We have been engaged in quite the discussion at GIC this afternoon. A homeowner had contacted us stating her furnace was out and needed to be replaced. I asked her if she had space heaters to use in the meantime and she then told me, “Yes, as well as using the oven.” I knew this could potentially go horribly wrong and as I have read many resources advising against using your oven to heat your home. Her oven is electric and poses no threat of carbon monoxide poisoning, but does pose a fire hazard. I told the homeowner that I advised against using the oven to temporarily heat her home.

Luke, co-owner of GIC, was intrigued as to why this would pose a fire hazard if used properly. I scoured the internet and again found hundreds of sources stating you should NEVER use your oven to heat your home. However, I found nothing siting exactly why this is. Are flammable items somehow making their way into the oven? I also found several news stories that stated heating the home with an oven as the cause of a house fire. So our question to you is we know it’s bad to heat your home with an oven (even an electric one), but why?

So please comment below and help us better understand this very serious hazard.