Getting Oven Racks Clean

As just about everyone knows, it is exceedingly important to periodically clean your oven. This helps to reduce the threat of food contamination, as well as fire hazards. The oven rack is one area of the oven that, while it may not need constant attention, does require periodic cleaning. Luckily getting oven racks clean doesn't have to be particularly difficult. The best possible process for getting your racks clean isn't hard, though it is a bit time consuming. On the average this process will take up to two days to complete, so usually the best time to do it would be on the weekend.

1. Remove your racks. Before you can actually start getting your oven racks clean, you actually need to remove them from the oven. Exercise some caution as you do this since you do not want to let any bits of food or grease that have been baked onto the oven racks fall onto the floor, or touch your walls. While it will not damage your floors and walls if you do, it will create another mess that needs to be cleaned up.
2. Apply some cleanser to the racks. Take the oven racks outside, or into a well ventilated area, and place them onto some unfolded newspapers. Ideally, the best location to do this work at will be in a garage that has the door open, or out on your patio or driveway. When the racks are in place, spray them with regular oven cleaner. You will need to let the racks sit there for the time specified by the manufacturer's instructions, and keep an eye out so that kids and animals do not mess around with them. After the time has passed, rinse the racks off with a water hose and check to see if there is anything left to clean off. If so, proceed to step three.
3. Place the racks in a bag with some ammonia. For those particularly difficult, tough, or stubborn oven racks, you will need to use a large plastic bag. This bag needs to be large enough to hold the oven racks. The ideal bag would be a large trash bag or a large garden bag. When you have your racks in the bag (or bags) pour a half cup (1/2 cup) of ammonia into each of the bags that you used.
4. Allow the racks to soak. Tie each of the bags tightly so that nothing will drip or fall out. Set the bags on a shelf either outside or in your garage. As you do this, make sure that the bags that you use are placed out of reach of your children or pets. Allow everything to soak overnight.
5. Remove and wash the racks. The following day, carefully take the bags containing the oven racks back outside. Carefully remove the racks from the plastic bags, and then dispose of the bags properly. Be sure that you are wearing some type of protective gloves when you begin removing the racks from the plastic bags so that you do not get gunk and sludge all over your hands. When you have the racks removed, rinse them off, and inspect them closely to see if there is still anything left that needs to come off of them. If so, grab a sponge, green scrubby, or even a scouring pad and get to work. Repeat as often as necessary to remove everything from the racks.
6. Rinse, dry, then replace. The last step in getting your oven racks clean is to completely wash or rinse the racks off. This will help ensure that you have removed all of the cleanser and ammonia from them and that they are safe to use again. Once you have rinsed them off, either allow them to air dry or use a clean towel to rub them dry. When completely dry, replace tehm in the oven.