How to Clean Oven Racks in 3 Ways

You should clean your oven racks whenever you clean your oven. Depending on how often you use your oven, it should be cleaned every three to four months. Cleaning the inside of your oven is an important task that not only removes grime and buildup from your oven but can also help prevent harmful smoke emissions or grease fires.

You will know it's time to clean your dirty oven racks if you can see a lot of dark grime or burnt gunk attached to your oven racks bars. The bottom of your oven may also have signs of food drip, black spots, stuck-on food, and burnt gunk on the bottom.

Here is a general overview of the materials you will need to clean your oven with a DIY paste made out of vinegar, baking soda, and water.

1. 1. Safety gear: Whether you use a store-bought cleaner or try a less harsh DIY solution, you should wear thick, non-disposable rubber gloves and goggles to keep your hands and eyes safe from any potential irritants. Line the floor beneath your oven with paper towels or newspapers to catch any excess drippings.
2. 2. Cleaning solution ingredients: You can make an effective grease-cutting paste from simple ingredients you likely already have in your pantry. All you need is white vinegar, baking soda, and water. You can also add dish soap to your solutions for extra grease-cutting power. Over-the-counter oven cleaners are also available at the grocery store, but these typically contain a number of harmful chemical additives.
3. 3. Cleaning tools: In addition to a damp washcloth or cleaning towel, you will need a scouring pad or toothbrush to wash away any oil or food residue from your oven door or metal grates.
4. 4. Dryer sheets: As you soak your oven racks overnight in your bathtub with a little dish detergent, it helps to add some dryer sheets to the mixture. These will help loosen up any stains on your dryer racks.

Here are several simple cleaning methods for cleaning oven racks.

1. 1. Soak your racks. Soaking your oven racks overnight in soapy bathtub or kitchen sink water will help loosen up a fair amount of the grime. Fill either a large sink or your bathtub with hot water and add a half-cup of dish soap, then remove your dirty oven racks from the oven and submerge them in the water. Let your racks soak for at least five hours or leave them overnight. After the racks have soaked, rinse them under warm water and use an old dishcloth or rag to scrub the oven racks clean. For particularly stubborn gunk, use a stainless steel scouring pad or scrubber. Grimy buildup should be easy to remove after soaking.
2. 2. Use a commercial oven cleaning agent. You can buy oven cleaning products that are especially suited to degreasing oven racks. When using a commercial oven cleaner, be sure to spray the dirty oven racks in a well-ventilated area outdoors as these chemical products can produce dizzying fumes. Lay your oven racks on some old towel or dryer sheets and spray them with your oven cleaner. Leave your oven racks to sit for around ten to twenty minutes (or refer to the product instructions). Then use an old toothbrush, old dish towel, or scouring pad to clean the oven racks. Finish by rinsing them off with a garden hose.
3. 3. Make a DIY oven cleaner. Using baking soda to create your own cleaning solution is a great cleaning hack. A simple mixture uses two parts baking soda with one part water. For a stronger mixture, use three parts baking soda with one part dishwasher detergent and one part hydrogen peroxide. Use your homemade oven cleaner like a commercial oven cleaner, letting the cleaner sit on the racks for six hours before cleaning and rinsing.

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