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A US home kitchen with a stainless slide-in stove, a heavy lid resting on a skillet on a front burner, a thin trail of smoke rising from the edge of the lid, every knob turned off and no one standing at the stove.

Stove
Smoking

Smoke rises from a burner, pours out of the oven vent, drifts up from behind the stove or seeps from the control panel, with or without a pan on top.

(844) 415-7620

Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm

  • Gas, fire, sparks or a burner stuck on
  • 5 questions that narrow it
  • 6 causes, cheapest first

Book a visit

Three short steps, about a minute.

or call (844) 415-7620

If there is gas in the air, walk out first. Without gas, shut the stove's breaker off

Smoke from burning food clears once the spill is cleaned, but a fire in a pan needs a lid and the heat off, never water. Smoke with an electrical smell or from inside the stove is an emergency: breaker off if the panel is away from the stove, otherwise leave and call 911. Keep the stove off until it has been checked.

What it
usually means.

Most stove smoke is food: a spill charring on a drip pan, grease on the oven floor, or the protective oils burning off a new stove during its first few uses. That smoke smells like burnt cooking and stops once the residue is gone. A pan of oil that catches fire is a different matter and needs a lid, not water. Smoke with a sharp, plastic or electrical smell, or smoke coming from the back of the stove, from under the stovetop or from around the knobs and display, means something electrical is overheating, often a burnt connection or a failing part. That kind of smoke does not clear by itself and can turn into a fire inside the stove.

A technician plugs a new black coil burner into its socket on a raised stovetop of a white electric stove in a US apartment kitchen. The 6 causes, cheapest first

Answer these first

01

Where is the smoke coming from: a pan, a burner, the oven vent, the back of the stove or the control panel?
02

Does it smell like burnt food, or sharp like hot plastic and wiring?
03

Is the stove new, or was the oven just cleaned or run on self-clean?
04

Did the smoke start right after a boil-over or a spill in the oven?
05

Is there a flame anywhere, and is it in a pan, in the oven or somewhere you cannot see?

Check these
before you book.

Stove smoking: 5 checks, and none of them costs anything.

01

If a pan is on fire, slide a lid or a baking sheet over it and turn that burner off; never throw water on it and never carry the pan outside.

02

If the smoke comes from the back, the knobs or the display, switch off the stove's breaker if the panel is away from the stove; if you cannot reach it safely, get everyone out and call 911.

03

If flames are inside the oven, turn it off and keep the door closed; if any fire has not died down within a minute or is spreading, leave the house and call 911.

Also worth checking

  • Once everything is cold, look for spilled food on the drip pans, under the burners and on the oven floor.
  • When you book, say where the smoke came from, what it smelled like and whether the stove still works.

The causes,
cheapest first.

6 things stove smoking turns out to be, from grease or oil burning in a pan to control board or switch overheating.

The cost guide
  1. 01 no repair

    Grease or oil burning in a pan

    Oil heated past its smoke point smokes heavily and can catch fire. Slide a lid or a baking sheet over the pan, turn the burner off and leave the pan where it is until it has cooled; water makes burning oil explode outward.

    No repair: check it yourself
  2. 02 no repair

    Spills burning off drip pans or the oven floor

    Food that ran under a burner or dripped onto the oven floor smokes every time that part gets hot. Clean it off once the stove is cold and the smoke stops.

    No repair: check it yourself
  3. 03 no repair

    A new stove burning in

    New elements and oven liners are coated with oils that smoke and smell during the first few uses. Running the oven empty with the kitchen ventilated for the time your manual suggests clears it.

    No repair: check it yourself
  4. 04 low to moderate

    Oven element overheating before it fails

    An oven element can smoke from a blistered or bulging spot shortly before it breaks. You may see a bright patch along it while the rest glows evenly.

    Fixed by stove oven heating repair See oven on my stove won't heat up
  5. 05 moderate

    Burnt power connection behind the stove

    A loose screw where the cord meets the stove heats until the terminal block and insulation smoke. The smell is strongest at the back, and a burner or the oven may work only partly.

    Fixed by gas and power hookup check See stove sparking
  6. 06 moderate to highest

    Control board or switch overheating

    Smoke seeping from around the knobs or the display comes from the switches or the board behind them, sometimes after steam or a spill has worked its way inside.

    Fixed by control board and display repair

The makes
it happens on.

32 makes on this site; stove smoking can show up on any of them. Each mark opens that make's own page.

All 32 brands

Stove Smoking,
where we come out.

9 metros, each with its own page.

All service areas

Tampa BayFL · 31 areas

OrlandoFL · 30 areas

Miami / South FloridaFL · 47 areas

New York MetroNY · 75 areas

HoustonTX · 36 areas

ChicagoIL · 50 areas

Los AngelesCA · 95 areas

San DiegoCA · 31 areas

San Francisco Bay AreaCA · 74 areas

A grandparent and a child stirring a pot together on a white gas stove in a lived-in family kitchen
For the heart of your home.

Questions about
stove smoking.

Is it normal for a brand-new stove to smoke?
Yes, for the first few uses, especially the oven. Open a window, run the oven empty as the manual describes, and the smell and smoke should fade. If it continues after that, have it looked at.
What should I keep near the stove for a grease fire?
A lid that fits your largest pan, a baking sheet, and a kitchen fire extinguisher you know how to use. Baking soda can put out a small fire, but flour and water must never go on burning oil.
Why does the smoke smell like burning plastic?
Check first for a plastic utensil or wrapper left on the stovetop or in the oven drawer. If there is none, the smell is likely wiring or a switch, so turn the power off at the breaker if you can do it safely.
My stove smoked after a flood in the kitchen. What now?
Water may have reached the wiring or the controls. Keep the breaker off and do not use the stove until it has been checked; a gas stove should also be looked at by the utility if its connection was underwater.

Back to your everyday

Still seeing stove smoking?

Book with what you checked above — 5 answers save the technician the first part of the visit.

Schedule a repair Call (844) 415-7620
(844) 415-7620 Schedule a repair