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mboston_gw

AquaLift Technology on Maytag Ranges/Oven Cleaning

mboston_gw
11 years ago

Does anyone have this as the cleaning method for ovens on their Maytag Ranges? It must be fairly new as there are not many reviews. Supposedly, you pour 2 cups of water in the bottom of the oven and turn it to clean. It heats the water and the steam loosens the food residue and grease so that it can be wiped leaned. Not as high of temperature cleaning and such. I am wondering if the sides and roof of the oven will get as clean as the bottom where the water is.

You know how meat spits as it browns. I fix cornish hens and chicken breasts often and they get the oven so messy.

Hope someone knows how well this system works.

Comments (146)

  • stuffh
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I was curious to see if there was a class action lawsuit launched against Whirlpool/Maytag and discovered this: http://www.aqualiftovenlitigation.com/

  • julierossmyers
    6 years ago

    I agree... it is consumer fraud. I bought Whirlpool because they are American. Well, I am sorry I did. I feel absolutely cheated because this so-called self-cleaning assist technology does not work. Whirlpool makes a number of brands.... Jenn Air, Amana, Maytag, Kitchen AId, Inglis, Estate, Brastemp, Bauknecht, Indesit, Gladiator, and Consul... avoid them all. I will never buy an American appliance again. I went through hell with a Frigidaire (Electrolux) dishwasher. Never had a problem with my Samsung appliances though.

  • stuffh
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Aqua-lift does not work. Be prepared to self-clean the old fashioned way on hands and knees. Get rid of that piece of junk. For anyone considering buying, DON'T! I was sent their "special" cleaning kit which they said "might" be helpful. It contained the same cleaner for the stove glass top. A very disappointed Canadian -- Please make America GREAT again.

  • twohad
    6 years ago

    Bought Maytag with Aqua lift and it doesn't work on anything except the bottom. The sides stay dirty and you have to get on your hands and knees and clean it yourself just like the old days. Not only doesn't it work well, but steam from a dutch oven took the finish off the back display area and any time you touch it with a pot, it scratches. Had to adjust the temp in the oven myself to make it roast/bake properly. The burners work well, at least that is something. Disappointed in this unit

  • stuffh
    6 years ago

    Twohad. The steam clean function will not work eventually, possibly in the near future. The oven does not get hot enough during the clean cycle to "steam up". That is what happened after two "cleanings". The product is flawed and should be taken off the market. So sorry you had to find out the hard way and did not read the reviews on this and other sites. Do not buy Maytag. They do not stand behind their product. Consumer fraud :(

  • myhouse385
    6 years ago

    This is a dishonest product... Whirlpool is made by the same manufacturer. The Aqualift is a joke. Does not work at all. Total fraud. Do not buy Whirlpool which makes Maytag and other brands.

  • twohad
    6 years ago

    stuffh. Bought this stove back in 2013. The Maytag customer service, assured me this would work great. Even told me demos she had seen herself. One of the things I liked about it was it didn't get so hot. I think I am more upset over the steam and scratches than the oven cleaning. Definitely would not recommend or ever get another Maytag. Thanks for your feedback



  • paulaj58
    6 years ago

    So what is the bottom line? I tried the aqua method which failed, then went with the new easy off product which left a chalky residue all over. Is there a solution? And is it safe to use the oven?

  • myhouse385
    6 years ago

    Using any other cleaning method voids the warranty. Which is a joke because either you are forced to have a dirty oven or a voided warranty.

  • paulaj58
    6 years ago

    But is there anyway to get rid of the residue?

  • paulaj58
    6 years ago

    And is it safe to use?

  • Chris Adams
    6 years ago

    Don't buy it. The Aqualift doesn't work!!!! There are many complaints on this site make sure you read them all. Worst purchase I ever made

  • pollywogpath
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    the aqualift is terrible. It does not work at all. I will never buy another thing made by whirlpool or it's affiliates. There are several class action lawsuits against them.

