Ovens are all-around kitchen appliances used for making delicious casseroles, sumptuous pasta dishes, mouth-watering roasted meats, or delectable desserts. That’s why any home cook dreads the day when the oven breaks down. Clicking sounds coming from the oven, in particular, are one of the most common culprits that keep home cooks on their toes.
Ovens make clicking noises for various reasons. The clicking sounds may be due to an activated igniter, switching broiling and baking cycles, or a bit of difficulty warming up. They could also signify excessive moisture or broken parts like the ignition switch, fan blades, or loose panels and doors.
Read on to find out what your oven’s clicking noises mean and what you can do if the noises spell bad news. I’ll also talk about the other sounds you would expect your oven to make and tips on how to keep your oven in great shape. Let’s jump right in!
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Reasons Why Your Oven Is Making a Clicking Noise
There are different reasons why your oven is making a clicking noise, and it doesn’t always mean that something is wrong. Here are a few possible causes of that disagreeable sound.
Activated Igniter
You’ll hear a clicking sound soon after your oven is turned on. The igniter’s job is to generate heat from the gas that enters the gas lines. Your oven will start working soon after the igniter clicks.
Switching Cycles
Ovens usually click when they transition to and from the broiling and baking cycles. The necessary switch in temperature triggers the clicking sound. The gas usually shuts off when you’ve reached the desired temperature, so ovens transition from one cycle to another to regulate and maintain the correct temperature. The clicking sounds indicate that your oven is trying to get back to the desired temperature.
Too Much Moisture
Water condensation inside the oven occurs due to various reasons including significant temperature differences inside and outside the oven, steam generated from recent use and a leak inside the oven. Too much moisture in the oven may affect the igniter and cause it to click constantly, even when not in use. If you have a leak, have it fixed at once to prevent further damaging your oven.
Idle Oven
Your oven may make clicking sounds if you haven’t used it for a while. Air builds up in the oven lines when the oven is not used for a long time. The air escaping when you turn your oven on often makes these sounds. It may take longer than usual for your oven to warm up, but when all the air gets out, gas can flow through the lines again, and your oven will start working as efficiently as before.
How to Fix the Issue
If there’s too much steam or moisture in the oven cavity, unplug your oven, open the door, and leave it this way. Doing so will allow it to dry it out for at least a day and usually fixes the problem. Otherwise, if the clicking persists, have a professional look at your oven.
When Your Oven’s Clicking Noises Spell Bad News
Although clicking noises are everyday sounds you’d expect to hear from any oven, this doesn’t always mean that everything’s going well. Sometimes, clicking noises spell bad news.
Here are some of those instances:
Intermittent Clicking
If your oven keeps clicking and won’t start even after a couple of tries, something might be wrong with your ignition switch. Don’t keep turning the switch, since doing so might release gas into the air. This is a fire hazard and must be avoided at all times. Your ignition switch may be damaged due to natural wear and tear or frequent use. It’d be best to ask for an expert’s help.
Loud, Frequent Clicking Noises
Have your oven checked by a professional if you notice that the clicking sounds are louder than usual or if the sound pattern is irregular or too frequent. The sounds might be due to loose fan blades, a broken fan motor, wobbly panels, or loose door locks. To fix, tighten the loose components and replace the damaged parts.
Constant Clicking
If the clicking sounds are accompanied by your oven turning on and off by itself, this is a problem. Don’t use the oven, since doing so might cause further and irreversible damage. Seek a professional’s help at once.
Other Normal Sounds Your Oven Might Make
Ovens contribute a lot to the wholesome, familiar noises a busy kitchen might make. Plates clinking, glasses tinkling, pots and pans banging might seem incomplete without an oven’s popping, clicking, and humming.
Here are a few sounds your oven usually makes and what they typically indicate:
- Cracking and popping. You may hear cracks and pops now and then while your oven is working. These sounds are usually caused by the expansion or contraction of the oven’s metal parts during the cooling and heating process. Sometimes, leftover bits of food may be the culprit, and the popping sounds are due to them burning and popping.
