Aluminum foil stuck to new oven bottom - how to remove

It says right in the owner's manual not to use aluminum foil on the bottom of the oven. Try to remove it with steel wool...

Hi Virginia,
It looks like you inherited a good oven.
There is no substantial difference between a LOFRA oven and others on the market. Often foil is used to protect the surfaces so cleaning is made easy. I cannot understand why there is insulation in the oven. Does it appear as if the manufacturer has installed the insulation, or has it been placed there by its previous owner? This may have been placed in there to retain heat in the bottom of the oven.
I suggest that you check that the foil is not in contact or could come into contact with the element of the oven for safety.

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!!

You may be able to get it opff with the oven hot. Whatever is holding it was liquid when hot before, so should at least loosen enough for you to remove it.

To all those who think this problem description couldn't be true, you're wrong. You're right that the aluminum did not get hot enough to melt though.....What happens is that the non-stick teflon coating they put on the aluminum get's too hot and bonds with the oven bottom.... like a crazy epoxy!

Furthermore, this isn't a problem in older, conventional-type ovens... this is moreso a problem with ovens that have a hidden bottom element.... The bottom element is actually directly below the oven bottom, and lining the oven bottom with foil is basically like putting it directly on the element. And that part gets extremely HOT!!!

Thankfully I've got the solution to this! But it takes some extreme patience, a lot of respect for what you're working with and some good ventilation.

I went back to my high school chemistry class to get the answer. It's Lye, aka Caustic Soda aka, Sodium Hydroxide.

I used Drano Kitchen Crystals off the shelf of the grocery store..it's about 70% lye with some added salts to aid the chemical reaction.

You'll need some plasticene, the drano, water, GLOVES!!, a lot of paper towels and wood skewers and GOOD VENTILATION.

Start the ventilation and open a window or door.
Put on your gloves.
Use the plasticene to create a dam about .25"-.5" high around the area in the oven you're looking to remove the aluminum from... the area's you're working in should be about 2.5" in diameter.
Pour in some of the drano into the dam and add enough water to touch all the sides of the dam......if the chemical reaction hasn't started (should be almost instant) keep adding the drano bit by bit until it does... the dam contents will start to boil and ammonia fumes and a little hydrogen gas will form....... hence the need for some good ventilation!!
Once the reaction is done, poke around with the wood skewer to see if the oven bottom is clear... if you're satisfied with the results, add some some vinegar in to help neutralize the solution a bit.... then use the wood skewer to remove the plasticene dam to a dish to be rinsed off ASAP.
Use paper towels to wipe up the mess on the bottom of the oven.... See your results! the area of the oven botton you treated should be free of aluminum and just be discoloured instead..... not from the drano, but from where the teflon bonded.
Repeat the process until the oven bottom is clean.

To get a 'feel' for the chemical reaction and what to expect, experiment first!... take a square of aluminum foil, go to the backyard with the foil shaped in a littlebowl and place it on a dish or pan, add some drano crystals to it then add a little water... step back from the dish and try not to breath the fumes!.. the dish will be hot!!

It took me about 6 hr to clean the bottom of my oven when this happened to me.

Hopefully this helps some other poor unfortunate souls who finds themselves in this situation!

Trying to better define the problem....

Do you have any cuts, holes or "shorting" or tin-foil/aluminum around your bottom bake heat-element? If so, you may need to replace the baking Heat Element. (Ensure you do not use aluminum foil around your heat element to prevent your oven from getting dirty)

To replace your baking heat element, with power off; remove 2 screws securing the bake element. Slightly tug and pull towards you for about 3 inches or so and disconnect the connecting wires at each end. Then completely remove the heat element and install new in reverse manner. Whats' you're model number?

Unfortunately, it's too late. The tin foil has melted into the panel and can't be removed. The melted foil will not affect oven operation. 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 (if replaceable) or the entire oven liner...

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.