Can you imagine life without your stove? These important appliances play a key role in any home-cooked meal. We use them to boil pasta, bake casseroles, and fry meats. If your stove is broken, you’ll get tired of microwavable foods pretty quickly. What you need is an oven repair service.
First, you might be wondering what’s wrong with your stove. And what can you do to prevent oven issues? We’re going to cover the most common stove problems that homeowners encounter, and how to avoid them:
The Cooktop Is Slow To Heat Up
They say that a watched pot never boils. But if your stove needs to be repaired, a slow heating cooktop could be to blame.
Over time, electric burners may become less effective. The issue could be with every burner or just the one in question. We recommend testing each heating element to see if it’s isolated to one area of your cooktop.
In some cases, this problem is due to a poor connection between the heating coils and the cooktop. A repair person can use a multimeter to test the connection and electrical values of the cables. Based on those values, the technician can determine if just one coil is to blame, or if several are faulty.
Another cause could be a malfunctioning infinite switch. This component is what allows you to adjust the heat from low to high (and all the temperatures in between). If it’s faulty, it may make the heating element too hot, or fail to heat at all. You may need to repair the infinite switch or replace it altogether.
The Oven Temperatures Are Inconsistent
When you pull your lasagna out of the oven, you notice the left side is perfectly cooked—but the right side is still frozen in the middle. Why isn’t your oven heating food consistently?
A few potential causes include:
- A faulty power supply. Is the power cord dangling from the wall? Perhaps the cord itself is damaged. If the oven is receiving an unsteady flow of power, it can’t maintain a constant temperature.
- There is excess moisture trapped in the heating elements. Certain foods produce more moisture than others, like juicy vegetables. That moisture might create condensation, which cools down the oven and causes unpredictable temperatures. To prevent this, try covering dishes with a lid.
- A broken coil. If your oven is heating improperly, it could be due to the burners that warm it. You might need a replacement coil to resolve this issue.
If you want food to cook evenly every time, you’ll need to schedule an appliance repair service ASAP.
The Door Won’t Close Properly
No matter how firmly you close it, the oven door won’t latch; it feels like it could fall open at any moment. How can your food heat properly without a working door?
If the door won’t close, the self-cleaning function won’t work. Depending on the model you have, you may be unable to use the oven at all.
Not only is this an annoyance, but it’s also a safety hazard. An oven door that randomly swings open can burn someone who’s standing next to it. It also leaks out heat, so your food will take longer to cook and use more energy.
The Oven Won’t Heat To The Right Temperature
The recipe said that your cake would only take 30 minutes to bake. But when you check on the batter, you find that it’s still mostly raw. This is a sign that your oven isn’t getting as hot as it should. You’ll have a hard time cooking food if your oven is heating slowly.
But what if your oven feels hot? The problem may not have to do with your electric burner at all—it could be with the temperature sensor inside the oven.
The Light Won’t Work
It’s hard to see how your culinary creation is cooking without an interior light. You’re forced to open the door whenever you want to check on your food, which lets out a lot of heat.
Just like the lights in your bedroom or bathroom, your oven light will burn out eventually. But replacing it isn’t as easy as the ones on your ceilings and lamps; you may need a hand from a local repair company.
How To Avoid These Stove Problems
You spend a considerable amount of time in your kitchen each day. What can you do to prevent one of its essential appliances from breaking down? We have a few more stove tips for you:
Clean your oven and stove top
Your stove top may have trouble heating due to a build-up of grease and loose food debris. You can prevent this issue by cleaning the cooking surface regularly.
To do so, spray glass cleaner on the stove top. Use a blade to loosen up any spills or dried dirt; then, wipe it down with paper towels.
If your oven has a self-cleaning option, you’re in luck. This process just got a lot easier. Once the cycle completes, wipe down the inside of the oven and the storage drawer. If your stove doesn’t have this feature, you may need to purchase a few oven cleaning products.
Schedule repairs
At Napoleon Appliances, we offer appliance repair in Ottawa. We’re prepared to repair common and complex electric stove problems. Need help with a broken stove top? Call today to schedule our appliance repair service.