=New Kenmore - just bought at Sears end of August - I put tin foil on the botton to catch spills and the foil melted. This is a brand new oven and doesnt have the coil so even though I have used the foil in this manner for years in my old oven, I now have a huge problem with my brand new appliance. How can I clean it off?
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.
Thank you soooo much for writing about your experience. Like I said above, I decided against using pool acid (mostly out of fear) but stopped by Wal-Mart to pick up The Works. Not only was it cheap ($1.22) but it really worked! The only notes I woudl add is that sometimes it will take multiple 15-minute soak sessions for all of the aluminum to dissolve. I noticed that the aluminum + toilet bowl cleaner would stop reacting after a while. I would reccomend wiping it away after 15 minutes and then reapplying as needed until the foil is completely dissolved. It took me about an hour. oh and I was never able to get it off the actual oven, but I opened all the windows and ran several fans. Very smelly stuff. Thank you for rescuing my oven!
oh my gosh....thank you!!!! I have a built in oven with blue floors and walls. The inside cannot be replaced, so I was beside myself. The toilet bowl cleaner worked, and I am so grateful
I have a question regarding the appearance of the enamel after using “The Works” bowl cleaner. It worked great in removing/dissolving the aluminum foil but now the area is dull in appearance. Someone mentioned using an “Auto Body Rubbing Compund” to bring back the shine. I’m concerned about possible toxicity when using the oven after that. Does anyone have any information regarding this?
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WE ABSOLUTELY FOUND A SOLUTION!!!
My husband restores old cars and when I showed him what happened in our brand new Wolf Oven (blue interior) - I had put Reynolds Aluminum foil at the bottom to catch the pizza drippings - he jumped right to my rescue.
He sampled first and then put Pool Acid (available at any hardware store) inside the oven. First removing ALL metal (racks and pans). He also turned on the fans and opened all the windows - the fumes were strong!
The Pool Acid went right to work dissolving the melted aluminum foil right away. He used a damp rag to wipe it out. Then he buffed it further with "Auto Paint Rubbing Compound" to return it to its natural pretty shiny blue. Then of course we cleaned it a little more with a rag and water.
I've got the oven on self-clean right now and it should be perfectly new upon me this final cycle completing!
Kudos to my amazing husband for figuring out what nobody else could seem to do!!!
Is there any way we could get in contact? I have the same oven and the same problem, but less of a facility with the handling of acids. I would really, REALLY appreciate it if I could get some tips - if you respond I can give you my e-mail address. Thank you so much already for the help!
Kudos to you and your husband for taking the time to write about this solution. I was feeling hopeless about the problem until I found this page with your story. I ended up going with the less caustic Tile Works to dissolve the aluminum foil left in the bottom of my oven. Thanks all the same.
Hi krazyndistur, can you please let me know how you managed to dissolve the aluminum foil? please help, I have the same problem
Please help!
Use The Works Toilet Bowl cleaner. It will dissolve the tin foil instantly.
I did something similar and used pool acid to remove the aluminium foil, then cleaned with a paste of baking soda and water, then oven cleaner and finally warm soapy water. I then ran the fan with the door open to get rid of any remaining smell. However I am still a bit concerned as to whether the oven is now safe to use. I have a toddler and am pregnant so whilst I don't want to buy a new oven I would rather do this if there is any risk in using the oven after using pool acid in it. Any help would be appreciated!
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Purchased Kenmore Range (glass-top) from Sears. Did the same thing. My wife lined bottom of oven with aluminum foil. Pre-heated and melted the foil. Have not tried any of the remedies but appears that the best thing is to replace the part. Called Sears and they say not covered under warranty as they do mention it in their "IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS" page (4) of manual. Very last line and they do not mention melting aluminum at all...Just says not to use it as "it may cause shock or start a fire"...GO FIGGER !!! It's almost as if they don't want you to see it and most people don't read that deep into reading manual anyway. It just generates more business 'cause we have to order the new part to really fix it... Warning needs to be on the front page or on a big bold sticker on the outside or inside the oven...
I can't believe I just did this to my brand new Kenmore oven! My family has always used foil to line the bottom of the oven. I found another site where All of the comments were 'Boo-ing' the lady for using foil, saying they've NEVER heard of the technique, and why on earth would someone NOT read the manual. It made me feel aweful! Really - the way I see it is Who the heck can't use an oven? Why read on how to use it? Well, my warning was inside of the oven its self, but it's the SAME COLOR as the inside of the oven! I COULDN'T SEE IT until after I took a picture of what I did to show my friends! It was the flash from the camera which created a contrast in the raised warning enabeling me to see the warning - which I wouln't be able to see otherwise.
