What to Do When the Oven Door Glass Shatters

Turn the oven off, keep people and pets out of the kitchen, and let it cool before you clean up. Don't bake again until the glass is replaced. GE's guidance is that it doesn't recommend using the oven if the inside or outside window of the door is broken or cracked, because of the safety issue with the door, though the surface burners on a range are fine to use (GE Appliances).

Do this first

1. Turn the oven off at the controls. If you can't reach the controls without stepping on glass, switch off the oven's breaker instead.
2. Clear the area of kids, pets and bare feet. Oven door glass is tempered, so it usually breaks into many small pieces that can spread across the floor.
3. Leave the door as it is while the oven cools. Don't slam it shut or yank it open, because loose glass inside the door can fall out.
4. Put on shoes, and grab gloves before you touch anything.

In the next few hours

• Wait until the oven is fully cool. Glass and racks hold heat for a long time.
• Clean up carefully. Sweep the floor, then vacuum, then wipe with a damp paper towel to pick up small fragments. Check the toe kick, the gap under the range and the floor several feet away.
• Find out which pane broke. Most oven doors have two or more panes. An outer pane break is obvious. An inner pane break may leave glass inside the oven cavity or inside the door itself.
• Clean out the oven cavity with a vacuum once cool, and check the racks and the bottom for fragments.
• Keep using the cooktop if you need to. Per GE, the surface burners on a range are safe to use with a broken or cracked oven window. Just keep the oven itself off.
• Tape a note on the oven controls so nobody turns it on by habit.

Before the technician arrives

Note:

• The model and serial number. With the door open (carefully, if glass is loose), check the oven frame around the opening, or behind the storage drawer on a range.
• Which pane broke (inner, middle or outer) and whether the door still closes and latches.
• What was happening when it broke: preheating, self-clean, a dish hitting the glass, cleaning the window while it was hot, or nothing at all.
• Photos of the door, front and back.

What not to do:

• Don't bake, broil or run self-clean with any cracked or broken pane.
• Don't tape over the glass or try to cover the gap with foil.
• Don't take the door apart to replace the glass yourself unless the manufacturer's instructions cover it. Doors are heavy, and the hinges are spring-loaded.
• Don't spray cold water or cleaner onto hot oven glass in the future.

How to keep it from happening again

• Let the oven cool before cleaning the window, and use a non-abrasive cleaner. Scratches and chips weaken tempered glass.
• Don't let pans or racks hit the glass when you slide them in and out.
• Close the door gently. Slamming stresses the glass and the hinges.
• Have chips or scratches looked at early, especially on the inner pane, which sees the most heat.

If the oven kept heating when it shouldn't have, also read what to do when your oven won't turn off. For door glass, hinge and gasket replacement, see our oven service page.

Sources

• GE Appliances: Operation of oven if door window is broken or cracked

Keep in mind: You can keep cooking on a range's burners, but the oven should stay off until the door glass is replaced.

For oven door glass replacement, call ProFix Dallas at (469) 886-1122.