Here's How Long Your Oven Will Actually Last

Unless you do absolutely zero cooking, your oven may very well be the most important appliance in your kitchen. It's also likely to be one of the more expensive appliances in your home. (It's the appliance Martha Stewart says to splurge on even when you're budgeting.) Despite the high cost, it's a common site for cooking messes (no shame in your pizza collapsing through the top oven rack). Making mistakes with your oven can ruin more than just your food, though; it can also mess up your oven and wear it down over time.

In general, you can expect a standard oven to last 13 to 15 years. Gas ovens tend to last a couple of years longer than electric ones because their inner workings are less complex. The lifespan of your specific oven is going to depend on the manufacturer, how well you clean and maintain it, and how often you use it, since cooking once a week won't wear down the oven as quickly as daily cooking will. To be honest, it also depends on what your definition of "lasts" is, because if you're willing to put up with minor pieces breaking or heating mechanisms not working as well as they once did, then your oven could last you 20 years or longer. Still, scrubbing your oven a few times per year with soapy water or baking soda and vinegar goes a long way.

There are plenty of signs (both small and large) than an oven is on its way out. At the surface level, a well-loved oven can start rusting after several years, and cracks can appear on the glass. Meanwhile, buildup of food over the years can create odd smells or tastes which will be impossible to clean if left for too long.

A more dangerous issue would be if one of the heat-generating metal coils used to cook your food starts malfunctioning. An older oven might require more energy than it used to in order to reach the same heat levels, upping your utility bill and causing uneven cooking. All of those oven settings mean different things and have different uses, and plenty of them require both the top and bottom heaters in the oven to be functioning. If one stops working, your food probably isn't being properly cooked. The control panel on your oven could also stop working, and that would need to be replaced.

If you've recently moved into a new place and you're not sure how old the oven is (or if you don't trust the previous owner's answer), you can usually tell by checking the serial number on the oven. This might be a sticker on the oven's frame or it might be underneath the control panel or even inside the oven. Once you find it, check the manufacturer's website to decode the serial number and find the date the oven was made.