Did I just ruin my mom's LG ThinQ oven with yellow cap Easy-Off?

The oven isn't a total loss, but you definitely did a number on the aesthetic finish. That yellow cap Easy-Off contains sodium hydroxide, wich is a base that reacts aggressively with the blue porcelain enamel LG uses. It basially eats into the glass-like surface, which is why it looks cloudy or streaky even after you wiped it five times. You haven't created a permanent chemical bomb, you've just etched the finish. Regarding the toxic fumes concern, you can breathe. Lye isn't some permanent radioactive isotope. Once it is neutralized or washed away, the hazard is gone. The self-cleaning cycle probably burned off most of the remaining volatile compounds, which is why it smelled so bad during the process. Open all your windows, turn on the range hood fan, and give the interior a very thorough wash with a **water and white vinegar** solution. The vinegar is acidic and will help neutralize any lingering alkaline residue from the cleaner. You didn't relly bake chemicals into the finish so much as you destroyed the physical integrity of the enamel. The blue interior is designed for thier steam-based EasyClean feature, not heavy lye-based strippers. It is likely going to stay dull or splotchy forever because the top layer of the porcelain is physically damaged. It is a cosmetic nightmare now, but it is not going to poison your dinner. Just make sure you wipe it down with clean water several more times until there is zero slickness or chemical scent left. Moving forward, tell your mom to avoid that high-heat self-clean cycle anyway. Those cycles get up to 800+ degrees and are notorious for frying the control boards on modern ovens. Stick to the steam clean setting or just dish soap and water from now on. If you have scrubbed it well and done a **test burn** at 400 degrees for 30 minutes without a sharp chemical smell, you are perfectly safe to cook. No need to drop a grand on a new unit just because the inside is ugly.

Does the lye stripping the finish mean food is going to stick to the bottom like crazy now? I've always wondered if that blue stuff was basicly a non-stick coating or just for looks. If the porcelain is physically damaged, I'd be worried about spills burning on and never coming off.

When you do the vinegar wash, do you just spray it on or let it soak for a bit? I’m trying to figure out if I need to be extra gentle with the scrubbing part now that the surface is all etched up.

To the person asking about sticking—yeah, that's the real bummer. That blue coating is hydrophilic, meaning water is supposed to slide right under the grease during a steam cycle. Once you etch it with lye, you lose that "easy clean" magic. Expect to spend more time scrubbing future spills by hand.

Also, keep an eye on the bottom for any actual flaking. If the enamel is just dull and cloudy, you're safe. But if it starts peeling or "crazing" where little glass shards can pop off into your food, that's when you have to worry about replacing parts or the whole unit. Otherwise, it’s just a lesson learned.

If you left the racks in there while all this was going down, check if they still slide smoothly. usally, the lye plus that insane heat makes them grind like crazy. You can rub a tiny bit of vegetable oil on the side tracks to help if they're sticking now.

Don't sweat the 'chemical bomb' thing too much. If the house doesn't smell like a bleach factory anymore, you've allready vented the worst of it. It’s mostly just an ugly lesson learned. I'd still do one more 'burn-off' at 450 for an hour just to be 100% sure the smell is totally gone before you throw a pizza in there.