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My oven had mice in it and made a nest. So I took all the insulation out of it too look for the mouse. This was because it smelled like a dead animal every time I turned on the oven so I cleaned it out. I do not know if that was the problem in the first place, but due to the smell I was wondering if I can just throw away the insulation without putting it back. The old insulation is completely ruined due to mouse poop and their nest.

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Um...in a word...ABSOLUTELY NOT!!

You should without a doubt get the proper replacement insulation and put it back same as it came from the factory.

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  • The inside of your oven frequently gets to temperatures around 400 degrees. You don't want the outside of your oven anywhere near that hot; that could be enough to melt or ignite surrounding materials. (Plywood may ignite at that temperature, according to at least one resource.) Get insulation approved for that oven and go over it completely to restore it to factory condition (or have a qualified technician do so), or replace the oven entirely. This is not something you can afford to do wrong.
    – keshlam
    Commented Sep 4, 2023 at 22:14
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Is it safe? No for a few reasons:

  1. Chance of surrounding objects to catch fire (if not they will be damaged).
  2. Food not getting cooked properly (oven may not be able to achieve desired temp).
  3. You suffer from constant heat exposure.
  4. Your wallet will kill you (if the above doesn't do you in first).

The insulation is there for 2 reasons:

  1. Keep the heat in the oven for cooking.
  2. Keep the surrounding area cool for living.

Without the insulation, the oven will be very inefficient since it can't keep the heat in itself, so it will require more input to keep it working. I'm not sure on the chances for the surrounding objects to catch fire (I think it would be possible), but the excessive heat will damage them. With all that heat input being emptied into the room it will make the room unlivable while it is running. Even normally the oven will heat up the room considerably.

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