Your oven smoking and smelling bad

So it's dinnertime. You decide on a small meal that you want to heat up in your oven. But while it's cooking, you notice that your appliance is not working normally. There's an unpleasant smell coming from it and even some grey smoke... What's going on?Why is my oven smoking and smelling bad?

WARNING
Before carrying out any work on your appliance, make sure you properly disconnect it from the mains electricity supply.
There is a risk of an electric shock.
Wear suitable protective gloves if you need to dismantle anything.
There is a risk of cutting yourself.

THE POTENTIAL CAUSES FOR THIS FAULT:

• Food residues have been burnt onto the walls or heating element

• The oven door seal is defective

• The thermostat has not been set properly or is no longer working

• Your oven's electric circuitry is damaged

Food residues have been burnt onto the walls or heating element

When your oven produces irritating smoke, it is often because of the dirt inside. When you cook food, sugars and fats naturally get splashed onto the walls. These elements can also splash onto the bottom oven and get grilled. If the oven is not cleaned after you last cooked in it, the food residue from last time gets burnt when you cook something new, and this produce smoke and unpleasant odours.

Purchase cleaning products for your oven

The oven door seal is defective

Over the years, the door seal may wear out. This means the oven may no longer be insulated properly and the seal no longer stops smoke from spreading into the kitchen from your oven. Does the rubber or fibre seal look cracked, frayed, dried or hardened? If so, it will need to be replaced.

Purchase a door seal for your oven

The thermostat has not been set properly or is no longer working

The thermostat is for adjusting and regulating the temperature inside your oven. The first possibility is that it may not be set to the right temperature, which happens quite often. The other less fortunate possibility is that the thermostat is no longer working properly, keeping the oven at too high a temperature. You can check the adjustable thermostat with a multimeter set to the Ohmmeter position. Remove the connectors attached to the thermostat (in most cases, the top panel must be removed to access the back of the control panel - where the thermostat is located). If there is no continuity, you should replace the thermostat.

Purchase a thermostat for an oven

Your oven's electric circuitry is damaged

A problem with your oven's electrical circuitry can be dangerous but is immediately apparent. If there's a bad contact, a high voltage or a short circuit, your oven will release black smoke and a strong, unpleasant odour. You must turn it off immediately and call a professional.