Learning how to clean oven racks is not as laborious as you might think – thanks to this simple cleaning method that doesn't involve hours of scrubbing. We'd argue that learning how to clean oven racks is an important part of any maintenance routine for a sparkling and hygienically clean kitchen.
If your oven racks are hidden beneath layers of grease, fear not we have all the info you need to get them gleaming again with minimal effort.
The internet is full of cleaning hacks to clean oven racks, the good news is that we've sought expert advice on which is the most effective method. Our expert is a green cleaning guru with all the answers for achieving great cleaning results without the need for toxic chemicals. Bunmi Scott knows how to clean an oven effectively and with ease...
How to clean oven racks with baking soda: 5 steps to success
If, at this point, you usually reach for a bottle of highly toxic oven cleaner, stop. These kits are often awful for the environment and can also be harmful to you.
Bunmi advises, “There’s no longer any need to use chemicals to clean your oven racks. Instead, several green cleaning methods can help to get rid of tough grease stains, spills and marks that can plague your oven racks.”
Avoiding these chemical-laden kits in favour of cleaning an oven with baking soda or other similarly green products can save you money - another reason to make the swap.
Here's what you will need to clean oven racks with baking soda:
- Baking soda: We used Amazon's choice 'Clean and Natural Bicarbonate of Soda'
- Stainless steel scourer: We used Amazon's Scotch-Brite Stainless Steel Scourer
- Microfibre cloth
- White Vinegar (optional)
- Eco washing up liquid (optional)
1. Remove racks from the oven
The first step in how to clean oven racks is to remove them from the oven. There are two reasons that this is a good move. Firstly, by soaking the racks you’ll save a load of elbow grease, and secondly, by getting them out you can scrub away with the whole rack in easy reach without leaning awkwardly into the oven. Your back will thank you for this one.
Bunmi Scott is the founder of It's All About Eco, an e-commerce business specialising in eco-friendly lifestyle essentials and green cleaning products with a brick-and-mortar refill store, too. Bunmi frequently shares her advice and easy-to-follow tutorials on how to live an eco-friendly lifestyle on her popular Instagram account.
2. Place racks in the bath or sink
Bunmi advises, “Pop your oven racks into a clean bathtub, fill the bath with hot water, ensuring that the water covers the racks fully.” If you don’t have a bath or don’t want to traipse greasy oven racks through the house, Bunmi suggests that using a large sink would work as an alternative.
Using hot water is a key aspect in how to clean oven racks because the heat will help break down the burnt-on grease and dirt. If you use cold water you won’t see the same results. Very hot water will keep its heat for longer through the soaking stage, again amplifying the results.
3. Add your cleaning product of choice
Bunmi suggests three different eco-cleaning products for cleaning oven racks, giving you the choice of what to use.
First up, it’s our green cleaning favourite, baking soda. Cleaning with baking soda is simple, cost-effective and produces great results. Bunmi advises adding 250g of bicarbonate of soda to your bath racks and suggests pairing it with white vinegar.
Citric acid is an alternative to baking soda that Bunmi recommends for cleaning oven racks. Adding two and a half cups of citric acid to the hot water your racks are soaking in is Bunmi’s recommendation.
“Good old eco washing up liquid” is Bunmi’s third suggestion for a toxic chemical-free cleaning product. Pour liberally into the water and “allow the racks to soak”.
4. Soak, then scrub the oven racks
Arguably, the most important step in how to clean oven racks is the soaking stage. This is because the more they are left to soak in the hot water, the less effort you’ll have to apply when scrubbing.
Bunmi's top tip is to “Allow the racks to soak and soften the hard stuck-on marks for around 2 hours. After this time, simply use a scourer to help remove any stubborn burnt-on stains.”
Often, when cleaning the kitchen, you want to avoid an abrasive scourer for fear of scratching. For example, if you are too abrasive, you can accidentally scratch the paint when cleaning grease off kitchen cabinets. Another good example is when cleaning a glass stovetop. However, when it comes to metal oven racks, an abrasive scourer should be fine, as the metal rungs on the rack shouldn't be easily scratched.
5. Rinse wipe and dry the racks
Once you've removed all the cooking residue and burnt-on grease, rinse the oven racks with clean water before wiping them down and drying them with a microfibre cloth.
The oven racks should look clean and shiny and are now ready to be placed back into the oven. Cleaning an oven is essential to keeping it functioning well, just like cleaning a dishwasher and cleaning a cast iron skillet.
FAQ
What's the easiest way to clean oven racks?
The easiest way to get your oven racks sparkling and shining is to place them in a bath of hot water and leave them to soak with an eco-friendly cleaning product like baking soda, citric acid or eco-friendly dish soap. After a couple of hours, the burnt-on residue should be soft and loose and easily wiped away with the help of an abrasive sponge. Then simply rinse, wipe and dry and they are ready to be popped back in the oven looking like new.
How do I get brown stains off my oven racks?
Soaking the dirty oven racks in the bath with baking soda, citric acid or eco-dish soap will loosen the brown stains. Green cleaning expert Bunmi Scott advises, “Allow the racks to soak and soften the hard stuck-on marks for around 2 hours. After this time, simply use a scourer to help remove any stubborn burnt-on stains.”
Does a dishwasher tablet clean oven racks?
If you have space in your dishwasher, you can place the oven racks in for a cleaning cycle, but this probably won’t be that effective if there is a lot of burnt on grease. Therefore, it’s better to soak the oven racks in the bath first to loosen the burnt-on residue. You can use a dishwasher tablet in the bath with the oven racks, but unless it’s an eco-friendly tablet, using one of the three eco-friendly cleaning products (baking soda, citric acid and eco-friendly dish soap) detailed above is preferable.
What is the quickest way to clean oven racks?
Dish soap is also effective and quicker when it comes to the best way to clean oven racks when pressed for time. It doesn't offer the same delight of watching baking soda and vinegar bubble and fizz, but it gets the job done, and you probably already have dish soap handy for cleaning your plates, cutlery and your best induction pans. Liquid dish soap will do the job but it will involve a lot of elbow grease to shift the cooked-on food.
Using a sink or bathtub to soak the racks is ideal to help loosen some of the first but if you don't have time scrubbing is the only option. This is not only one of the quickest methods, but it is also one of the cheapest when it comes to how to clean oven racks.
If you have a self-cleaning oven, you might think you're off the hook when it comes to learning how to clean oven racks, but this isn't actually the case. Unfortunately, the extreme heat used in the self-cleaning process can actually damage your racks over time, so it's better to clean them by hand every so often.