Using your oven for baking and grilling is fun. However, the oven racks are the first thing to get covered with grime and grease. When it comes to cleaning the oven, oven racks are the hardest to clean.
Even if you don’t often use your oven, residue will still build-up. Neglecting the oven racks will only delay the inevitable, and increase the amount of work required to clean layers of stuck-on food and grease. In this article we go through some top oven cleaning tips, but if you’d prefer to kick back and let someone else do the work you can find top rated cleaners at Helpling.
While many people enjoy the self-cleaning function, it doesn’t effectively clean the oven racks. Moreover, over time, it will end up damaging the oven racks. Here are some old-fashioned ways of cleaning oven racks that can do the job with much less hassle.
A Dishwasher Bath
This is one of the easiest ways to clean oven racks. Lay your oven racks in the bathtub and fill the tub with hot water until all the oven racks are covered. Make sure to place old towels or sponges below the oven racks to protect your bathtub from being scratched.
Add ½ a cup of dishwasher powder or a fragment of a dishwasher tablet into the water and let the racks soak overnight. In the morning, use a sponge or toothbrush to scrub off stains and gunk on the rack. Rinse and dry them completely.
Use Baking Soda and Vinegar
For this method, you can place the oven racks in a sink or the bathtub. Dust baking soda over the racks and then douse them with vinegar. You’ll notice a white foam discharge.
Once the foaming stops, place the oven trays in hot water and let it sit overnight. The next morning, remove all the grime and grease with a dishtowel. You can use a kitchen scrubber to remove any stubborn baked-on grime.
Ammonia Trash Bags
This can be hazardous, but, if done the right way, it is a simple, mess-free method. Take a trash bag and place your oven racks in it. Pour ½ a quart of ammonia and tie the bag tight. Place the bag in a garbage can and let it sit overnight.
You do not have to cover all racks in the ammonia, because the fumes of ammonia will spread and remove all the grease. Make sure to tightly seal the bags and place them outside your door, as you don’t want the hazardous fumes to leak out and spread inside your house.
The next morning, open the trash bag using safety hand gloves and goggles in a well-ventilated area. Remove the racks and rinse them thoroughly with washing-up liquid. You’ll notice all accumulated grease and food grime dissolve right away.
Use Commercial Oven Cleaners
Commercial oven cleaners can easily and quickly remove all the stuck-on food and grease from your oven racks. As these products contain harsh chemicals, place the oven racks outdoors.
Put on safety gloves and spray the oven cleaner over the racks and let them sit for 10-15 mins. Using an old toothbrush or rag, and scrub the oven racks to clean them properly. Rinse it thoroughly under running water.
Conclusion
With a few common household products and several hours of soaking, your oven racks will look brand new. These simple, DIY methods can return the sparkle to your oven racks. And remember, if you don’t want to do the cleaning yourself, you can find someone to do it for you over at Helpling.