Long story short, I've found many cleaning techniques online on how to clean it off, but most say just buy a new $33 part. Ugh!
I agree, this is another way to generate revenue for the large appliance companies. When I called fridigaire about it, the authorized repair dealer in my area (Betty's Appliance Repair in Springfield, VA) was snotty about it not being covered under warranty. I'm looking forward to the class-action lawsuit that will inevitably be brought about by this. By the way, the manual says NOTHING about the foil melting. It simply says not to use it because of the risk of fire or electroshock. How convenient. Oh and don't bother asking to get a repair on it... they quoted me $290 to replace the part LOL for a one month old oven. No thanks! I'll be trying the pool acid today. Thanks for the tip, MGW801!
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The answer to ridding your oven bottom of aluminum is chemical. Go back to your high school chem class and the answer is sitting on the grocery store shelf!
Lye, aka Caustic Soda, aka Sodium Hydroxide, aka NaOH...
The truth behind this is that the aluminum did not melt... instead the non-stick teflon coating they put on the aluminum acted like an insanely strong epoxy that bonded to the oven bottom and aluminum..
No amount of scrubbing, or scrapping will take it off... Sanding with ebony paper will just ruin your finish further.... Oven cleansers are useless because the problem has nothing to do with grease or oils.
I have a solution to this that will remove all of the aluminum and leave the bottom of the oven only discoloured a bit from where the teflon bonded.... and as I mentioned it can be found on the grocery store shelf
However, the method requires a lot of caution as would be the case anytime you're handling chemicals.
Look up on you tube "NaOH + Aluminum" for a video demonstration of
what you'll be facing.
Message me for exact details of my method as others may consider it dangerous.... but you really only require the utmost respect for what you're working with.
Yes, I did it!
You'll need plasticene, NAOH, rubber gloves, vinegar and patience.
Build a dam with the plasticene around the area you want to clean... about 2-5 sq inches at a time...
Add NaOH to the dam, then slowly add water..... once you reach the critical point, the solution will start boiling....look away and don't breathe anything until the reaction stops.....
Then when it's done, douse the NaOH solution with vinegar to neutralize it some, then clean up..... repeat and repeat until your oven is done.
Yes, I did it!
Chemical is really the only way to go with this problem.
Facts:The Aluminum DID NOT melt. The teflon, non-stick coating they apply to the aluminum foil becomes a crazy epoxy at those high tempuratures and it GLUED the aluminum to the oven bottom.
- Scrapping will do nothing, but ruin the finish further.
- Soaps and oven cleaners do nothing because the problem is not related to grease or oils.
Chemically disolving the aluminim is the real solution to this problem.
You'll need plasticene, NAOH, rubber gloves, vinegar and patience.
Build a dam with the plasticene around the area you want to clean... about 2-5 sq inches at a time...
Add NaOH to the dam, then slowly add water..... once you reach the critical point, the solution will start boiling....look away and don't breathe anything until the reaction stops.....
Then when it's done, douse the NaOH solution with vinegar to neutralize it some, then clean up..... repeat and repeat until your oven is done.
The oven bottom won't ever be the way it once was, but the aluminum will be all gone, and there will be a slight discoloration from the teflon-coating that remains.
fact: the aluminum DID melt. It was in liquid puddles in the bottom of my new never been used oven. I had just set the keep warm function and a few minutes later the Al was melted and the pan was red hot. It's now rippled and the porcelain is cracked. Not a replaceable pan. It's one piece for the entire surround. I'm pretty bummed. They did say not to use Al, but supposedly only to prevent grease fires. Nothing about melting, overheating and ruining the brand new oven in 5 minutes.
Thanks will try this method as we have this problem in our house.....
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I just did this to my new electrolux oven!!! ughh!!! I read all over the internet for solutions. The good news.....I am not alone and don't feel like an idiot. many have done the same. The bad news is that it seems many have not had luck in removing it. I tried soaking bottom in baking soda and water and warming up the oven. Helped very little, small pieces came up with scraping. I read on line with patience and a wet towel over the foil and oven warmed up to 200 degrees then scrape with plastic spatula helped but took a few trials. took it a step further and coated the foil areas with salt and put a wet towel over and heated oven to 200 degrees then shut oven off. going to leave it overnight. I read that the salt may disintergrate to aluminum foil. Keep your fingers crossed. will let you all know!!!!