  • Cindi Burgard
    6 years ago

    I bought the Maytag gas range in March of this year. I cannot get it clean. I have put off calling anyone just googleing tips. OH my word its crazy the complaints. I finally called the company that I bought it from and they are supposed to be helping. We will see. I can't believe they are still selling this.

  • kimmetzg
    6 years ago

    I've had my range less than two months and a greasy chicken cooked in it has now caused me the same pain that most people experience! Tried running the cleaning cycle twice and it did nothing for me. I just wanted it clean and resorted to oven cleaner I had on hand. It's clean but the finish is gone and it now looks worse than the oven I replaced. This sucks! Wondering if there's anything I can do at this point?!

  • Chris Adams
    6 years ago

    I don't think there is. That has been the big major complaint of this feature for the last few years. I have no idea why something hasn't been done to correct the problem. It is incredibly annoying.


  • myhouse385
    6 years ago

    There is a class action suit against Whirlpool, the parent company of MayTag, Jennair, etc. regarding Aqualift. I hope the courts sock it to them hard because they have deliberately defrauded thousands of consumers by selling this technology even after knowing it does not work. Why do they sell it? Because it is cheaper to make an oven that does not have to heat up beyond 425 degrees used for cooking. Plus they can keep their low energy rating. It is a shell game and the consumer loses. I will never buy another Whirlpool or Whirlpool subsidiary product again. I was told oven cleaning has nothing to do with function and that the oven performs as it was designed to. Therefore I am out $1400. What a crock. If I ripped someone off like this I would be in jail. They get away with it.

  • dan1888
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    The old system worked great, . . . .until the oven door seal became inflexible from grease deposits through everyday use. Once that happened it no longer sealed enough and the higher heat from the cleaning process damaged the control board above the door area. A new seal is about $32.

  • Cindi Burgard
    6 years ago

    Well maytag sent me a "cleaning kit" only thing different is it had a sample of the aquafresh cleaner in it. I used it according to directions. Spent 30 minutes scrubbing and still not clean. What a joke

  • Cori Rodgers
    6 years ago

    Hello, I just tried the aqualift system in my Maytag convection oven and of course it didn't work for splatter on the walls. So I tried again but just turned my oven on to 500F and after 20 minutes the oven had preheated to 300F. I opened the door to find the water bubbling so I took the sponge provided by Maytag and wiped the walls while the oven was still damp from the steam. The grease splatter came off!!! It also came off the door glass super easy too!

  • stuffh
    6 years ago

    Cori, glad it worked for you. It did not for me.


  • PRO
    Business_Name_Placeholder
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I have the JENNAIR 1450 electric induction range with AQUA LIFT. If you are looking for a nice range- DO NOT GET THIS ONE. As a side note, Whirlpool makes Jennair, Maytag and more, the Aqua Lift is the same for all.

    I use my oven an average amt. I am not a fryer roaster in the oven cooker. Their is no reason for my oven to be difficult to clean. I ran Aqua-Lift THREE TIMES AND USED THE USELESS AQUA FRESH. After 5 hours+ spreading over 3 days of cleaning this range, it looks "OK".

    AQUA LIFT somewhat gets the stuff off of the vary bottom of the range, not the side walls, top, door. It is DISHONEST for a COMPANY to give any impression that oven has a clean function. It is a 100% people clean function and even at that it does not get clean. Anyone can put water in an oven, turn the oven on, add moisture to inside the oven, and scrub. IN FACT, THIS IS WHAT ONE WOULD DO BEFORE OVENS EVEN HAD AN ACTUAL CLEAN FUNCTION.

    You are not to use any oven cleaning products as this ruins the internal coating. Finally after reading reviews this is how I cleaned this useless oven:

    -Ran Aqua-lift-- cleaned with non abrasive sponge, careful not to scratch, must be non abrasive. Do this while the inside of the oven is still very warm. Do the door first before stuff gets baked back on. Open the bottom oven drawer and put a paper towel on the top edge of it and close. This will prevent water etc from dripping into the drawer.

