Why Does My Electric Oven Smell Like Lighter Fluid

How would you feel if your food smelled like lighter fluid when you took it out of the oven? I can sense the frustration and agitation on your face.

The only smell we expect from an oven is the smell of the food inside. But exceptions are always there in the air. It may seem funny but sometimes you might smell like lighter fluid which will eventually spoil the smell of the food and be a constant irritation for your olfactory glands. 

If you have already found your electric oven smells like gas, don’t panic. Because it’s not something so serious as it sounds to be.  Nevertheless, in this article, we will explore why your electric oven may smell like lighter fluid and when you should be worried and when not.

So let’s dive in!

Electric Oven Smells Like Lighter Fluid- What’s The Reason?

It may ridicule anybody if they come to know that even an electric oven can smell like gas or lighter fluid sometimes. But it’s an undeniable fact for many reasons.

Is It a Brand New Electric Oven?

Certainly, this is a very common issue you may face, when the oven is brand new. A newly bought oven may smell like chemicals or lighter fluid for the first few times when you heat it up. The reason for the smell is the insulation of the oven chamber that is being heated up for the first time. The exposure of the oven cavity to extreme heat causes an intolerant smell of lighter fluid. In that case, you will have to burn the oven heater a few times to get rid of the irritating gas odor.

But what if the oven is not new and still there is a weird smell? In that case, there must be a burned or faulty electrical wire somewhere in the appliance.

Have You Recently Painted Your House?

When you paint your house, there will be fumes in the air produced by the paint. And when you heat up your oven, the extreme heat will burn the fumes and emit a lighter fluid-like smell from inside or near the oven. Even if you use any sort of lacquer or gas near your oven, that too may get burned in contact with oven heating elements, and in consequence, you will get a smelly oven in your kitchen. Therefore, there is nothing to worry about the smell when you or your neighbor is painting houses.

Do You Have a Self-Cleaning Oven?

Sometimes the self-cleaning elements of an oven can emit an abysmal burning odor or fumes. It can even emit the by-product of self-cleaning elements like carbon monoxide through the vent of the oven during the cycle of cleaning. This is surely a threat to the health and the environment. Therefore, if your self-cleaning oven smells like lighter fluid, it’s just the very technology of the oven that may cause it.

Moreover, these are a few reasons why your electric oven may smell like lighter fluid or something as weird as that. But the good news is you have nothing to worry about.

Why Does My Electric Oven Smell Like Chemicals?

Have you ever used an oven cleaner to clean your oven? If you have, you may know the smell. And most of the time, an oven smells like chemicals when there is a chemical element in the oven. The chemical elements get into the oven when you clean the oven chamber with a chemical solution.

Simply put, Oven cleaner contains chemicals. When you clean your electric oven with an oven cleaner the chemical fumes will be in the air. And the fumes will get burned when you heat up the oven and emit a smell like chemicals. 

Why Does My Electric Oven Smell Like Propane?

The only time you will have to be worried is when the oven smells like propane. Smelling propane out of your oven is not normal. 

You are supposed to smell anything whether it’s chemicals, plastics or anything weird like that from your oven but not propane. And whenever there is a smell of it, immediately call an electrician to check if there is any leak or discharge into the system. Maybe something has burnt inside of the oven. Fix the issues immediately to avoid any further accidents from the electric connection.

How do I Clean My Electric Oven?

Keeping our kitchen appliances clean and odorless is highly necessary for ensuring proper hygiene at your home. Unlike any other appliances, you may need to treat your electric oven a bit differently. So here are some tips to help you clean your electric oven.

Remember: I have already told you that the readymade cleaning chemicals may produce an after smell like gas or chemicals. That’s why I suggest you make your own cleaning solution. 

To make your own cleaning solution, take half a cup of baking soda and mix it with three tablespoons of water to make a paste. Then using a soft bristle brush, scrub the inside surface with the soda paste. Keep the scrub for a few hours or even for a day if the oven is extremely dirty. After a definitive time, when the scrub is almost dry, apply vinegar with a spray bottle. Once you are done with that, use a soft towel or sponge to remove the paste.

Before you start cleaning, make sure you are out of all the racks. And put those back together into the oven when cleaning is done.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an electric oven smell like gas?

Obviously. And actually, it’s pretty common. When you paint your house or stain your floor, the fumes from the paint mix into the air. After that, when you heat up your oven, extreme heat burns the paint fumes that almost smell like gas.

Why is my electric oven taking longer to preheat?

If you do this by reading the oven manuals, I must say don’t trust them. An electric oven takes at least 15 to 20 minutes to get properly preheated. But you and I get deceived by the manufacturer who says it’s going to take 7-10 minutes.

Why Does My Stove Smell Like Charcoal?

Most gas ovens have a gas valve that opens up only when the igniter circuit allows the valve to open. However, the smell gets out when the valve is not doing its job properly. In that case, the gas valve emits gas more than is required. The extra gas that comes from a bad valve causes the stove to smell like charcoal.

Conclusion

If you ever notice that your electric oven smells strange, don’t rush to change any parts of the oven. Because the oven can smell like lighter fluid if you have painted your house if the oven is new or it can just be the chemical cleaner that produces the smell. So whenever you smell lighter fluid from your oven, clean it properly with any homemade cleaning solution such as baking soda with boiled water or lemon.