You spent the entire evening preparing a flavorful dish for the family. The timer goes off, and you’re excited to share your hard work with others. You pull the food out of the oven, but something seems off. It’s not long before you realize your food didn’t cook evenly in your Whirlpool oven.
A ruined dinner is often the first telltale sign that your oven isn’t working. If some parts of the dish are overcooked while others aren’t cooked enough, it’s probably a sign that your Whirlpool oven has some temperature issues. We’ll provide some information about common oven problems below:
Rule Out Potential Causes
Before you consider troubleshooting your Whirlpool oven, our friends who do oven repair in Ottawa recommend ruling out potential causes with some simple solutions like:
- Avoid Opening Oven Door: Opening the oven door while cooking your meal will release heat, resulting in a longer cooking time. Avoid opening the door as much as possible until your food is ready.
- Allow More Time for Preheating: Ensure you’re giving your oven enough time to preheat before putting your dish in. Improperly preheating can cause food to cook unevenly or over-brown.
- Keep Items Levelled: Items with uneven distribution while on racks can lead to uncooked meals.
Signs of a Faulty Oven
If you’ve ruled out any fixable issues with your Whirlpool oven, there may be a bigger problem. A company that does fire alarm monitoring in Winnipeg suggests it’s best to determine the specific cause asap to avoid a house fire. The last thing you want is for more severe consequences to arise.
Here are some common signs of a faulty oven:
Burnt Out Bake/Broil Element
The baking element provides heat from the bottom of the oven, and the broil element heats from the top. The two elements must provide enough heat to cook or bake food. If one of the elements burns out, and heat is only coming from the top or bottom, it can lead to unevenly cooked meals.
You may notice signs of a faulty element if you see:
- Interruptions in the element’s red glow
- Blistering or holes in the metal coil
A bake element often malfunctions due to exposure to high temperatures during the oven’s self-clean function. Knowing how to clean your oven correctly can help you avoid damage during self-cleaning.
Defective Temperature Sensor
Food not getting cooked evenly could be due to a defective temperature sensor. The sensor works in tandem with the control panel to regulate the oven’s temperature. If the sensor malfunctions, it can’t accurately fluctuate temperatures, resulting in uneven cooking.
A solution may include repositioning the temperature sensor away from the oven wall to get better temperature readings. The sensor may require a replacement if this doesn’t solve the issue.
Oven Convection Motor Isn’t Working
If your Whirlpool oven has a convection function, the issue could be with the motor. The motor powers the fan, which circulates the hot air while cooking. If the motor begins to fail, it can’t properly circulate air, which causes uneven cooking results.
Test the motor by turning the shaft by hand. If it doesn’t turn or if the motor shows a lack of continuity, then you’ll need a replacement.
The Oven Needs To Be Calibrated
Each Whirlpool oven is calibrated by the manufacturer to ensure optimal performance. However, the longer you use the oven, the higher the chances you’ll experience temperature problems. The oven’s internal temperature might be lower or higher than what you set it for. To fix the issue of uneven cooking, you may need to recalibrate the oven for better accuracy.
Refer to your Whirlpool owner’s manual when calibrating your specific oven model. Before increasing the temperature way higher than necessary, you should do it in increments of 5 or 10 degrees until you get your desired temperature.
There’s always a logical explanation for why your food isn’t cooking thoroughly in the oven. While most of the causes can be fixed, it’s best to get a second opinion. If you’ve exhausted all possibilities, consider reaching out to a professional to get to the root of the problem. This way, you can return to cooking successful and delicious dishes.
