Hydrolysis oven cleaning, what is it? detailed information

During cooking in the oven, various deposits form on its surfaces. Most of all fatty contaminants: it boils, splashes fly in different directions and settle on surfaces. Over time, in high temperatures, the fat hardens and turns brown or black. It is impossible to remove such traces using conventional methods; conventional chemical surface cleaning agents also help little.

How to clean the inside of an oven

The situation becomes especially complicated if cleaning is done rarely, aged deposits turn to stone and are very difficult to remove even mechanically. Although using this method to clean the internal surfaces of ovens is strictly prohibited. What do the most modern technologies offer us, what methods do oven manufacturers use?

Hydrolysis oven cleaning

Oven cleaning methods

To facilitate the cleaning process, modern ovens have special functions; the surface of the oven is cleaned automatically. What features help housewives keep it clean?

Catalytic

Unfortunately, many users do not fully know what catalysis is and how it relates to cleaning the internal surfaces of the oven from hardened contaminants.

Catalytic purification

We were told about catalysts back in school; from those distant times, little has been preserved in our memory. To better understand the processes occurring in the oven, we need to remember the basics of chemistry. Catalysts are special chemicals that significantly speed up reactions. An important property is that they themselves are not consumed and can perform their functions for a long period of time. It is these substances that are present in the surface layer of the coating of some ovens; they feel porous to the touch. The catalyst begins to operate at a temperature of +110°C, but works most effectively when heated to +200°C. In such conditions, fat intensively decomposes, the oven self-cleans during cooking. The housewife can only periodically wipe the surfaces with a clean cloth.

But you need to know that the oven manufacturing technologies that exist today do not allow glass surfaces to be coated with such a substance; accordingly, they cannot be cleaned and require special attention.

An important advantage of the method is that there is no need to use additional electrical energy for cleaning; the process occurs in parallel with cooking.

Removing contaminants after catalytic cleaning of the oven

Pyrolytic

It is considered the most effective way to clean the inside of the oven. It has a special heating mode up to +500°C, at such temperatures all fat burns, after cooling, only the ashes need to be removed.

Removing ash after pyrolytic oven cleaning

The method has many disadvantages, but the main one is that not all materials can withstand such heat.

If you use it for ordinary ovens, then at best they will definitely fail completely. In the worst case, they will catch fire.

Traditional methods

There are a huge number of them, some have proven their effectiveness, but there are also completely useless tips. Each housewife has her own secrets and recipes and considers them the best. Conventional detergents are used, and various exotic ingredients can be added, which most often do not make the process easier.

Folk remedies for cleaning the oven

All traditional methods require a lot of time and effort and do not guarantee complete cleaning of surfaces. It is especially difficult to remove dirt in hard-to-reach places; you have to use toothbrushes and other improvised tools.

Hydrolytic

They occupy average positions in terms of their effectiveness. This is not a fully automatic cleaning and requires quite a lot of manual work. But they are much easier compared to traditional methods. The bottom line is that steam with added chemicals softens hard fat deposits, and this greatly facilitates the process of removing them.

Hydrolysis cleaning

We will consider the technology in more detail below, comparing its actual advantages and disadvantages with the methods described above.

This is only a brief description of existing cleaning methods; to make the right choice, you should find out the details of the technology. For clarity, let’s do this in comparison; this approach allows us to obtain objective data.

Hydrolysis or catalytic oven cleaning?

Not too impressed with hydrolysis, deciding that the automatic cleaning system is just a big word? Then you might want to consider a catalytic oven cleaner, which works by using chemical processes to break down grease into water, carbon (read: soot) and organic debris.

• Fat-absorbing porous enamel contains oxidizing agents that trigger the decomposition reaction of fat when the temperature rises.
• When the oven heats up to 140˚C, the process starts automatically, becoming more powerful closer to 200˚C. It turns out that the oven is cleaned right during cooking, which is very convenient, since there is no need to waste extra time and electricity.
• After cooking, when the stove has cooled down, all that remains is to remove the decomposition products from the oven, and you can enjoy the cleanliness!

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Sounds high tech! The grease really doesn't have time to dry out, and the stove - both gas and electric - gets cleaned every time you cook. But this system has its disadvantages compared to hydrolysis.

• Catalytic oven cleaning increases the initial cost of the oven.
• Catalytic panels need to be replaced every 3-5 years depending on the frequency of use, as over time they lose their grease-absorbing properties.
• Catalytic panels are not installed on the doors and on the bottom of ovens, so these elements will have to be washed manually, and not without the help of the same hydrolysis.

Important!

Do not allow dairy or sweet products to get on the panels: in places where they are dirty, they will stop reacting with fat.

Comparative technical characteristics of the hydrolysis method

This method has been used for quite a long time, which allows us to give an objective description of its strengths and weaknesses.

Advantages of the hydrolysis method

1. The versatility of the method . This is a very important advantage; it makes it possible to use it for absolutely all ovens with the same efficiency, regardless of their type, material of manufacture and available additional functions. During cleaning, heating to only approximately +100°C is required. For example, pyrolytic cleaning occurs at a temperature of +500°C; not all materials used for the production of ovens can withstand it. As for the catalytic method, only special finishing surfaces of internal elements are cleaned this way.
2. The hydrolysis method gives ability to clean all internal elements at the same timeO. Stainless steel racks, baking sheets, and baking dishes are loaded into the oven. The steam is equally successful in softening fatty deposits from all surfaces.

