While most people would leave the oven on to cook or heat some meal. Others would leave their oven on to heat their home. So does this mean that you can leave the oven on whilst it is empty?
Yes, you can, however, it is so not advisable.
So, how long can you leave your oven on? This would be dependent on the type of food you have in the oven.
Your oven can be on for some hours, 12 hours precisely. You can even leave the oven running for the rest of the day provided you are keeping a close eye on what you have heating or cooking in the oven.
Some situations may arise if the oven is left on for some time without any close examination
Let’s find out!
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Is it dangerous to leave the oven on?
Now that you know you can leave your oven on for some time depending on what you have in the oven, you might wonder is it dangerous to leave the oven on?
As you may know, it is not dangerous to leave your oven on with a close examination. However, leaving your oven for a long period without checking what is cooking could be quite dangerous.
Unless the oven does not find anything to heat up, it is safe. But even without the oven heating anything once the oven is open be it electric or gas oven, it is hazardous.
Note: leaving the door to the oven open can increase chances of fire, however leaving it closed for some time is not a guarantee that there won’t be the possibility of any hazard. It is the fire we are talking about here.
Do you wish to know how leaving the oven door open could be hazardous? We guess you can’t wait so read on!
Read: Where Is The Coolest Air Found Inside An Oven?
How leaving the oven door open can be hazardous
Especially for the electric oven, leaving the oven door open would heat up and melt the knobs and other heating elements. And with this, there are high chances of fire.
And even if it is a gas oven, once it is left open and there is anything flammable around it, it could catch fire and before the owner might be aware of the situation at hand, the fire must have enveloped the household.
So, whatever you do, this should never be your story. You could tell your neighbor too!
We recommend that unless you want to get things out of the oven, let the door to the oven remain closed.
What about the gas oven? Well without leaving the door of the gas oven, it would still pose a huge threat, because leaving it on increases the release of carbon monoxide.
And most times because you are preoccupied with activities might not notice any issues. However, there are signs that you might notice when you get to inhale carbon monoxide.
Signs that you are inhaling carbon monoxide
After a prolonged period, you might experience one or more of these signs, which may include;
- General weakness
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Headaches
- Blurred vision
- And at the worst loss of consciousness
Ensure you do not take any of them slightly especially you have left your oven on for some time.
Do you still ask can an oven catch fire?
Can an oven catch fire?
Well, depending on the occasion, how mild and severe it is. Your oven cannot catch fire if the case is mild. Your oven can catch fire if the case is severe.
Hey there! Do not relax especially if you feel there are mild cases of that, if you do ignore some signs, it could without your knowledge graduate to severe cases.
Remember leaving things in the oven without attending to them is pretty dangerous and would encourage fire hazards.
Furthermore, as we have talked earlier leaving the oven door open, be it gas or electric oven would add to any perceived danger.
The wait shouldn’t ovens turn off automatically?
Indeed they should, but this is only applicable to some ovens. Some ovens would turn off automatically after 12 hours.
Note: it is still possible that within 12 hours the food that you have in the oven might overheat, and catch fire. Also, other circumstances may arise that could encourage the fire.
So it is ideal to use alarms, this is to remind you that you have something cooking.
Read: Can a Searing Burner be Used as a Side Burner?
So what should you do if there should be any fire outbreak due to this?
- Leave the oven door closed
- Turn off the oven
- Open the windows for ventilation
- Wait until the fire is completely out and the oven is cool
- Open the oven, but make sure you have a mask on
- Clean the oven
Read: How Does Microwave Sensor Cooking Work?
Conclusion: How Long Can You Leave Your Oven On?
How long can you leave your oven on? Hopefully, you now agree that this would be dependent on what you have cooking or heating in your oven.
Be sure you avoid what brought about the fire in the first place. If the situation is out of control call the fire service.
Good luck!
