Pyrolytic self-cleaning
The self-cleaning cycle: the oven heats to about 480 °C (Bosch, Siemens) and burns food residue to ash that you wipe away afterwards.
What it is for
Cleaning the inside of the oven without chemicals. The manual says what must come out first and how long the cycle and cool-down take.
Makes differ, check your oven’s manual: the same drawing can mean different things on different brands, and only your model’s manual says exactly which elements run and how hot.
- What it looks like
- Three rows of three dots or circles, getting bigger towards the top (Bosch, Siemens). Neff draws three rows of three chevrons; Smeg may show a letter P, sometimes with ECO above it.
- Names makers use
- Pyrolytic cleaning (Bosch); activeClean (Siemens); Pyrolytic self-cleaning (Neff); Pyrolytic “P” (Smeg)
Where makes differ
A P is not always pyrolysis: on Siemens ovens P is Auto programmes. Bosch’s EcoClean symbol (dots rising diagonally, labelled EcoClean) is a self-cleaning coating on the back wall, not a pyrolytic cycle. Smeg mentions an eco-pyrolytic version marked ECO above the P.
Often confused with
A short cleaning cycle that uses water and gentle heat to soften grime so you can wipe it off. It does not burn residue away like a pyrolytic cycle.
Other symbols with the same shapes
Sources
No single published standard defines oven function icons, so this meaning is taken from 4 makers’ own guides, each fetched and checked on the date shown:
- Bosch: Bosch UK — Oven symbols guide — “Pyrolytic cleaning” settings icon (three rows of circles, larger towards the top): heats to around 480 °C and reduces dirt to dust. Checked 2026-09-23.
- Siemens: Siemens Home UK — Oven symbols guide — “activeClean®” pictogram (3×3 dots growing towards the top): heats the cavity up to 480 °C and burns away dirt; ashes wipe away. Checked 2026-09-23.
- Neff: NEFF UK — Oven symbols explained: your complete guide — “Pyrolytic self-cleaning symbol”: three sets of three arrows or dots; residues turned to ash to wipe away. Checked 2026-09-23.
- Smeg: Smeg UK — A guide to oven symbols and what they mean — “Pyrolytic Cleaning ‘P’ Symbol”: the letter P or 9 circles in a 3×3 format growing towards the top; burns residue to ash. Checked 2026-09-23.
Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.