   Steam cleaning is an affordable and safe solution

3. Minimum cost . The cost of cleaning tends to zero; only traditional methods will be cheaper. The catalytic cleaning method is considered very economical; it is performed simultaneously with cooking, while for the hydrolysis method it is necessary to turn on the oven separately. But this is not entirely true for several reasons. Firstly, during any cooking, steam is released, which means that it softens fat deposits, making surfaces much easier to clean immediately after cooling. Secondly, the internal surfaces only need to be heated for 30 minutes, and coolant losses are minimal. Thirdly, the cost of special catalytic coatings can be considered the price of its cleaning; nothing is done for free in our time.
4. Safety. This method does not damage important elements of the oven, and injuries are minimized. The only limitation is not to use products containing aggressive chemical compounds. This can cause corrosion of metal surfaces and allergic reactions.

   Steam cleaning aqua clean

As you can see, the method has quite a lot of advantages, but, unfortunately, there are also disadvantages.

Flaws

There are only a few of them, they are present in most existing cleaning methods.

1. Presence of a strong unpleasant odor. Appears only when special detergents are used for cleaning. To eliminate odor, it is recommended to use deodorants and turn on the hood at maximum output. You need to know that the most modern pyrolytic method produces the most unpleasant odors; under certain conditions, the entire kitchen room can be filled with smoke. Do not use homemade detergents, do not experiment with unknown compositions, and the likelihood of odors will decrease dramatically.
2. Duration of the process. Cleaning time depends on several components: the degree of contamination, the chemical characteristics of the liquids used, skill and diligence.

Hydrolysis cleaning is ineffective when it is necessary to remove old or difficult stains

There are cases of mechanical damage to surfaces, but they only appear due to violations of recommendations: metal brushes or acid are used for cleaning, attempts are made to cut off small deposits with sharp objects, etc.

Methods for cleaning the oven

Hydrolysis cleaning of the oven is a method of getting rid of contaminants from the inner surface of the oven using steam and a relatively high temperature - +80 °C... +90 °C. But this technology is not the only way to self-clean an oven.

Modern ovens can be equipped with various self-cleaning functions:

Features of using electric ovens

Listed above are several universal rules that can significantly reduce the degree of contamination, but electric has its own additional features.

1. Never place food containers on the bottom or bottom of the oven. In this place the temperature is maximum, the fat that gets on the surface burns very strongly. In addition, heating elements are not designed to work in confined spaces. They require constant air flow for cooling, otherwise the devices will fail prematurely.

   The tray with the dish must be placed in the electric oven so that there is a small distance between the top shelf and the bottom, this is necessary so that the food is baked evenly

2. Do not allow fat to come into contact with the surface of the heating elements; they have a very high temperature. Under such conditions, the fat ignites, and during combustion, superheated particles fly in different directions at high speed. They stick very tightly to the oven surfaces and make the cleaning process much more difficult.

   Cooking in the oven using foil and a sleeve

3. The fan must be constantly on during operation of electrical equipment - a large amount of grease is removed with air flows, which reduces the degree of contamination of surfaces.

   Electric ovens with convection function provide forced air circulation

As practice shows, electric ovens need to be cleaned of dirt much more often than gas ovens. This is explained by the fact that these devices have more complex automation and precise electrical fittings; they can only work under certain conditions. The appearance of a thick layer of dirt can cause short circuits and complete breakdown of the oven.

And the last recommendation for all types of ovens is to carefully study the instructions for use and unconditionally follow the manufacturers’ recommendations. Each advice is given only after thorough laboratory and field testing, all of which have been repeatedly confirmed in practice.

Hydrolysis cleaning function

But, as sales statistics show, equipment with a hydrolysis function is in particular demand among consumers. Why? Let's figure it out.

How to use hydrolysis cleaning

Absolutely anyone can cope with this oven cleaning system, even if they have virtually no skills in using kitchen appliances. But still, different models from different manufacturers have their own operating characteristics, so the instructions for the equipment are required to be read.

At the time of cleaning, the temperature inside reaches 500 degrees

Steam oven cleaning is more of a semi-automatic function and makes the cleaning process very easy. This explains the presence of such a function even in inexpensive oven models.

Step-by-step hydrolysis cleaning process:

Hydrolysis occurs in gas and electric ovens, as opposed to a high temperature cleaning system (pyrolysis).

Photos before and after cleaning
A similar procedure is carried out ideally after each cooking process in the cabinet. Many mid- and premium-segment models have several hydrolysis modes.

This is usually a quick steam treatment and a full thirty minute cycle. The latter is best used about once every 1–2 months.

Advantages and disadvantages

Steam oven cleaning is used in many modern models of kitchen ovens, however, this useful function has its advantages and disadvantages:

You still have to clean the removable oven elements yourself.

The enamel of an oven with this function is especially durable and can withstand frequent exposure to acids and detergents, unlike the delicate enamel of a catalytic cleaning system.