- Humming. Depending on your type of oven, you might hear a humming sound from the fan inside the oven. Fans help an oven cool off during or after the cooking process. On the other hand, some ovens are equipped with self-cleaning options, and a fan turns on when this mode is activated.
- Hissing. You’ll typically hear a hissing sound from a gas oven when you turn it on. This is the sound of gas being released to the burners. Hissing sounds are normal and safe, as long as there are no leaks in your gas lines.
Other Oven Sounds That Spell Bad News
One of the ways to tell if there’s something wrong with your oven is by listening to it. Some experts can even tell exactly which part needs to be inspected by merely listening.
Here are some examples:
Loud Humming With Vibrations
Loud humming with vibrations signal that something inside your oven is broken or may have come loose. It could be your convection fan, cooling fan, mechanical timer, side panels, door locks, or even the main circuit board.
To fix this, you might need to adjust, tighten or replace some of these items (convection fan, cooling fan, mechanical timer, side panels, door locks, or main circuit board). If you’re not quite sure about what to do to alleviate the noise, call an expert for assistance.
Blowtorch Sound
When it sounds like you turned on a blowtorch instead of your oven, it could signal a defective regulator valve. There may be too much gas flowing through your valve, thus causing the blowtorch sound.
To fix this, minor tweaks in your regulator valve should do the trick, but call a professional for help if the problem persists.
Whooshing Sound
When your oven makes a whooshing sound, it’s usually due to delayed ignition. This isn’t to be ignored because gas builds up around the igniter when this happens. The gas build-up may eventually cause an explosion or a fire.
To fix this, it’s best to replace the faulty igniter immediately and reduce the risk of accidents.
Roaring Sound
An oven making roaring sounds accompanied by an unpleasant odor is usually caused by incorrect assembly of oven parts, and the smell comes from carbon monoxide fumes. Avoid using the oven. When carbon monoxide enters the body, it prevents blood from carrying oxygen to vital organs, eventually causing them to malfunction and even shut down.
To fix this, have an expert inspect it at once.
Scraping Sound
A scraping sound usually means that something inside the oven is scratching against something else, or that something is turning in the wrong direction. To find out where the noise is coming from, check the rollers underneath the racks inside the oven cavity.
To fix this, adjust the rollers.
Tips on How to Keep Your Oven in Top Shape
Your job doesn’t end with selecting the perfect oven for your home. You must commit to ensuring that it’s always in great shape. A well-kept oven provides sumptuous meals for the whole family, cooked adequately and efficiently.
Here are some tips to keep your oven in top shape:
- Clean up after each use. It can be tempting to kick off your shoes and put your feet up after slaving over a delicious casserole or a delectable cake for hours. However, there should always be one extra thing you do after cooking: clean your oven. Liquid may have splattered the cavity walls, and crumbs may be trapped in nooks and crannies.
- Use the self-cleaning feature. If your oven has this feature, use it after each use. If you don’t clean your oven at once, it may get more challenging to get rid of dried-up food residue later on.
- Regularly inspect your gas line. Familiarize yourself with how your gas line looks and feels in order to notice slight changes at once. It’s crucial to keep gas lines in top shape to prevent gas leaks; a fire hazard. Replace gas lines at the first sign of tears or leaks.
- Check your burners regularly. Wipe away any food debris after each use. Take note of any deformities or areas that burn brighter than usual. Consider replacing your burner as soon as you spot these defects because they might cause more severe problems in the long run.
- Inspect oven gaskets. These are often overlooked parts of the oven, but they’re responsible for how efficiently the oven works. Gaskets are the small rubber pieces found along the edges of your oven’s door. They help seal in heat and cook food properly. Damaged gaskets need to be replaced at once.
Final Thoughts
You’ll hear different sounds from your oven almost as soon as you turn it on. Clicking sounds, in particular, are common and not usually a cause for concern. These sounds are typically indicative of how your oven works. The key is to familiarize yourself with these sounds so that any variations will instantly be noticeable. When in doubt, calling an expert for help is always your best bet.
