Cleaning Oven Racks: Make Your Oven Food-Safe Again

The oven is probably one of the hardest working appliances in the kitchen. While the oven can be cleaned relatively easily (check out this full tutorial for an effective, completely natural oven cleaning method), cleaning the large oven racks might give some pause. They’re too big for the sink, so what’s a kitchen owner to do? This tutorial will show you the super simple way to clean oven racks.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean
How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Begin by removing your oven racks from your oven, and carrying them to the bathroom. That’s right. The bathroom.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Place a couple of towels into your bathtub, folded long-wise, so that a few inches of towel run up the bathtub wall.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Close off the drain, and run your hottest water into the bathtub.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Carefully place your oven racks in the bathtub. They may only be able to fit in the center of your tub, depending on the sizes of all involved parties. Even if they have to slant, that’s okay, too.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

The most important part of this step is not that the oven racks are flat; it’s that their sides don’t actually touch the bathtub walls. Keep the towels between your oven racks and the bathtub itself. You don’t want to have metal scratches in your tub after this.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Fill the bathtub until the oven racks are completely submerged. Wow. With the very-hot water, my oven racks are already cleaning themselves. Gross. (But, yay?)

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Measure out about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of dishwashing detergent. This tutorial used 1/2 cup (or 1-1/2 scoops of a 1/3 measuring cup).

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Pour the detergent into your hot water-filled bathtub. Note: The detergent you use can be either powder or liquid; it doesn’t really matter because it will dissolve either way.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

If you can stand the high temperature, swirl the detergent around a little bit with your fingers.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Walk away for about four hours. I personally couldn’t believe how filthy the water was at this point.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Of course, you could go do other things, but it seems a shame to waste this chance to clean a perfectly empty, non-usable oven. Doesn’t it? Especially one so desperately in need of cleaning.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Wipe away the crumbs while you think about whether or not you really want to clean the whole oven.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Then realize that you do. Follow  ’s detailed instructions, which (briefly) include making a quick paste of baking soda and water and lathering it on every surface of your oven and oven door.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Close the oven and walk away for 4-12 hours.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Spray with vinegar and wipe it all away.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Marvel at how dirty your oven window was, and how you can actually see through it now. Try to remember the last time you could see through the window…or try to remember if you knew if you were even supposed to be able to see through the window. Nope? Join the club.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

The whole oven looks great. Much cleaner than before.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Seriously. I can’t get over this transparent oven window business.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

All right. Your oven is clean (or you’re still waiting to do the final wipe-down), and it’s time to go back to the oven racks in the bathtub.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Because the racks have been soaking for hours, it’s very easy to simply scrub the gunk off the wires. Use a gently abrasive scouring pad, sponge, or even rag. Methodically wipe each wire and the outer frame.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

The wiping at this point shouldn’t be hard, because everything has been soaking and is ready to be removed. All that grime is basically waiting to jump off the oven rack. Just look at the difference!

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

When the oven racks are all wiped, rinse them with clean water (the shower comes in handy for this) and set aside. Wring out and remove the towels to the laundry, then empty the tub.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Carry the now-clean oven racks up to your (hopefully) now-clean oven.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Insert all the clean things together.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

Stand back and admire your handiwork. Makes you almost feel like baking something, doesn’t it? But then it might dirty your clean oven. Tomorrow, maybe.

How to Clean Oven Racks Fresh and Clean

We hope you take great satisfaction in cleaning your oven racks, and the beautiful oven that results relatively effortlessly.