Can an Oven Explode? What Are The Reasons

Cooking in an oven is fun, efficient, and mesmerizing. Seeing your cookies or bread rise, your roasts sizzle is one of the delights. 

You just take the hot pan out of the oven and rest it over the glass door for some time, or even use your foot to close the door. It’s all a fun thing. But is it the right thing to do?

As technology develops, more tempered glasses are being used in kitchenware. Especially on oven doors.

Although there is a very few instances where an oven has exploded, there are numerous incidents where a glass oven door has exploded. The reason behind it can be a few too many. 

You might not want to be a victim of any of those incidents and it keeps you up at night. Hence the question, can an oven explode. We are going to walk you through the things that you are helping it to explode gradually.

Can an Oven Explode and Cause a House Fire

There are rare occasions when an oven explodes. That doesn’t mean it can be checked out of the list. And an oven door explosion won’t cause a house fire. Because maximum times an oven door explodes when the oven is shut off. 

Why Does an Oven Door Explode

Often times it’s the oven door that explodes. Although they are made out of tempered glass, they are prone to small scratches and temperature changes.

Most home ovens have two layers of tempered glass on the front of the oven. This is to prevent the heat from escaping and cooling down fast at the same time. The front glass cools down faster than the one on the inside. 

With use and wear and tear, they develop small scratches that sometimes lead to shattering. And also, when they are continuously being heated and getting cooled down, they tend to break apart.

Some of the following reasons why your oven glass may shatter on you and ruin your dish and your day.

How Taking the Wrong Steps Is Harming Your Oven

If you are using hard bristle brushes or stainless scrubs to remove the grease on the glass, you are creating scratches on them. These will get larger with time and hence compromising the glass’s integrity. 

Also, it is a common practice to rest your hot bowl or pan on your oven door glass. What you don’t know is that all though they are tempered glasses, they are subject to heat changes. They are treated in extreme heat and extremely low temperatures to keep their tempered structure. When you are putting a hot pan on them, it is creating a chain shock reaction that can not be withdrawn. And in time, it will start to crack.

Slamming your oven door with your foot or knee is also on the list. It looks cool and you also feel a bit over the clouds with your accomplishment.

But when the metal door is hitting the oven, it is tempering with the glass itself. Giving it a wave of strong sensation like a tuning fork. 

So it will shatter with your ill practices, which might not seem too aggressive at all. But when the oven door will explode without any notice, it will be a huge loss from your side.

And transport of your oven can also be faulty, that might end you up with a broken oven door with no prior tempering.

How Do You Prevent an Oven Door From Exploding

To prevent your oven door from exploding, stop doing the silly things you do with it.

You can opt for a sliding oven tray so you don’t have to rest your pan on the glass door. Yes, it is a thing and comes in really handy.

Don’t push your oven door slapping its body. Gently put it up with your hand and you will not have to experience a hell of a lot of a mess. Not to mention the cost that comes with replacing the glass.

Hanging a wet towel on the oven door handle is not ideal. Often times the oven is hot after use. And you know what happens to sudden temperature changes in glass cookware. The same thing happens with an oven door.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do ovens ever explode?

There is no record of an oven exploding. But the glass door of the oven exploding is a common thing. Sometimes even a slight touch is enough to shatter the tempered glass. Bad practices like scraping off the grease with sharp or metal tools, slamming the oven door after use, and hanging wet towels on a hot oven door tend to be the reason behind it.

Can an electric oven explode?

Yes. Although it is not that common, an electric oven can also explode. There are two reasons behind it. One is the ventilation of the oven is jammed with grease and dirt. Without cleaning it won’t let the oven vent the air inside it. Two, the electrical wires might melt and with time it will cause an electrical surge and the oven explodes.

How to prevent an oven from exploding?

To prevent an oven from exploding, you have to do some simple things. Never clean the oven glass with a hard material that will leave a scratch on the. This includes metal brushes and scrubs. Checking the wiring and vents regularly will ensure more safety of your oven. And a clean vent will never let air pressure build in the oven, hence no explosion. And never slam your oven door. This chain shock reaction will not only mess with the glass but also with the integrity of your oven as a whole.

Can the oven catch on fire?

Yes. With a long time of use and lack of cleaning, the dirt, grease, and food crumbs will act as ignitors and your oven may catch on fire. Also if you leave your oven unattended at a high temperature, chances are it will burn your food and put it on fire. 

Conclusion

Though an oven is made out of metal and tempered glasses, it should be treated delicately. Using it like a sandbag is never okay. And its integrity is compromised when you use the wrong material to clean it. Treat your oven just like you treat your mobile phone. And occasionally deep cleaning them can help extend its life by a lot.