How often do you clean your self-cleaning oven?

[raj1]

How often do you run the self-cleaning cycle on your oven? Yearly, quarterly, weekly?

[slacker]

Whenever it's dirty. After roasting 1 chicken, it needs to be cleaned, unless I know I'll be roasting another chicken in the next couple of days, then I'll wait till I've cooked that chicken too. After toasting croutons, it doesn't need to be cleaned. I always want to start with a clean oven.

And I have burned out the heating element, but that took 6.5 years to do. In the meantime, I always had a nice clean oven.

[OrganicGal]

Can't believe I found this topic...I'm a new first-timer with a self-cleaning oven, and was wondering how often it should be run. So, it seems all over the place depending on need. I was also wondering if self-cleaning ovens have an automatic shut-off. I'm in the process of moving to a house, the previous residents left the oven FILTHY, and I wanted to run the cleaning cycle. I'm there in the evenings cleaning before moving in (yeah, the whole house was just like the oven...last night I spent 1.5 hours cleaning an empty fridge, I won't even mention how bad...), and was wondering if I could start the cleaning cycle right before I left at night to go back to the soon to be abandoned apartment. So, I'd start it like 11 PM and wouldn't be back until about 7 PM. Any suggestions?

[JMF]

You might want to look up the manual for that oven online and see if that model has an automatic turnoff. Most do, but if it is really old it may not.

[jillp]

I do mine whenever it needs it. My sister has never done hers though. She claims that it wears out the heating elements more quickly, so she cleans her oven out the painfully old-fashioned way, on her hands and knees with oven cleaner. My thinking is that you can replace those elements but you cannot replace your back, so I'll do it the easy way.

[Candy]

As often as it needs it and if my cook top burner grids are especially grotty. I have run the clean cycle as often as once a week if it needs it. Then again I can go several months.

My M-I-L has never run hers at all in 20 years. She claims to be afraid of it. Meant to do that the last time we were at her house and just never got around to it.

[macca]

Usually don't have to clean it in the summer months- using the grill or my convection oven. Always give it a cleaning before thanksgiving. And if I am not careful when baking my pies, have to clean it again after Thanksgiving. And often after roasting a chicken.

[Olivia]

I do it once a year, or more if it needs it. (coincidence: I just did it last week!)

Smelled nasty, made the house really hot, but was very effective. I wonder how much the hydro on that is going to cost me :(

[Funwithfood]

Only when the pizza stone (on the bottom) has black spots due to dripping food, or when I want to clean my BBQ grills.