For steam oven owners · From the manuals
Fix & maintain your steam oven
Error codes, water, descaling and cleaning. The brands disagree on a lot of this, so everything here comes from each manufacturer's own manual, and we say which brand a rule applies to.
Error code on the display?
172 codes across 14 brands, each transcribed from the manual with its page reference. 38 you can clear yourself; 134 need a service call.
Which water should go in the tank?
It depends on the brand, and the advice runs in opposite directions. Miele, Thermador, Smeg, Wolf and Sharp ask for tap water and say not to use distilled or fully filtered water, because the oven's water sensor needs minerals to detect it. Miele's manual says distilled water could damage the oven. Anova and Suvie recommend distilled water. Whichever your oven wants, plan on descaling.
Not sure? Your model's manual covers it, usually under "water" or "first use". Find it below.
Descaling and cleaning
Scale is behind most of the owner-fixable codes. The manuals disagree on how to deal with it: Miele and Thermador name their own descalers, Bertazzoni forbids vinegar, and Anova allows any descaling liquid. For cleaning, every manual we checked rules out scouring pads and abrasive cleaners, so use a soft cloth.
Descaler and cleaning supplies
Use the descaler your manual names. Affiliate links, at no cost to you.
A general-purpose steam-oven descaler, for ovens whose manual allows a generic one (Anova says any descaling liquid works). Miele and Thermador name their own descalers; use those instead.
View on Amazon · ~$21
The tablets Miele's own descale program expects. Clears the F20 message on DGC combi-steam ovens.
View on Amazon · ~$22
A soft, non-abrasive cloth for drying the door and cavity after a steam cycle. Every manual we checked rules out scouring pads and abrasive cleaners.
View on Amazon · ~$9Lost the manual?
We keep the owner's and installation manuals for 38 steam ovens, each matched to the exact model and sourced from the manufacturer.