This is my permanent home. The Previous owners used it as their vaca home. Sorry I realize I didn;t explain well.

Even if we do buy one it is going to have to be one that is a lower end model but still have the ceramic top and self cleaning oven..

thanks.
Ruth

I would buy a new one. For one, I would not have a lot of confidence that all of the droppings could be cleaned up unless you took the entire range apart, and that's just not hygienic. For another thing, at 20 years old, that range has pretty much done its time. I would not be happy at having to spend the money, but I would have no qualms about replacing this appliance.

Stove or oven insulation is available on the web. Just do a Google search for Stove or Oven insulation. We did our range and it was easy...not to mention the fact we didn't have to give up our trusty old stove that we love.

even though we're 2+ years after the original posting. I would not (actually did not) bother disaaasembling the old stove to replace the insulation after rodents got in there. It is just plain not worth the level of effort on a 20 year old nothing special appliance.

JMHO.

lol, funny how things come back isn't it Ruth?

I hope you replaced it. Or if nothing else, put fans in the windows blowing out, turned it on self clean and sat in the yard with a cooler.

And you learn something new every day!
Not being much of a cook - to say the least!-
I don't often use the oven...I'll do that google
search. I'm not buying a new stove..against my religion..LOL!
Thanks for telling me something I never even thought
about!

And Merry Christmas everyone!

annamarie_2008 said it was easy to find product to add more insulation all by yourself. I can't find any material called stove insulation, and I'd be hesitant about using regular heat insulation stuff because a stove can get very hot. --- I'll keep looking. Some sort of sheet or blanket material designed to withstand several hundred degrees without deteriorating.

-david

What you need is high-heat range insulation.

http://www.antiquestoves.com/toac/insulation/blankie.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: high-heat range insulation

Beware Hantavirus

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/

...I know this is a 5 year old thread, so I'm just posting or anyone else who might have the same situation... the mice could have chewed up some of the wiring, so the range could be a fire hazard if mice had been living it.

Well geez.....doesn't matter how old a thread is...someone else down the road is gonna have the same problem right? Lol....old stove or not....theyre worth reinsulating if they still work. I refuse to be a part of the throw away nation. Mask, gloves and a good disinfectant and you're good to go. Unless you have an infestation that's in droves, mice are a common problem everywhere. Set traps in the fall and keep them very near the stove and food areas. Also, the only way you're gonna know if mice chewed through wires is to take the top off of oven and look. You can order those too just like the insulation. I use www.partselect.com for most parts for appliances and even lawn mowers. They have videos for the DIYers to watch and learn how to do repairs. Great prices on parts and very friendly customer service representatives. Doing an oven insulation right now for a 95yr old lady. No way would I tell her that her stove isn't worth fixing.

It's June 2017 and I am going through the EXACT same experience. I noticed some dog food behind my stove and when I pushed it out here the mice had hauled dog food from my dogs dish across the kitchen floor and up into the insulation in the back of the stove. I pulled a lot of the insulation out to get rid of the mess and now I am afraid to use the oven. Where can I get this kind of insulation? Disgusted in Ohio.

When I encountered the same situation in a vacation home. I tossed the old oven. As one of the posts said above, they may have chewed wires, etc. so it wasn't worth my time for the "restoration". My 0.02.

1st of all I'm not sure how to make my own story other than commenting on then commenting on yours I have a propane stove though but I went to clean lift up my hood today and I found some of the stuffing insulation out of its place and it's obvious because we do have a mice problem at times that's why we have a cat now but I wasn't sure if I should throw the insulation away or not it didn't seem to be dirty it was still clean but maybe they were just pulling it out to take it other places because they'd like to stash it in other places other places where you would never think they would stash it Or that could have been the stash place who knows but I took it out of the stove now and I'm debating on whether I should throw it away or not or are just leave it but I think I'm gonna take it out take it out my only concern with my stove was I think that it originally had some kind of plastic covering and I don't know if it was ever taken off cause the start was new when I moved into my place but I but I didn't know that there was plastic covering possibly on it and so I've been using it and maybe it's kind of melted into the stove I don't But I'm looking at my At my booklet to see about cleaning it cleaning it and cause it just looks tacky to me no matter what I do and most of the time I used what it recommends soap and water and not embrace it for in this and now I use a vinegar to how clean it to make it look better but it still isn't quite right But it's clean Lol