Its really a shame that there aren't bigger warnings. the manual mentions it in one line only!!! They never even mentioned why. It would seem that they were just worried about the foil getting hot. BUT MELTING. THINK BIG LETTERS OR SOMETHING SHOULD BE CONSIDERED!!!
The Works toilet bowl cleaner for $2 is best easiest solution. Just saturate the area and let it sit for hours and the foil magically disappears. You do get a stain as mentioned, but better than the shiny aluminum foil. I had a couple difficult spots that took longer and placing a saturated paper towel on it finished the job for me.
Will any toilet bowel cleaner work?
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Looks like I am in good company here -- apparently, they don't make stoves like they used to . . . anyway . . . and, yes, I should have read the manual.
I read all the comments here and decided to try The Works [toilet bowl cleaner]. Admittedly, I was scared because the chemicals and chemical reaction came with so many cautions on this blog and my oven bottom doesn't just lift out so that I could do this outside -- so, I started by opening all the doors and windows, turning on the ceiling fan, and then gingerly applying a very small amount of The Works with Q-tips to the tin foil . . . and waited . . . then, tried to rub it off after approx 15 generous minutes. Nothing really happened. So, I poured more of The Works directly onto the tin foil and the foil started to gently bubble. Lesson here is: start slow and increase only if you have to. I waited several minutes and then using some elbow grease the tin foil started to come off. It did take several applications of these more generous applications and "most" of the tin foil came off, the coating on my oven stayed pretty much intact, except for some shadows of where the tin foil was. In retrospect, however, I think I'd rather just purchase a new bottom for our oven and chalk it up. Hopefully, these comments will help someone else.
It has nothing to do with the quality of the stove/oven, but rather what type of oven you have. They are convection ovens and are built different than regular ones. I didn't realize my brand new oven was convection and lined the bottom like I've done for over 50 years and I ended up with the same problem. I haven't tried any of these suggestions, but I definitely will.
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After a previous comment I bought and used Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner this morning! Magic. Not hard to do. Put it on and let it sit for a while and do its thing. Foams up and takes it away. Not hard. Not expensive. The only precaution is wear rubber gloves and open the windows for ventilation. I never thought it would be so easy!!!!
Hi folks,
try to use a plastic scraper, do not use anything metal it will ruin the pan, if you can't get the foil off it would be best to replace the bottom pan.
We used lye (sodium hydroxide) purchased from a soap-making shop. Put some of the lye powder directly onto the aluminum foil and add a little water. (It is bad practice to add water to sodium hydroxide, so if you are mixing a larger quantity, add the chemical to the water!) It fizzes for a while and fairly quickly (6 hours) etches through all the foil. Sad news is that a residue of brownish stuff is left where the foil was, and doesn't seem to budge. Possibly this is a teflon coating? We haven't figured out how to get rid of the brown, but it looks a lot better than the stuck-on foil.
The lye was just about as effective as Drano, which also dissolved the foil.
We tried Telstrip paint stripper (methylene chloride) and Methyl ethyl ketone, but neither solvent touched the teflon stuff.
Make sure you ventilate the room well and wear chemical gloves and protective eyewear.
Melted tin foil in the bottom of an oven can be a fire hazard and can also damage the oven. If you have melted tin foil in the bottom of your oven, it's best to remove it as soon as possible. You can do this by using a putty knife or scraper to gently lift the foil and dispose of it properly. If the foil has stuck to the bottom of the oven, you can use a mixture of baking soda and water to loosen it. Once you have removed the foil, clean the oven with a damp cloth or sponge and then dry it thoroughly. To prevent this from happening again, do not use tin foil in the oven.
This won't solve the issue - but it does help to get the tin foil off that didn't actually melt. I first tried using a plastic spatula on the unmelted tin foil, but it didn't bring up any of the tin foil. Then I got my packaging tape out (the good stuff, not the thin cheep stuff) and I made it into a circle that would fit around my fingers. I pressed it down onto the tin foil. That puckered some of the tin foil, and then I could use the tape again to pull it off the bottom of the oven. Of course I still have a lot left, but it did help me to minimize the stuff left in the oven. Hope this helps someone. I can't believe I melted tin foil in my oven. Yes, they stamped "don't use tin foil" on the front of my oven, but they didn't say WHY. Who knew tin foil could melt??
I just did the same thing with tin foil in the bottom of our convection oven. The tin foil was baked on and would not come off with everything we tried in the house. I went to Home Hardware and bought their toilet cleaner - brand name "Professional" - 23% hydrochloric acid. It worked like a charm!!!! It is 100% the answer and does not hurt the oven bottom...just melts away the baked on stain.