    -Repeat the above several times until somewhat clean. Again, important to clean after Aqua Lift when inside of range is still hot/warm. I did the above steps 2-3 times

    -Door still dirty? Mix baking soda and water to form paste. The range can not be WARM or HOT... Put blue painters tape (painters so the tape goo doesn't stick to the door) inside on the door. Where the metal of the door meets the glass, frame square that edge do paste does not get stuck in their. Smudge baking soda mixture on the glass portion of door. Let it dry, then scrub.

    -Last, but VERY CAREFULLY I used a razor to very gently scrape stuck on spatters. Make sure to side swipe and no direct push on glass with razor.

    FUTURE:

    Every time I use the range when it is warm I will wipe the inside window.

    Also, I put a square piece of foil inside the range to collect any food particles.

    Also note that for example if you baked something in the oven, and you take it out and place it on top of your cooktop, the range will continuously BEEP. You can not set anything on top of the cooktop unless you are using the burner. EXAMPLE 2: You are actually using the cooktop burner. Your item that is on burner is done cooking, you shut off burner and leave pot on the burner to serve. NOPE, the cooktop will continuously beep until you take the pot off of the burner.

    I very much dislike this range and would never recommend buying it.

  • myhouse385
    6 years ago

    I don't clean my Whirlpool because it reminds me of how I was deceived by this dishonest company and how they stole my money. I will never buy any Whirlpool product again even though the washer and dryer are good. I hope they go bankrupt. I will buy a Samsung which had a good clean function (I had one before) and never caused trouble.

  • dpasbrig21
    6 years ago

    Well I'm not a fan of how the aqua clean does it's cleaning.i have had to clean the oven 3times.it doesn't seem to clean as well as my other self cleaning oven.

  • Pam Cline
    5 years ago

    Aqualift is quite the joke. I can see some executive getting paid big bucks to come up with this almost useless method of cleaning. Very much a waste of time. I “inherited” my range when I purchased the house....and I am assuming the previous owners did not cook LOL. I have tried this method, and hate it. Would not recommend the purchase of at range using this technology.

  • PRO
    Business_Name_Placeholder
    5 years ago

    Ok, more rant about JENNAIR 1450 electric induction range with AQUA LIFT. The induction oven.. you of course preheat the oven. It is handy that it transfers the standard temperature to the induction temperature for you. As it does this it requires you to enter in the amt. of time you want to bake your item. Once you enter baking time the timer/clock starts counting down...however the oven is STILL PREHEATING (temperature not ready for you to put your item in the oven and not ready to start the timer count down). Someone in the company knew someone, was related or friends with someone and was promoted way to early in his/her career to begin designing ranges/ovens ..errrrrr rip off !

  • boba1
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    JIM925, I have the KitchenAid KFID500 free standing dual oven induction range. My user nanual had the same instructions for using cook time feature. I knew it was incorrect to start counting down before preheating finishes. And somewhere in my manual I iscovered something that kind of contradicted the original instructions. What I do is I preheat the oven for whatever temperature and / or mode I'm using. Once it reaches temperature, I insert the food. Then I select cook time, enter the amount of time needed to cook and press start.

  • PRO
    Business_Name_Placeholder
    5 years ago

    boba1 Thank you for that tip!!


  • HU-565578204
    5 years ago

    I have the Maytag oven. It is 2 yrs. old and looks worse than my previous oven that was 16 yrs. old. I did not investigate the Aquaclean feature before I purchased it. Always loved Maytag appliances but will be getting rid of this one soon.

  • Cindi Burgard
    5 years ago

    I've had my Maytag a little over two years and it is horrible. All I ever got from the place I bought it or Maytag is it isn't supposed to be like the traditional self cleaning oven.... no kidding, It is ridiculous.

  • vbongs
    5 years ago

    Aquaclean is more than a joke. it is fraud

  • Chris Adams
    5 years ago

    I have had the same experience and my dealer/repair man made some stupid comment that I should read stuff on the internet and my oven was cleaner than most people's. Made no sense.

