Your oven is one of the most used appliances in your house. Without you noticing it, the handle of your oven is the center of activity in your kitchen.
Aside from giving control access to your range, you also use this as a handrail or support. And most likely, you always hang your hand towels in your oven’s handle. A loose or broken handle is a common problem in any kitchen.
To repair your oven’s handle, you need to check first the leading cause of the problem.
Loose handle: There can be some loose screws that you need to tighten if your handle is loose. But in some cases, your oven handle becomes loose because of some faulty screws, washers, or broken pieces of the handle itself.
Broken handle: Broken handles can be because of different factors. Using it as a rail handle is the most common reason. To fix a broken handle, you need to remove the remaining parts of the handle and replace it with a new one.
Old oven: An old oven or an over-used oven is the most common reason for a faulty oven door handle. With all the years of using the stove, some parts deteriorate, causing the screws to break or loosen. If you have an old range, a broken handle can only be the start of the damages that will show.
Here are the basic steps to follow on how to repair the oven door handle.
Unplug your oven
Unplugging your oven might be an obvious step, but some people tend to forget to unplug their appliances before trying to fix them. Ignoring this step may cause some severe problems. Disconnect your oven to the cooker and unplug it before trying to fix it.
Remove the door of the oven
Remove first the faulty oven door handle. Then lift slowly the hinge catches to keep the hinges in place and lift up the door away from your appliance.
Separate inner door and outer door
Your oven door is composed of the inner and outer door. To separate these two, remove four screws below and two screws placed at the top of the internal door. After removing the screws, carefully remove the hinges and the inner door.
You will notice holes wherein the handle should go into. These holes are hanging onto a bracket that might not be connected fully, so be careful with it.
Attach your new handle
Get your new handle and prepare it for attachment. To attach your new handle, you will need:
- Screws
- 2 spacer washer
- 1 locking washer
- plastic washer
The spacer and locking washer should be on the screw, and the plastic washer goes outside the door. Put the screw with the washers through the screw hole before placing the plastic washer.
Avoid screwing the one side of your door handle too tightly so it will be easy to lift the other into place.
Unlike the first side of your door handle, insert first the plastic washer, then place the handle in its right place. Then pop it up and screw it in place.
Refit the door
You are almost done repairing your oven door handle. Connect the inner door to its place to put it back. Return the screws and attached your door back to the oven.
Don’t forget to clasp the hinges up into the appliance and secure it down by dropping the hinges. Ensure everything is secure by putting the locks in place.
These are just simple steps that you can follow to replace your loose or broken oven door grip. Depending on the design or brand of your oven, steps in repairing it may vary.
Designs of some brands of stoves are complicated. You can try doing it on your own by simply following the basic steps. But if you are not familiar with the design of your oven, it is best to let the professional do their job.
You don’t want to cause more damage to your range by trying to fix it without any knowledge about repairs or oven. A broken or loose oven door handle a simple repair that you can do. But you should also check other underlying damages to your range to avoid further problems.
A broken or loose oven door handle can be an easy repair, but there might be other underlying damages that might cause you more problems. In some instances, repairing it will not do you good. You might consider replacing it with a new one.
Remember that your oven can last long if you use it right and maintain it properly.
