Cleaning Oven Racks

Cleaning oven racks can be difficult and the fumes from the oven cleaners can even make it hard to breathe. There are some very easy methods in cleaning those dirty oven racks without all the mess.

There are some real benefits of having clean oven racks. Besides the obvious benefit of simply having something you use for cooking be clean, there is the benefit of reducing the risk of a fire in the oven from baked-on spilled grease. Clean oven racks helps to eliminate the smell from other foods that have been baked onto the racks.

Here are a few cleaning methods you can try with your oven racks:

• Self-Cleaning Method: The easiest method is the one that comes with self-cleaning ovens. With the self-clean method all you have to do is leave the racks in the oven when using the self- cleaning oven. When the oven is clean so are the racks. This method, while easy, will leave the racks rough, and they will loose their shine over time.
• Spray Cleaner Method: This method is one of the less messy methods. The method that I grew up with is to take the racks outside and place them on newspaper you lay on the ground. Spray the racks with oven cleaner, making sure that the racks are well covered with the cleaner. Spraying the cleaner on the oven racks outdoors allows for more ventilation, which eliminates breathing most of those awful fumes. Allow the racks to soak with the oven cleaner on them for several hours (depending on how dirty the racks really are). If there are some stubborn stains left on the racks, just scrub a little and the stains should come off. After using the garden hose to rinse the oven cleaner off the racks, take a clean old towel and dry them off.
• Bathtub Method: This method is best when it is just too cold outside and the garden hose has been turned off for the winter. Take all the racks out of the oven and place them into a bathtub on top of an old bath towel. The bath towel helps to prevent the racks from scratching the bathtub. Turn on the hot water (as hot as you can) and add about one cup of dishwashing soap and about 1/2 cup of vinegar to the running water. (If the racks aren't too dirty use less dishwashing soap.) Let the hot water run till it just covers the racks. Let the racks soak for at least two hours and preferably overnight. After soaking the racks there may be some light scrubbing still needed to get the racks completely clean. After getting the racks clean rinse them with clean warm water and then dry them completely.