Oven cleaning: catalytic and its alternatives

The kitchen, like the ancient hearth, gathers everyone who came for food, warmth and kind word. And her heart, the stove, is an almost sacred thing, because it depends on it, than you feed your loved ones. The most wise priests and priestesses have their secrets, how to be known as a great culinary magician, having spent as little time as possible in the kitchen. They especially appreciate the technique, which saves time for cooking, as well as time to care for it. And such a function as cleaning the oven, catalytic or any other, is one of the most useful for home wizards. We will briefly review the existing cleaning systems and will dwell in greater detail on one of them, catalytic.

Chemical cleaning of the oven, catalytic, as it is commonly called, has been used for a long time. The principle of operation of this technology is as follows. A special material, an oxidation catalyst, is applied to the side plates of the oven together with the enamel. Outwardly it looks like a granular surface. This material is usually cerium oxide 4, and in the most effective cleaning plates, oxides of copper, manganese or cobalt, as well as combinations thereof, can be used. The catalyst accelerates the process of decomposition of hydrocarbons, that is, burned fat in the oven, splitting it into organic substances - carbon and water.

The main advantage that gives you automatic cleaning of the oven (catalytic, as already mentioned) is that this process does not require your direct participation. You can literally forget about cleaning the oven. But only for a while, since it is necessary to perform manual cleaning of surfaces where there are no catalytic plates. The door will still need attention. Nevertheless, the main cleaning will be done already in the process of baking or frying on the grill, which means that it will not require additional time and energy from you. Another big plus: cleaning the oven is catalytic, unlike pyrolytic, is also available in gas ovens. This system also does not impose restrictions on the location of the oven in relation to cooking and wall panels. In addition, it is quite affordable and is offered in models not the most expensive plates. This function is used by such famous manufacturers as Ariston, AEG, Electrolux, Smeg, Siemens and some others.

From the disadvantages of such cleaning it can be noted the need at least sometimes to wash the oven, at least the bottom and the door. And after several years of operation the panels, if they are not bilateral, will have to be replaced with new ones. In general, reviews in those whose plate provides catalytic cleaning of the oven, the reviews are mostly positive. But among users of electric cookers of recent generations, there are more and more fans of another type of automatic cleaning, pyrolysis.

Pyrolysis is the decomposition of fat and other contaminants with very strong heating without the participation of oxygen. This requires additional energy. They are not very noticeable, because such cleaning is only required from time to time. However, this system has special requirements for electrical wiring and the layout of the cooker in the kitchen. Therefore, in gasified homes, its installation and use are often problematic. Some customers are deterred by the price of such an oven, due to the need to increase its reliability and resistance to high temperatures. In addition, the pyrolysis function is usually equipped with multifunction, and therefore, more expensive models.

Another way to ease your work is hydrolysis of the oven. Unlike previous methods, hydrolysis is not automatic and requires regular application, but the procedure itself is quite simple. After cooking, simple water or water with a hydrolysis agent is added to the tray, after which the oven is switched on again for a short time. Such a system is somewhat less effective, less common, and only in electric cookers.

To innovations of cleaning of ovens it is possible to carry such systems as EcoClean and Aqua Clean, created and introduced by separate manufacturers. They have a different principle of operation and, accordingly, different effectiveness, but they are successfully applied and, most likely, will be more widely disseminated. In addition, at present almost all manufacturers of slabs offer a coating that prevents the accumulation of fat. And the main measure of maintaining cleanliness is cooking food under the lid or using a sleeve for baking. And still, if you decide that you need such an "au pair", like automatic cleaning of the oven, the catalytic system is still one of the most accessible and, importantly, universal.