Was the bottom of your oven porcelain? We have a new LG convection oven that we just did the same thing to and we tried a self cleaning cycle per the manufacturer and nothing. How long does this take if you use the hydrochloric acid? Do you have to scrub or does it just come right up?
Add me to the list. Shortly after I bought my Kenmore, I did the same thing with the same results. I now have a lovely aluminum foil mural on the bottom of my oven. I thought maybe the self-cleaning mode would melt it, but it didn't. Never again.
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Try dissolving the foil with vinegar or muriatic acid (from pool supply store)
turn your oven on 200 degrees, then turn it off and let it cool down a bit. Then spray oven cleaner on it and let it sit for an hour. I did it and it worked great. I did have to spray it a few time though.
I used "Works" toilet bowl cleaner found at Walmart. Most of the foil was dissolved, left only a dark gray residue behind much better than the bright silver color. This method did not do any damage or cause any discoloration.
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For those who say there was no warning, please see the operators manual that came with the product. It clearly states that using foil can cause damage to lower pan.
My operators manual contained a warning in VERY small print in the self-cleaning section. Hardly a section one typically reads with a brand new oven. Your comment wasn't helpful at all.
Oh I had no idea all of the users on here had the same model oven as you with the same operating manual! Thank GOD for intelligent comments like yours. Where in the world would we be without them!
Warning or not the bottom line is...many of us have been using foil to catch drippings on the bottom of our ovens for years with no problem! What has changed?
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I've heard of this but never saw it,if you look at the front of the bottom oven panel it says don't use tin foil but anyway remove the bottom floor of the oven take it outside and use "The Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner" many people wrote that this is the best thing to use on this.good luck.
Has anyone had any luck with the NaOH trick to get the melted aluminum foil off the bottom of the oven?
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!!
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This just happened to my brand new LG oven. The tin foil melted onto the bottom of the oven. We need help too!!!!
My sister told me to lay down tinfoil to catch the grease spills inside the oven. She was over for dinner the first day I got my oven before I had a chance to read the manual. Well, it's a self cleaning Kenmore oven and now I can't use this option until I get all the tinfoil removed. I have tried everthing and it won;t all come off. I guess I have to order a new bottom plate? Has anyone had any luck with removing tinfoil? How?
i put the foil in the oven as i used to do that in my old oven, now everthing was stuck on the oven. how can i remove it?
foil stuck on the oven
same as above- tinfoil stuck on bottom of new oven
Good luck. I too did the same thing. I have tried all the tips I have found on line, to get the foil off. Save your time, and buy a new bottom pan. I think that Kenmore needs to put appropriate warning in the oven where it can be seen. I have read numerous problems with people doing the same thing. Kenmore must be selling a lot of new bottom pans.
brand new kenmore range (electric)...put foil in to keep bottom clean. first time to use it, the foil baked to the bottom of the oven...how do it get it off. NO WARNING anywhere from kenmore
Same problem....I am shocked this happened. New Kenmore oven. I feel like dumping it on Sears doorstep. I just tried the vinegar...it doesn't work. I think I'll have to replace the pan as suggested. This is very irresponsible of Sears to not warn consumers.
Okay, looks like I am in good company here and I am not the only person who did not read the manual -- this isn't my mom's oven & they don't make 'em like they used to, folks! I read the comments here and decided to try "The Works." Initially, I was apprehensive because of all the comments about the chemical reaction of tin foil w/ the product. I could not remove the bottom panel of the oven, so, I began by opening all the doors and windows in the house. I started slowly by using a Q-tip and gingerly painted the foil and waited . . .and waited . . .and waited. Nothing really happened. So, I used more product and the tin foil started to gently bubble. I left it for about 10 minutes and then, using some elbow grease, was able to get off the tin foil. I had to apply several applications, wait and then rub it off. My oven bottom fared well enough, there's some shadows where the tin foil adhered. It's not spankin' new lookin' but it's much better than it was.
I did the same thing to my new Samsung gas stove. I had a Kenmore for almost 30 years and always used foil to catch spills. I was so upset. I just read a couple soluctions: naval jelly or easy off heaver duty oven cleaner. Has anyone tried these products? I probably will call Samsung and order a new base---have read that they are not that expensive $20-40....I can bit the bullet for a dumb mistake.
I did the same thing to my new Samsung gas stove/oven. Talk about being upset. Never had a problem using aluminum foil in the bottom of my almost 30-year old gas Kenmore. Live and learn, I guess. I read that naval jelly or Easy Off Heavy Duty works. Anyone try these products? I will probably order a new base. Thank goodness they are not that expensive.
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