai išdžiūti pačiai arba išdžiovinti patys, naudodami sausą švarų skudurą. Arba galite keletą minučių įjungti prietaisą žemiausiu nustatymu, kol jis išdžius.
So far, the methods can be used for regular ovens as well as convection ovens. Here is where it gets tricky.
How to clean convection oven fan
- Unplug your fan oven from the mains.
- Get a screwdriver and unscrew the bolts holding the protective cover.
- Get a socket wrench and unscrew the fan blade nut. Keep in mind, it’s reverse threaded.
- Place the fan blade in a dip tank full of cleaning solution. The particles will degrade and become easier to scrape off after 40 to 50 minutes. (You can clean the blade while it is still attached to the interior of the oven. Keep in mind, that will be very hard and you will only be able to clean its front side.)
- Reinstall the fan blade, once it’s clean and dry. Notice the motor shaft thread is in the shape of a D and so is the blade hole.
- Screw the cover back on, by lining up the holes.
- Test run
Think that’s too much hard work and you don’t remember where you left your toolbox? Well, why don’t you just…
Hire a professional oven cleaner
These methods sound easy to pull off on paper, but if you lack enough time and especially the willpower, they can be quite overwhelming. Fortunately, you can save yourself the time and trouble by giving Shining Oven a call and booking a professional oven cleaning technician. The pro will disassemble your convection oven and clean each part separately in a matter of 2 to four hours. Afterwards, he will put everything back together and test run your convection oven. Your cooker will get back its former shine while you spend your time on more pleasurable activities. Book your oven cleaning today!