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It does n’t take long for an oven to get soiled , especially at this fourth dimension of year . If you use the appliance at all , baked - on dirt , sticky grime , and burnt chip are potential to cumulate . Self - clean ovensare great for banishing the guck from the appliance ’s interior , but are potentially damaging to the racks .

The ego - clean function typically utilizes temperature that are dual or triple of that used for preparation . leave the rack in office during self - cleansing can discolor the metal , take the shine off its finish , and damage the coating that help rack slide in and out with comfort .

Woman wearing cleaning gloves removes oven racks for cleaning.

Photo: Tom Fenenga for Bob Vila

Whether or not you have a self - cleaning oven , it ’s a good idea to remove the racks and strip them the old - fashioned way . luckily , any of the following methods can get the job done quickly and with a minimum of hassle .

How to Get Oven Racks Clean

Degreasing oven racks and restore shine may not be a fun chore , but with seven solid tactics to choose from — all usingcommon household itemsyou belike have on handwriting — you should be able to get the job done fairly quickly and without much trouble .

1. Dish Soapand Salt

2. Trash Bag and Ammonia

3. Dryer Sheets and Dishwashing Liquid

4. Bar Keepers Friend

5. Essential Oil Paste

Tried-and-True Advice

I use baking soda and vinegar to clean house my oven and oven rack , which is a bang-up alternative to using the ego - cleaning oven feature that ’s not secure to practice in homes with pet birds .

I leave the rack in my oven as I work and simply sprinkle bake soda over the racks and the surfaces of the oven . Then I use a spray bottle to enforce distil white acetum to the racks and oven interior , and have the mixture bubble away for about 15 minutes before wiping everything down with a moist leech . It sometimes train two passing game to get my oven perfectly uninfected , but I observe that it works quite well !

— Lauren Landers , Contributing author

Woman uses dish soap and salt to clean oven racks in a bathtub.

Photo: Tom Fenenga for Bob VIla

6. Commercial Oven Cleaner

7. Aluminum Foiland a Dishwasher Tablet

FAQs

Spritz sublimate white acetum on oven rack and then patter on an ample amount of broil sal soda . Allow several mo of dwell time and then scrub with a bristle copse . Oven single-foot can become discolored when they have been left in place during a self - clean function .

Magic Eraser is an abrasive cleaning tool made of flat melamine froth . It is good to use on most metals , so it may be more effective on oven racks than a quick study or rag . However , do not employ Magic Eraser on stainless steel or metal with a non - stick coating , or in compounding with any chemical substance .

Oven rack that are too gravid or inept to fit neatly in the kitchen sink can be make clean in the bath , and several of the methods detail above suggest using hot water in the tub with such ingredients as dishwashing soap or baking tonic . It ’s a good approximation to lie an older towel down in the bottom of the tub to protect the surface and make scavenge the bathtub easy once the oven rack are done .

Woman adds ammonia to a trash bag with oven racks inside.

Photo: Tom Fenenga for Bob Vila

Final Thoughts

invite Friend and house over for vacation meals can take a bell on your appliance , and your oven usually get the regretful of it . After you get stains off of your oven racks , read our guides onhow to strip an ovenandhow to clean oven windowpane glassto conquer clean the respite of the contraption .

This Is the twelvemonth for a Kitchen Renovation

Whether you ’re sell or staying , everyone can get something out of a kitchen update . Learn why we consider this renovation the Most Valuable Project of 2025 and how to remain on budget .

Woman wearing rubber gloves uses dryer sheets and dish soap to clean oven racks in a bathtub.

Photo: Tom Fenenga for Bob Vila

Woman sprinkles Bar Keepers Friend on oven rack in a stainless sink.

Photo: Tom Fenenga for Bob Vila

Woman mixes a paste of baking soda and essential oil for cleaning an oven rack.

Photo: Tom Fenenga for Bob Vila

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Woman sprays oven racks with oven cleaner on a blue plastic tarp.

Photo: Tom Fenenga for Bob Vila

Woman cleans oven racks in the bathtub using a laundry pod and aluminum foil.

Photo: Tom Fenenga for Bob Vila

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