Melted Tin Foil in bottom of oven

The tin foil is there to reflect the heat and the lagging is to stop the heat from escaping.
I would think the foil should not be touching the element but otherwise, your description sounds plausible.

With the older models of self-cleaning ovens one could put aluminum foil on the bottom tray of the oven, but with the newer models there is a warning (hidden in the last line) of your booklet for models of stoves where aluminum foil should 'not' be used! Even though print in small and many consumers are complaining regarding their stoves and melted aluminum stuck to the bottom tray of their oven (nothing will get it off) all manufacturer do 'not' cover this problem under warranty and thus, it will cost you $44 to buy a new tray. You unscrew the two screws to the bottom of the damaged tray of your oven and then install the new one and put back the screws. Letters of complaint should be written to the manufacturers to have them put this warning in clear bold print right on the front cover of the instruction brochure.

See this link: http://askruth.blogspot.com/2006/07/cleaning-baked-on-foil-in-oven-help.html

"I called Sears and this is what they said to do:

BE CAREFUL, remove as much of the foil as possible Turn oven on to 200 lay an old wet bath towel on top. Use a plastic spatular to remove the foil.

They said it will take some time to remove the foil, in some cases days, and that you can still use the oven but DO NOT use the self cleaning untill all the foil is removed."

If you can remove the bottom drip tray/pan from your oven which the tinfoil is stuck to, than remove it. Ovens with "hidden element" usually have the removable bottom tray/pan. Don't scrape yet!!
Lay the tinfoil laden tray on a flat service where it wont be disturbed for a couple of days.
Now remove any tinfoil you can with a plastic scraper/spatula/pancake flipper.
Once thats done, pour bleach directly onto the drip tray/pan until it covers all the stuck tinfoil.(assuming your oven pan is like mine and has a lip all the way around and is somewhat countersunk).
Leave the bleach in for about 2 days. Now get your plastic scraper again and scrape away. The stuck tinfoil should all be dissolved by the bleach and the scraper should get rid of any residue. Then rinse!
Now this method will probably leave some darkened stains on the oven tray, but not near as ugly or noticeable as that melted tinfoil!!

Good luck!!

Sparkle Toilet Cleaner,  Saturate  aluminum with it! contains hydrochloric acid, just eats it away until its gone , smokes a bit but does not harm enamel!

in your owners manuel is stated to not put tin foil on the bottom of the oven.. depending on your model you may be able to replace the bottom panel.. however you can still use the oven without any problems.

Unfortunately, it's too late. The tin foil has melted into the panel and can't be removed. You should never place anything on the bottom of a stove that has a hidden element. You will damage the panel. Oven operation is not affected. The only option you have is to replace the panel or the entire oven liner...

Unfortunately, it's too late. The tin foil has melted into the panel and can't be removed. You should never place anything on the bottom of a stove that has a hidden element. You WILL damage the panel. The only option you have is to replace the panel or the entire oven liner...

if not a lot of foil get that easy off thats made for self cleaning ovens soak it let it sit then wipe make sure you get the one that says safe for silf cleaning dont scrape soak then after wipping off run self clean

hi floppy,

if you can't scrape most of it off with a plastic scraper, you may have to buy a new bottom pan. if you can get most of it off it should be ok to use. also if you have propane gas make sure your stove was converted properly.

Use "The Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner" to dissolve the foil. *Caution* when the cleaner is applied to the foil a chemical reaction occurs releasing some harmful fumes so please use outside or in a well ventilated area. I just did this to a Frigidaire oven I bought from Lowes at a discounted price. The previous owners bought it, did not read the owners manual or just disregarded the warnings on using foil in the oven and thought they would line the bottom pan with foil to help make it easier to clean (Good idea, but don't try it on the hidden element ovens). With the heating element being hidden under the drip pan the heat is hot enough to melt the foil and fuse it to the pan. Now most of the pans on these ovens are removable by just a couple of screws and I strongly recommend removing the pan when doing this. Squirt some Works toilet bowl cleaner on it in a well ventilated area and watch it go to work. It took about 15 minutes for it to dissolve all the foil on my oven, then I rinsed it clean and reinstalled it in the oven. The pan does have a slight discoloration on it, not from the cleaner but from the foil being melted onto the pan, if you choose you can buff this out. Most of the modern ovens have the ceramic coated drip pans in them so the Works toilet bowl cleaner will not harm them, unless you have scratched the finish off. Works Toilet bowl cleaner contains a fair amount of hydrochloric acid which is what makes this work so well.