Easily Clean Your Oven Racks With The Dish Detergent You Already Have

On the long list of household chores, cleaning the oven ranks somewhere near the bottom (if not dead last). Despite being the workhorses of the kitchen that always reliably roast up meatloaf, bake birthday cakes, and crisp up cookies, it's easy to forget the inside of the oven once you're done cooking. Ovens also tend to get dirty in a hurry, especially from foods like frozen pizza (which always seems to drip at least a few pieces of cheese), bubbly fruit pies, and drippings from roast beef and whole chicken. If you've decided it's time to give your oven a little TLC, you don't have to spring for a can of oven cleaner. As long as you haven't waited too long to clean your cooker, you can easily scrub the racks and insides with products you already have, including dish detergent.

If you have a bathtub in your house or apartment or even a big sink, you can soak your oven racks overnight in a solution of dish soap and water. When you come back in the morning, it'll be easy to scrub away the grime to get your racks looking brand new.

Even if you go out of your way to keep your oven clean, you won't escape getting a yellow-brown buildup on the inside walls and racks. This is because invisible grease and residue are circulated in the oven while you're cooking and collects on the surfaces; you only start to notice it when it really builds up. The more you cook with the oven, the more residue you'll have. Maytag recommends that you clean your oven every three months, but it's awfully easy to close the oven door after you've baked a cake and forget about it. If you ignore your dirty oven for too long, however, it can become a fire hazard.

If you've peered inside your oven lately and noticed that it's time for some elbow grease, you don't need to run out and buy a can of oven cleaner unless things are really dire. The cans of chemicals you can buy at the grocery store are potent and give off toxic fumes. Most of the time, you can clean all your oven parts with good old liquid dish soap, baking soda, and vinegar. While it's formulated to get your dishes squeaky clean in the sink, surfactants in dish detergents, which are chemical compounds that lower the surface tension on whatever you're cleaning to help lift it away, work the same way on oven racks over time.

To clean your oven racks, Bob Vila says to pull them out of the oven and place them in a bathtub or other large sink or container that can hold the racks with enough space to keep them completely submerged. If the surface of your tub scratches easily, put a towel down first to protect the porcelain. Pour ¼ cup of liquid dish detergent into the tub and add enough hot water to cover the racks, then let them sit in the soapy water overnight. The next day, grab a sponge or dish towel and scrub away the grime softened by the water and dish soap.

While your oven racks are soaking, use the time to clean the interior of your oven by spreading a paste made with baking soda and water and letting it sit for a few hours. Once it's dry, spray the inside of the oven with white vinegar and scrub away the grime until it's all gone, and then wipe everything down with hot water to remove any residue.

Finally, set up a calendar reminder on your phone to remember to clean your oven again in three months. If you keep up with regular maintenance with your oven cleanings, it'll be much easier to eliminate the grime next time.