  • HU-135719367
    5 years ago

    I have the Jenn Air Dual Fuel Rang 14500S with Aqualift technology. I too was dumbfounded when I attempted to do a small cleaning job. I called and complained and received the next joke. The cleaning kit and I could have used a plastic spatula. Yes its on my knees cleaning. I've tried double cleaning and had the service man come to see if the oven was getting hot enough. My first Jenn Air self clean with heat immaculate. I hate this and know I have to much invested and a pretty stove with a dirty oven. i will never buy a Aqualift clean again. I think I should be compensated for this horrible cleaning oven

  • stuffh
    5 years ago

    So sorry you did not read reviews on this technology before buying (as did I). The product is still on the market and the scam continues. It occurs to me most of us who purchased this oven are women so our voices DON'T MATTER!!! We need to boycott this company,, their subsidiaries and any company who sells their products. This is the only way to get their attention.

  • Chris Adams
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Had a spill over in my oven today and of course I know how Aqualift works (it doesn't). Cleaned the best I could with baking soda, vinegar and dish soap. Worked pretty good but of course the "magic" non stick finish of the Aqualift did't help at all. Had to use a razor to get the big chunks off. I have had this oven for about five years and know how annoying the cleaning feature is. I too have too much invested in this oven but am seriously considering getting a different one with the self cleaning the I had before (lots of heat) because those actually work. My service man also gave me a runaround saying that I shouldn't be reading reviews on-line and that my oven was probably cleaner then most so basically "quit your complaining".

  • dadoes
    5 years ago

    There's also the angle that a lot of people refuse to use high-heat self-clean on their ovens that are equipped with it because (they say) it destroys the appliance. So consider that Whirlpool did you a favor on that point. :-)

  • capromeryx
    5 years ago

    Just an FYI: there is a class action lawsuit ongoing dealing with this faulty "aqualift technology" . In addition to the self cleaning not working, mine had a faulty heat sensor. I put a turkey in at 325F. About 40 minutes later I opened the oven and the turkey was on fire. Lovely. Warrenty took care of a new motherboard, but the self cleaning feature does not work. I am livid but apparently Whirlpool could care less. I am retired with a bad back so all I need is to have to clean the oven the old fashioned way. If interested, Google Aqualift and class action lawsuit. They are apparently still accepting information. I would love to get another oven, but I don't have a spare $900 sitting around. Thanks for nothing Whirlpool.

  • HU-496149478
    3 years ago

    I have a Maytag with aqua lift and it doesn’t work well at all. I ran it for three cycles and there was still dirt left on the bottom of the oven. I would never recommend getting any oven with aqua lift. It’s awful!

  • stuffh
    3 years ago

    Sorry --- I was shocked to discover this product is still being sold. I will never buy a Maytag product again. Maytag must have known about this defect before the product went on the market. This is the fault of poor design, quality control, management and dishonest representation by the company. Maytag is untrustworthy . The company lacks integrity. What a colossal disappointment!!! I hope more people (most of us, women) will speak out so the company takes notice. All we can do is NOT BUY Maytag or any of their subsidiaries' products. They do not seem to care!!

  • vonda bongs
    3 years ago

    It does not clean,not even a bit,

  • stuffh
    3 years ago

    You're right, Vonda --- I think they intended to play a joke on women. Self-clean in their vocabulary means "clean it your-SELF" -- It does, doesn't it??? LOL


  • HU-637255924
    3 years ago

    This method is horrible! The cycle is only 40 mins and it barely did anything. All my past ovens locked the door and ran high heat about 2 1/2 hrs. Results were perfect! Maytag needs to improve this self clean method. Did they not test this function? Where was engineering? Very disappointed in these Maytag appliances especially the ice maker on their very expensive french door refrigerator, it constantly clogs and decides on its own if you get crushed or full cubes. Sorry for getting off track going to get some ez-off.

