About a month ago, I posted about a nearly effortless way to clean the inside of your oven. But the oven itself isn’t the only thing that gets dirty after a while – the oven racks can also get caked with baked-on food and grease. So today I want to share a method for cleaning your oven racks that’s just as easy as the method for cleaning the oven itself! Follow the instructions from today’s post and last month’s post, and your oven is sure to be looking cleaner than even!
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Related: How To Clean Your Oven The Smarter And Easier Way
Some time ago I ran across THIS little snippet of an idea while I was reading about the many uses for dryer sheets:
“An easy way to clean grill grates or oven racks is to line your bathtub with four used dryer sheets, set the grill or oven racks on top and fill the tub with warm water. Let sit overnight and then wipe clean . The power of the antistatic in dryer sheets helps to separate the food from the grates.”
I was definitely intrigued, so I did a little more research on it. Apparently the anti-static agents in the dryer sheets weaken the bond between the food and the rack, while the fabric softening agents soften the baked-on food. Makes sense! And I figured it was worth buying a cheap box of dryer sheets to try it out. :-)
How To Clean Your Oven Racks
You’ll need:
- Dryer sheets
- Dawn dish soap
- Scrub brush or sponge
Directions:
Place about 6 or 8 dryer sheets into your bathtub, and set your oven racks on top of the dryer sheets. Then turn on the hot water and fill the tub until the racks are covered by several inches of water.
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For extra degreasing power, I added about 1/4 cup or so of Dawn dish soap at this point. You can choose to add it or not, it’s totally up to you. :-) (This step wasn’t listed in the original method I read about, but Dawn has never let me down before, and I figured it couldn’t hurt!)
Let the racks soak in the tub for at least a few hours, or preferably overnight.
When the waiting period is over, grab one of the dryer sheets from the tub and use it to “scrub” the oven racks. A lot of the “gunk” should slide right off!
For the extra tough stuff, you may want to use a scrubber or the back of a sponge.
Check out these “before” and “after” photos – what a difference! And THAT, my friends, is how I got my oven racks shiny and new again!
*Note: If your racks are rusted, don’t place them in the tub. Instead, toss them inside of a large garbage bag so that the rust doesn’t transfer to your bathtub.
This method is unbelievably easy and it works! My grates were filthy and I didn’t want to use the ammonia method because I read that ammonia can dull the shine. Now I will never clean my oven grates another way! Just be sure to line you tub to avoid damage. I got a few rust stains on my acrylic tub that I’m going to have to figure out how to clean!
I placed two racks in my bathtub with several dryer sheets. I didn’t even count them. I kept putting the Dawn liquid in. I cannot believe how well it worked. I did change the water in between once. My racks were an absolute mess. They are sparkly and shiny and almost like new now. Thank you so much for this tip! This will be my go to cleaning method from now on. I used to struggle and use old fashioned oven cleaner and lay them out side. This is great. No more fumes. Easy to rinse out of the bathtub.… Read more »
I’m so glad! :-)
This is so true. I will use this suggestion. Thanks
All these comments are great! I can’t wait to try the shower curtain tips. Being a single Mom I need all the tips I can get.
These ideas sound incredible. I’m trying to sell my home and really think kitchen cleanliness is huge. I’m not a great housekeeper so this is all so helpful. I figured I’d have to sand these racks with welding goggles. Guess I’ll find out real soon. Thanks to everyone.
Try putting dryer sheets with warm water into garbage bag and add racks. Then tie closed and leave overnight. If you put them in the bathtub you end up having another clean up project to get the oily grime off the tub.
Racks clean up well using the ammonia in the garbage bag and letting it soak overnight too
Thanks for the tip!
Another thing I tried that worked really well, but you need a well-ventilated(preferably outdoor) space, with a concrete driveway or patio. You’ll also need some old towels or large rags. Fill a bucket with a few inches of ammonia. Put an old towel in the ammonia until it is saturated, take it out and lay it on a flat surface. Lay an oven rack on top of it. Saturate another old towel with ammonia and lay it on top of the rack. Leave it while you run errands or go off to work, etc. After a few hours, at least,… Read more »
Great, Jillie, thank you. And Christie, thank you for the shower curtain/towel s tip! Diana H
Hi – this is an unrelated post that I thought I’d share with you . – I don’t know if it would be the same in America as it is here in New Zealand but I imagine there would be a similar product that could be used equally well … When you’ve emptied coffee sachets , keep them for packaging small quantities of stuff that you want to protect & stay dry and keep for a while – My best use of this sort so far is ( being the wanna be Eco guy ) when collecting seeds from my… Read more »
I think the absolute easiest way to clean any sort of gunned on grime, like if you have a particularly nasty hood range, is engine degreaser. I actually soaked a rag with it and just laid it on top for about five minutes, then wiped off the gunk and washed it with dawn and clear water. We just bought a house with a really good electric stove that had been terribly neglected. Because we are going to install gas and get a brand new stove, but until then, I need to get the current (ha!) Electric one cleaned up, and… Read more »
I use a flat/straight razor blade/Box cutter. To scrape off any build up then use the stovetop cleaner (or soft scrub) to finish with a non abrasive scrubber. Then polish up with paper towel or soft ,clean, dry cloth. If it’s especially crusty you might want to take a wet towel & heat it then lay on top & let soap for about an hour before beginning the scraping. Just be sure to only use the full flat part of razor. The corners can scratch the surface.
Best information EVER!!! Thank you.