Self Cleaning Oven - Just Say NO!!

[Charles Pisano]

I recently purchased a (new construction) vacation home and it came with a SC oven. I've never bothered to buy myself one of these so I was unfamiliar.

I attempted to use it the other evening and quickly became sick from the fumes even though I had opened windows. After doing very little reading (about small birds dying etc), I quickly realized super heating the Teflon in an oven (or any teflon) to save oneself the trouble of getting in there and cleaning it is not worth the potential harm to me or guests.

Anyone is better off not using this feature if you happen to have it. The chemicals can also be absorbed in upholstery and carpeting etc and then later absorbed through the skin.

Like cell phones and computers and microwaves, these types of ovens have only been around for a relatively short period of time. Don't be a lab rat for future generations.. As a further precaution, I'd recommend not cooking over 350 in it either..

CP

[Pat]

You are supposed to kill the bird BEFORE you put it in the oven.

[nhurst]

At the risk of feeding a troll, I'm going to respond. After some quick research

going to say you're mistaken: Teflon doesn't burn until at least 500 degrees fahrenheit, which is hotter than most ovens go, except when cleaning, and then it goes to

557 degrees or so. The few instructions on using a self-cleaning oven I've seen state that you should remove everything from the oven before you begin the self-cleaning process.

Yes, Teflon will burn on a cooktop, because burners get hotter than ovens to, but again, instructions state that you should not leave empty cookware on active cooktops.

As to the rest of your stuff, you do know that microwave ovens have been around since the 1940s, right? And that in a properly used microwave oven, no microwaves escape?

And for mobile phones, they were around in the 1940s as well, and only became "cellular" when phone companies wanted to reuse the phone frequencies, so broke urban areas into "cells".

Here are some Teflon and related links that should illustrate my point:

So in short, you're allowing yourself to be used to spread baseless FUD. You probably have more to worry about in ingesting the aluminum content in your teflon-coated cookware than Teflon itself.

-Nathan

Charles Pisano wrote:

[Edwin Pawlowski]

As a further precaution, I'd recommend you educate yourself. Self cleaning ovens are NOT coated with Teflon. Yes, the gunk in hte bottom will burn and stink, but it is NOT Teflon so your don't have a clue about cooking in them.

[glenn P]

It's been known for a long time that super-heating teflon produces toxic particles & gases. I can't see why they'd line a pyro oven with this!

[Chris Lewis]

According to Charles Pisano :

_What_ "teflon in an oven"?

There is no teflon in ovens. What you may think is teflon is an enamel coating which is designed for the temperatures of self-cleaning.

There's only teflon in an oven if you leave a non-stick pan in it.

Which you aren't supposed to do if you read the instructions.

[Frank]

Pyrolysis products whether from Teflon or other organic materials will kill birds because of their very high respiratory rate. That's why they used to use canaries to detect poison gas in mines. Pyrolyzed Teflon will give you "polymer fume fever" which is flu like symptoms that go away. Your supposed to use you oven vent or fume hood, whatever. My wife often forgets when cooking and often tests the smoke alarms ;) Frank

[sonofabitchsky]

Or drinking diet coke, or going outside while its raining, or taking virtually any chances in life. Live in a bomb shelter and have a happy fruitful life full of emotions!! Yay! Sign me up!!

[Jack]

Its sad but some humans are as dumb as they come. I'm betting you graduated from HS in the 70"s

[Eigenvector]

What is it about people and the need for an enemy in their life. From the Wikipedia

"While Teflon itself is chemically inert and non-toxic, Teflon begins to deteriorate after the temperature of cookware reaches about 500 °F (260 °C), and begins to significantly decompose above 660 °F (350 °C). These degradation products can be lethal to birds, and can cause flu-like symptoms in humans (see Teflon flu). By comparison, cooking fats, oils and butter will begin to scorch and smoke at about 392 °F (200 °C), and meat is usually fried between 400-450 °F (200-230 °C), but empty cookware can exceed this temperature if left unattended on a hot burner. A 1959 study, conducted before the FDA approved the material for use in food processing equipment, showed that the toxicity of fumes given off by the coated pan on dry heating was less than that of fumes given off by ordinary cooking oils.[5] A 1973 study confirmed the FDA findings and found that a 4-hour exposure to the pyrolysis products of butter in an uncoated pan at 260°C were 100% toxic to parakeets, whereas no deaths were observed for exposure to Teflon pyrolysis products until the Teflon coated pan was heated to 280 °C.[6] Over the 40 years non-stick cookware has been in widespread use, there is only one published case of a minor, short-lasting health effect in humans linked to overheating non-stick cookware.[7]"

[Pat]

I've never bought a new oven (how sad is that) but I wonder if they don't coat them with wax or oil to keep them nice and shiny until they're installed. Maybe it was just something like that burning off.

[Chris Lewis]

According to Pat :

Why would they do that? Most times you don't see the thing until it's installed. Wax or oil would cause a major stench even without self-clean.

As have the occasional time where disgruntled employees in the factory have smeared the insides of a oven with soap. Doesn't need self-clean to produce incredibly noxious smelling smoke.

I may recall incorrectly, but didn't he say that he'd not used the self-clean for three years? If you start with a very dirty oven (eg: lots of broiled steaks) and self-clean, it'll also be pretty noxious as the spatter burns off.

We run ours about once a year. With all the windows open and the vent going. Sometimes sets off the smoke detectors.

[lwasserm]

I don't know about teflon in an oven, but self cleaning ovens with the usual enameled finish have been around for at least 20 years.

[mm]

In the 40's through 80's and maybe a bit longer -- certainly longer for most people -- the transmitting antenna wasn't held an inch from one's brain.

[Pat]

"I recently purchased a (new construction) vacation home"

If you start with a very dirty

[trader4]

The only way teflon gets into an oven is if you put it there. The OP is either completely stupid or a troll.

[user]

When the smoke alarm sounds, that is the signal that supper is ready.

[HeyBub]

[...]

"The True Believer" by Eric Hoffer.

1. People mind their own business when it is worth minding. When it's not, they take their mind off their own meaningless affairs by minding other people's business.
2. Membership in mass movements is interchangeble - the goals of the movement are irrelevant.
3. People join mass movements to give their own pitiful existence meaning.
4. The less secure one is in his own beliefs, the more credence he attributes to his holy cause.

A contribution by a mentor of mine:

"I don't care, nor do I want to hear about, what you 'believe.' The only thing that counts is what can your prove."

And my own contribution:

Many don't let the facts interfere with their feelings.

There is no doubt that the world would be objectively better off with asbestos, DDT, lead-based paint, etc., but for people with not much else to do.

[nhurst]

While true, they were also broadcasting at a much higher signal strength. IIRC your cell phones today are measured in milliwatts. The older ones were measured in watts.

So while it's closer, the intensity is much lower.

-Nathan

[Jim Yanik]

[e-mail] (Charles Pisano) wrote in news:2094-450AEACC- [e-mail]:

What teflon is there inside an oven cavity? You're NOT supposed to leave your pans in there.