Should You Leave The Oven Door Open After Baking?

Baking provides us with delicious food, yummy aromas and can give some ambient heat to your home. Once you've finished using your oven, you may be wondering what you should do. Do you leave the oven door open or closed? We've done the research and can provide you with an answer to that question!

Leaving the oven door open or closed after baking depends on how quickly you want your oven to cool down. The heat from the oven will dissipate into your home regardless of whether the door is open or not. If you want your oven to cool down faster, then you should leave the door open after you're finished.

Let's learn more! Keep reading to discover if leaving the oven door will warm your kitchen and how long food will keep in an oven!

Oven Door Open Versus Closed

Overall, people are divided on whether or not you should close the oven door after baking or not. There are some benefits as well as some potential risks. Keep in mind that no matter which option you decide that the heat from the oven will always end up in your kitchen.

Unless you have a range hood that vents to the outside, there won't be anywhere else for the heat to go! With that in mind, let's take a look at the differences in leaving the oven door open and closed after baking so you can decide if it's right for you.

Heat Distribution

For many people, whether or not they leave the oven door open after baking comes down to how quickly they want to distribute the heat that's built up. Keeping the door open distributes heat faster which can make your kitchen feel warmer. Many people decide to open their oven doors after baking during the winter to provide an extra burst of heat to their room.

If you keep your oven door closed, the heat will still get into the kitchen, but it will do so much more slowly. Closing your oven door after baking can make it easier for you to keep your kitchen feeling cooler during the hotter months.

Quick Cool Down

Many newer ovens have internal fans to help them cool down. These fans are typically very quiet and assist the oven in cooling down after use. Some people decide to leave the oven doors open to help the fans shut down faster. This can avoid wasting any unnecessary energy.

Another reason to leave the door open is to avoid the noises of the cool-down mode. Age or damage can cause your fan to run loud. If you have an oven that makes loud or strange noises while it's cooling down, you should first examine it for any problems.

The fan is a moving piece, so it could scrape against other surfaces or become unaligned. These should be fixed to avoid serious problems in the future. If there are no serious issues with your fan and it's just loud, keeping the oven door open can help you avoid listening to it for extended periods.

Oven Odors

A lesser-known reason for keeping your oven door open is to help remove food odors from the oven. This trick will only work on lesser smells. If you have a persistent smelly oven, you'll need to clean it. That being said, if you've just baked something and want the smell out fast, leave your oven door open and crack a window. This will help prevent the smell from lingering in your kitchen.

Component Protection

Many ovens have electronic panels located above them. These electronic pieces are typically only designed to handle low bursts of high heat. If you leave the oven door open after use, the heat distributes much more quickly, damaging nearby electronics.

These pieces can typically be replaced, depending on the model and year of your oven. However, you can easily avoid damaging these components by leaving the oven door closed after using it.

Risk of Burns

A great reason to keep your oven door closed after baking is to avoid the risk of injury. Depending on how hot the oven is and how long you touch it, you can get very serious burns. First-degree burns, which only affect the top layer of skin, are the most common type of cooking-related burn.

However, more serious types of burns can occur if you're not careful. Those with small children, pets, or forgetful family members may want to keep the oven door closed to avoid those people getting burned.

Can you warm a kitchen by leaving the oven door open?

There are a couple of ways that you can interpret this. The first way is warming the kitchen with the oven door open and the appliance off. The second way is to warm the kitchen with the oven door open and the device on.

You shouldn't run your oven with the door open for extended periods! It won't effectively heat your room. If you have a gas oven, running it with the door open can even be dangerous. Running these ovens with the door open can cause high amounts of carbon monoxide to enter your home.

While electric ovens don't have any carbon monoxide poisoning risks, they're still dangerous to use as a heater. Your appliance can overheat and catch fire.

If you've already finished cooking and your oven is off, then it's okay to leave the door open for some extra warmth. Keeping the door open won't heat large rooms or heat the room for an extended period. However, it can bring some added comfort, especially in small spaces.

How long does it take for an oven to cool off?

The exact timing will depend on a few different factors. Things like temperature, cook time, and the quality of the oven's insulation will all affect how quickly your appliance will be able to cool down.

With the door closed, you can expect your oven to take anywhere from thirty minutes to a couple of hours. If you leave the door open, it should only take around 10 minutes for the oven to return to room temperature.

How long can I leave food in the oven after cooking?

You can keep food in an oven that's turned off for approximately two hours. After that, you'll need to store it properly. If you're using the warming setting, then you can keep your food in the oven for up to eight hours.

Keep in mind that your food is still cooking even if you're using the warming setting. Food left in a warming oven for more than two hours will start to dry out.

Should ovens get hot on the outside?

It's perfectly normal for your oven to get hot on the outside while it's in use. These appliances are reaching high temperatures inside so that some heat transfer can be expected. The control panels, door, and bullnose of ovens can all heat up during periods of high usage. These temperatures should not prevent you from using the oven in any way.

If the exterior of your oven is too hot to touch or you're otherwise concerned, you should always contact a professional. They can help you determine if there is an issue and how to fix it.

In Closing

Keeping your oven door open can be great for many reasons. It's suitable for cooling down your oven quickly and can give your kitchen a quick burst of heat! However,

For more kitchen advice, try: "Should You Keep A Dishwasher Door Open When You're Away?"

Need to clean your oven? Don't forget to check out, How To Clean Oven Door Glass [5 EASY Ways]!