  • stuffh
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    From other comments, EZ-off will ruin your oven. The glass cleaner for the stove-top helps somewhat together with the old fashioned way, on hands and knees. Maytag's definition of Self-clean is "you clean it yourself". Disappointing product.

  • WebTech Engineer
    3 years ago

    I guess I have never had a great self clean oven


  • shelbeans
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Has anyone used a product in these ovens that won’t ruin the surface but gets it clean? I’ve been scrubbing my door for an hour after running the self clean aqua clean method. So frustrating.

  • HU-306621740
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Honestly..... Never ever buy a maytag with the aqualift cleaning. Completely useless. It took me hours to get this thing clean. I used an SOS pad & Norwax Cleaning Paste.

  • vbongs
    2 years ago

    Never ever buy a Maytag, not only it doesn't clean, not even a little, it makes more work by having to add the water and then removing it!!

  • Stormie
    2 years ago

    I have a Whirlpool Aqualift gas range. I've had several brand name ranges in my lifetime and ALL EXCEPT THIS ONE cleaned like a charm with their "self-clean" or "continuous clean" feature. This Whirlpool range came with this brand new house when we bought it in 2016. As anyone who knows me could tell you, I've always kept my ranges clean. And with just my husband and myself living in our homes, I would generally only run the self-clean or continuous clean twice a year AT MOST! With THIS range, when it came time to do my first cleaning, I was excited to think of using this "new and innovative" new feature called Aqualift! WHAT A BUMMER! It ONLY cleans the bottom cavity where you pour the water. It's doesn't clean the edges of that cavity or the sides of the oven or the oven ceiling!!!! And now, five years later, I have a very dirty oven because foods just get burnt on even more although I use the Aqualift once or twice a year - AS I'VE ALWAYS DONE!! And it is such an insult to be told that we just need to clean it more often!! It's 2021!!!! We don't pay good money for ovens that must be cleaned THOROUGHLY after EACH use!!!!!!!!!!! At the VERY LEAST, Whirlpool should have given customers a great big warning in red saying YOU MUST CLEAN YOUR ENTIRE OVEN THOROUGHLY EVERY TIME YOU USE IT OR IT WILL NEVER BE CLEAN!!! But we all know why they didn't do that - BECAUSE NO ONE WOULD BUY THE RANGE - THAT'S WHY!!!!

    ............Is there anything we can do? They owe us BIG TIME!

    ................We're considering another move and I literally fear that some gal will love this house and think it's so clean and nice - then she'll open the oven door!!!!!! AQUALIFT COULD LITERALLY AFFECT THE SELLING OF HOMES!!! If anyone is acting on this situation legally, please comment & let us know what we can do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • jwvideo
    2 years ago

    @Stormie: "If anyone is acting on this situation legally, please comment & let us know what we can do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


    For a discussion including the various litigations, have a look at this thread: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4654971/do-not-buy-whirlpool-aqualift-range

  • syerion
    2 years ago

    First of all, I want to say that the men in my family are not afraid to clean the entire range, inside and out. This is not a gender issue. It is a promotion issue. The prospective buyers should have been given more information.

    Secondly, I love my range, the oven is huge and has many options that help make my life easier. BUT, I am heartbroken about the AquaLift self-clean cycle. I was raised with the attitude that the oven should always be spotless. The Whirlpool salesman was excited when describing how this method would not stink up the house and how it would work like heating up a cup of water in the microwave to steam away the cooked-on food. I didn't even think to read any reviews-my mistake. We have other Whirlpool appliances, and I was trusting in their good name. I never dreamed that their interpretation of "self-clean" was not the same as my interpretation. I felt so betrayed. We spent a lot of money and expected the best.

    In conclusion, I have accepted that fact that I will have a dirty oven. Guess what, my food tastes just the same. I have learned to be lazy in my cleaning!

    (I have to admit that I have been using "Easy-Off oven cleaner Fume Free Safe for Self-cleaning ovens" It is a good replacement.)