Homeowners would never expect their glass oven doors to shatter while using it. After all, it’s not something that many people talk about, so surely it doesn’t often happen, right? Well, the truth is quite the opposite. Unfortunately, news about shattering glass oven doors is more common than most people realize.
A tempered glass oven door will shatter because of micro-cracks that form over an extended period. Those micro-cracks result from hard impact, aggressive cleaning methods or products, and rapid temperature changes. However, damage during manufacturing, shipping, installation, and repairs could also cause the same outcome.
As concerning as a shattering oven door might sound, there is plenty that you can do to prevent it. This guide will help you understand the type of glass your oven door has, what causes it to shatter, and how you can reduce the chances of that happening to you.
What Kind Of Glass Goes In An Oven Door?
A shattering oven glass door can be terrifying for anyone, even if it’s not their first time experiencing it. Still, it becomes less scary when you understand a few fundamental things about the glass door on your oven.
You must understand what kind of glass manufacturers use in their oven doors, for starters.
Oven Manufacturers Use Tempered Glass Instead Of Standard Glass
Oven manufacturers use tempered glass instead of standard glass. They do so for 2 primary reasons:
- Stronger: This type of glass is 4x stronger than standard glass due to how it’s made. It takes longer to make tempered glass, but the end result is a lot less fragile.
- Safer: When tempered glass suffers damage, it shatters instead of breaking. So, what you get is a bunch of small pieces that are mostly harmless. In comparison, standard glass breaks off into sharp shards to cause severe injuries.
As you can see, the fact that manufacturers use tempered glass already partially explains why your oven glass door shatters instead of breaking into large shards as a broken glass window would.
However, the next section will show you what causes damage to your oven door, eventually causing it to shatter.
Read: Why Electric Oven Heating Element Exploded?
Why Did My Oven Door Shatter?
A shattering oven door is not something that happens in a short period. Instead, it’s the result of damage accumulating for a long time. That damage leads to micro-cracks in the tempered glass that you’ll never notice with your bare eyes until it’s too late.
As those micro-cracks accumulate and gradually worsen, they undermine the glass’s structural integrity.
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Once it reaches a tipping point, the entire glass oven door will finally shatter over your kitchen floor.
Here are the typical causes behind micro-cracks that eventually cause your glass oven door to shatter:
#1 Accidental Impact
The first reason is accidental impact. For example, accidentally slamming the oven door shut too often can cause the glass door to develop micro-cracks.
The same is also when inserting or removing items like pots, pans, and metal trays.
Those items can hit the glass door, causing or worsening micro-cracks that later lead the glass to shatter.
Read: What Causes An Electric Oven To Heat Slowly?
#2 Aggressive Cleaning
Believe it or not, overly-aggressive cleaning can also damage your oven’s glass door.
Whenever someone scrubs an oven glass door too hard, they also apply excess pressure onto it.
That will also cause micro-cracks to form while making any existing ones worse.
#3 Using The Wrong Cleaning Products
Besides that, using harsh or abrasive cleaning products, including glass cleaning sprays not meant for oven doors, can also add to the overall damage.
The chemicals in those products will strip away the protective layer, exposing the glass oven door to even more damage.
Read: Why Oven Control Panel Gets Hot? Troubleshooting Guide
#4 Rapid Temperature Changes
All ovens regularly experience extremely high temperatures before cooling down to room temperature. Typically, tempered glass oven doors have no problems dealing with those gradual temperature changes.
However, rapid temperature changes can and will damage the glass door. For example, that can happen when you spill cold water on a hot oven door or if you were to rest a cold dish on that door as well.
#5 Faulty Manufacturing
While you can control reasons #1-#4, there are a couple of additional causes beyond your control. The first example of that is faulty manufacturing.
As a consumer, you have no idea what the oven experiences at the factory before it reaches the warehouse, the store, or your home.
It’s possible that the glass developed micro-cracks during the manufacturing process but only shattered after the seller installed it in your kitchen.
#6 Damage During Transportation, Installation, or Repairs
Last but not least, the micro-cracks in your glass oven door could have resulted from damage while it was being transported, installed in your kitchen, or during its most recent repairs.
If you’re confident that you did nothing to damage your glass oven door, you should consider #5 and #6 as the most likely reasons. In that case, you should contact the manufacturer or seller to see what course of action you can take to get the oven door fixed.
Read: Why Electric Oven Gets Too Hot?
How Do You Prevent An Oven Glass Door From Shattering?
Thankfully, there are some steps you can take to prevent damage to your glass oven door. They include:
Close Door Gently
Always open and close the oven door gently. Slamming it shut strong enough could cause micro-cracks that lead to shattering in the long run.
Do Not Use Open Door As Place To Put Things
It can be tempting to use your open oven door as a place to rest dishes. That’s especially true if you’re busy arranging items inside the oven. However, it can also damage the glass oven door, so avoid doing that.
Push Racks All The Way In Before Closing Door
Oven racks can sometimes slide out when you’re removing dishes. When that happens, the racks will hit the glass oven door as you close it when that happens.
To avoid damage, be sure to push the racks all the way in each time before closing the oven door.
Clean Only With Products Designed For Glass Oven Doors
As you’ve seen above, many commercial glass cleaners can strip the protective layer on glass oven doors. So, it’s always best to stick to products designed specifically for use with glass oven doors.
You can trust that the product won’t damage the door by accident whenever you shut it.
Read: Why Gas Oven Turns On By Itself
Understand The Oven’s Warranty Coverage
Many of the reasons that your oven glass door shatters are preventable. However, there are a few that are beyond your control and might have even happened long before you bought the appliance.
So, you must understand all warranty coverages you might have for the oven. For example, manufacturing defects are sometimes covered by the manufacturer. Meanwhile, the repair technician’s warranty might cover any damage caused during repairs.
Take a few minutes to understand all the warranty protection you have. For example, you might be entitled to free repairs if your oven glass door shatters.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Still got questions on your mind? Don’t worry. Here are a few frequently asked questions about oven glass doors that you might find helpful.
What Kind Of Glass Is Used In Oven Doors?
Manufacturers use tempered glass to make oven doors. Unlike standard glass, manufacturers make tempered glass using temperature and chemical treatments to make it significantly stronger and safer.
What Is The Difference Between Standard Glass And Tempered Glass?
Standard glass is fragile and will break into large, sharp pieces that could cause severe injuries. On the other hand, tempered glass is designed to break into tiny pieces. Each of those pieces is relatively harmless because they’re not very sharp. That makes them safer and also much easier to clean up.
What Happens If Oven Glass Breaks?
When an oven glass door breaks, it’ll shatter into many tiny pieces. Those pieces will fall onto your kitchen floor and into the oven compartment, requiring careful cleanup. In addition, the oven can’t retain heat inside until you replace the glass, which means that it can no longer cook efficiently.
Can You Still Use An Oven If The Glass Is Broken?
The oven will still function even with a broken glass door. However, you can’t cook anything effectively inside it. All the heat will flow out of the oven and heat your kitchen instead of cooking the food inside.
Why Did The Glass In My Oven Break?
The glass in your oven breaks due to micro-cracks formed over an extended period. Those will develop due to direct impact, harsh cleaning methods and cleaning products, and rapid temperature changes. The same can also happen from damage experienced during manufacturing, transportation, installation, or repairs.
