Some oven smells are harmless. Some mean you should turn the breaker off and step outside. Knowing the difference is worth two minutes of reading.
Rotten eggs: stop and leave
Natural gas has no smell of its own; the utility adds a rotten-egg odor so leaks are noticed. If you smell it near the oven or stove, do not use the appliance, do not flip switches, and do not light anything. Open windows, get everyone out, and call your gas company from outside. Once they clear the house, we can find and repair the leak, which is often a fitting, a valve, or a failed igniter letting gas flow without lighting.
Burning plastic or electrical smell
A sharp chemical or burning-plastic smell from an electric oven or from the control panel usually means wiring insulation or a component is overheating. Turn the oven off at the breaker and call for service. Do not keep using an oven that smells like burning wire; the next stage is a small fire behind the panel.
Burning food or grease
Spilled sugar, grease on the bottom, or a forgotten piece of foil on the element will smoke and smell. This is a cleaning job, not a repair. Let the oven cool fully, clean the interior, and run it empty for a few minutes.
New-oven smell
A new oven or a new heating element gives off a chemical smell the first few times it heats as protective coatings burn off. Run it empty at a high temperature with the windows open for an hour and it should clear.
Gas smell only when the oven is lighting
A brief whiff of gas as the oven lights can be normal on older models, but a strong smell every time, or an oven that takes a long time to light, means the igniter is weak and gas is flowing before it lights. That is a repair, and one worth doing soon.
Need a hand with this?
Burners that will not light, an oven that will not hold temperature, or a smell that is not right. Gas and electric.
Stove & Oven Repair in Chicago
